THE HALF-WAY MARK

HELLO FRIENDS AND FAMILY,
I'm extremely happy to be back to the land of the living after a rough patch!  Thanks for the many prayers and much love expressed in various ways over the last couple of weeks.  Once again, I feel SO BLESSED to have family and friends like you all.

MY LAST CHEMO WAS ON Thursday, 2/9, and that weekend was hard with some nausea and extreme aches and sick all-over feel.  Kenny gave us a scare too that Sat. evening when his abdominal/back aches turned into fever as well.  We were both pretty pitiful and Cayler helped by doing a house-sanitizing run-through in case Kenny's ailment was viral.  We're not sure what he had but he felt better Sunday evening, and I never "caught" it.  PTL for both of us!  I was starting to feel a lot better from chemo by Monday.

EVEN THOUGH Kenny's been able to cut back on the work travel, he left for San Francisco early Tuesday morning and by Tuesday night my raw esophagus and stomach turned into a progressively worse nausea and vomiting over the next three days as I got sicker and weaker.  Friday found me in the oncology clinic getting a much needed IV of fluids and stronger nausea meds.  Kenny was home and able to take me even with his extreme jet lag.  By that night I was feeling TONS better and enjoyed my sister's chicken and rice after not eating for days....I think the steroid they gave me helped too because all I could think about was food.  As a side note, we were so glad Kenny got to have a quick visit on Valentine's night with our dear old friends, the Shireys in Santa Clara...very special people to us and great memories.

I'VE REACHED THE HALF-WAY MARK in my chemo treatments finishing the dreaded A/C meds, Cytoxan and Adriamycin (red devil) combo.  At my next chemo I'll start the first of four treatments of Taxol.  While Taxol comes with its own side effects, like more tiredness, more severe achiness than the A/C (which I'm dreading) and possible neuropathy of fingers and feet, the nausea is supposed to be lighter.  Once again...focus on the positive, right?

FOR NOW, I'LL ENJOY the next 10 days of feeling pretty darn good and try to get things done - like getting my driver's license renewed.  The procrastinator in me just now read the reminder card and noticed that I actually have to GO IN this year to renew it, I can't just do it online.  I have to bring in all the documents and may even have to take a test again it says.  I just had the horrible thought of having to have my picture retaken!  Could this mean whatever "look" I choose, bald, scarf, or stupid looking wig, will be with me for the next umpteen years!  Eek!  I'll see how long I can put this off.

I TURN 45 THIS WEEK, whew-whew!!  I guess as a cancer survivor you put aside the silly and vain "let's not talk about getting a year older" and you CELEBRATE another birthday!