Bye week

I don't have chemo or Herceptin this week. It's a bye week so that I can get rid of all the Doxil in my system before starting a new chemo regimen: Cisplatin and Taxol. I worry about the new side effects since Doxil has been pretty easy for me.

I asked my rehab doctor to talk to my primary care doctor to switch my pt. I am not learning enough where I am at. My Magee PTs gave me new exercises to strengthen my left hip so that I use the leg more.

Today, I had my first mammogram. I took a cab there and the administrators took a long time to process my paperwork. I got annoyed with them printing things out to give me to give to other people. It's so hard to carry paperwork without folding it or crumpling it when you are on crutches.

The assistant brought me back to the changing room and handed me a robe. When I put it on, I saw that one of the ties was missing. I couldn't hold it closed, carry my clothes, and walk (with crutches) to the lockers, so I went with the lack of modesty. I have had so many strangers look at my breasts in the last year. It's better than falling on my face.

The technician called me into a room off of the changing room. She told me to take off my robe and stand in front of the machine. She put stickers over my nipples and over the lumpectomy scar. Then she moved my left breast on to the table of the machine, just so, and then a plate came down and pressed it flat. It hurt for the few seconds until the plate came back up. She repeated the same thing for the right breast. It also hurt. Then she had the plates of the machine squeeze my left breast kind of at an angle. That hurt more. It brought tears to my eyes. Then she did the same on the right side. The squeezing felt uncomfortable on my port as well. More tears in my eyes. Then I was done! I don't know if I am more sensitive than other folks, but it seemed to hurt more than other women described to me. At least it just hurt during the squashing.

I was exhausted and due for Percocet by the time I left. I had trouble hailing a cab because I was having difficulty balancing without using both crutches. A guy (who turned put to be homeless) noticed my trouble and helped me.  He called up 3 cab companies and frantically waved at cabs for 15 minutes before an empty one came by. I gave him a dollar for his efforts. He even helped me into the cab. Yay for help from strangers!

Oh, and this:

Cancer-versery

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with sarcoma in my left leg and metastases in my lungs. It's my cancer-versery.

In that year, I have had over 40 chemo sessions; been radiated over 30 times, had my world shrink to my apartment, then just my bed; have my world expand again to my whole apartment, then my neighborhood; lost a leg; gained a prosthesis; learned to walk with the prosthesis and a walker; learned to crutch with the prosthesis; spent lots of nights in hospitals; and spent most holidays in hospitals. This past weekend, I showered standing up for the first time in well over a year. It was thrilling. I haven't been able to stop talking about it.

After spending 9 months on Percocet, OxyContin, gabapentin, and morphine, I was so happy to be pain drug free in January. Now, I am back to taking 3-4 Percocets a day and choosing between reduced pain and reduced balance. Dr. Rubin said that the scans from last week did not show cancer anywhere but in my lungs. Yay! There is some activity in my little leg; I will ask her about it tomorrow.

Also, tomorrow I have my first mammogram following Herceptin. It's going to be exciting. I am probably going to sleep as soon as I get home.

Family like crazy

It's been a busy, travel-y, family-filled week. I have been too tired and too busy to write about it, but I have to give it a try.

Last Friday, after Herceptin, my brother Jimmy and his friend Crystal drove to Philly to pick me up. We had a pleasant 2.5 hour drive up to my parents' house. The next morning, we drove another hour or so up to my cousin Denise's house. She hosted a giant family reunion. I enjoyed visiting with everyone. I even walked on grass (and on a slope!) for the first time. It was delightful.





Sunday morning, Jimmy drove me back to Philly. An hour or so later, Ken and I were headed to Wildwood to visit his family. I went down 2 flights of stairs at my parents' house, up and down my giant set of stairs at my apartment, and up 2 flights of steps at Ken's parents' house. That's a lot of steps!

Monday, we all headed to the beach. His young nephew wondered where I put my leg. I explained that it couldn't come to the beach with us. We got a beach wheelchair and Ken pushed it across the sand for me. It seemed really tough to move. I wanted to get in the water, but Ken didn't know a way to easily move the wheelchair closer. I played in the sand with Ken's nephew and niece, instead. We pretended that we buried my left leg in the sand.




Despite the umbrella, SPF 50 sunblock, and a t-shirt, I got sunburned. Stupid chemo drug side effects. It was so worth the beach trip, though. The next day, we walked about half a mile on the boardwalk. I was pretty tired that night.

Yesterday, I had physical therapy for the third time in outpatient. We are working on strengthening my right leg and stretching the left, but I wish we practiced walking more. I need more direction with it to get better at it.

Today, Ken drove Nicole and I to Methodist for a battery of tests. We got there around 9:30 am. After the injection for the bone scan drinking the most disgusting liquid for the CT scan, I had to wait for the chemicals to get into the right parts of my body. During the wait, I had the 2D Echo (basically a heart ultrasound) that left me feeling a little bruised. Then, I had the CT scan and the bone scan. I will probably find out these results next week.