One Day at a Time

Two days after getting back, my mom went in for chemo. She explained about her pain during her trip here and the Doctor decided to change up some of the meds and put her more in control over which at home meds she needed. During the infusion she broke out in a red rash. After stopping the chemo, the nurse talked to the doctor,and gave my mom Benadryl then waited a half hour. When she started the chemo again, it began with a slower drip and gradually built up to the normal flow. She was fine, but the Benadryl of course made her sleep. We'll see how she handles the side effects this week! Now that she has shown hypersensitivity to the oxaliplatin, she will need benadryl, or something like it, each time she goes in for chemo. The nurse said this hypersensitivity doesn't happen when you first start chemo but down the line several rounds later. Your body finally says, "Ok! I've had enough, I don't like you" and the Benadryl calms it down.

It's a watch and see situation. She may tolerate it just fine with Benedryl or something similar or she may just get to the point of not tolerating it anymore. Her numbers have gone down to 365, so they are moving in the right direction. Also, her white blood cell count was low so they gave her a shot to boost her white blood cells and told her to expect to be in pain for a couple of weeks.

In other news, I am hearing the new wood floor is beautiful! It was hard for my mom to be 3,000 miles away  while they laid the new floor from the water damage. (See here) I still can't believe that happened. A special thanks to all those who helped my parents with that. It is so comforting to know they have incredible friends who love them and would help out any way they can!

Everything works out one way or the other. Life is not suppose to be easy, of course. I know where to find peace. I know I am loved and hard things are for my growth. For all the 'surprises' in our lives, here's to taking one day at a time and getting good perspective from it.

East Coast Visit

When my Mom was on the pill form of chemo, she was feeling pretty good and around Christmas time we planned a trip for her to visit us in Charlotte. We planned for March, a big part because Wicked was coming to town. It was perfect, she booked plane tickets and play tickets and the countdown began. A few weeks before her coming out, she had stopped responding to the pill and needed to be put back on the infusion form. This makes my stomach turn because, well, for all sorts of reasons, but mainly because I knew it meant she was not going to be living life as comfortably anymore. The physical side effects of this treatment are harsh and seem to pile on.

Luckily, she was still able to come out. We had her for two whole weeks! Her sister also lives in Charlotte and my brother, Corey, lives two hours away. My mom got to triple dip!

There were two treatments before she came. The side effects are creeping back in her life. She had one bad day, her second day here. She had very bad pain, the exact same as in the beginning when she was prepping for her colonoscopy. We thought she might end up in the ER again. Things calmed down and she was good for the rest of her trip. Her hands and feet are peeling a lot and Corey found these really cool socks/gloves that are aloe/olive oil coated which are good.

She was surprised how much she liked the south and I had a great time showing her around. We went to the Columbia Temple, Farmers Markets, Latta Plantation, bakeries, southern restaurant to eat fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits, lots of cute shops, parks, haircut, train ride, went to see OZ with Corey and Wicked with Lauana, and lots more!

It sure is quiet now that she's gone...

Two down, two to go

I know many of you are checking my blog to find out how I'm doing. I've had two rounds of chemo since my last post and two left to go before my next CT scan. The good news is my numbers are coming down. They were at 469 on Monday. The side effects are not fun, and I'm still dealing with them. I'm getting ready to go to NC next week! I am so excited to see Valerie, Corey and my sister! I'm hoping the sun will be there as well. Just before my first round of chemo, we had a water pipe leak in our house. It was from an upstairs bathroom sink. The water ran straight down the wall and under my hardwood floor and carpet downstairs causing over $14,000.00 worth of damage. Ugh. The whole wood floor has to be replaced because they can't match it. Some drywall needs to be replaced and my new shoe storage bench needs to be repaired. Never a dull moment...

Going back on FOLFOX

I went to the SCCA today for my scheduled treatment. A typical day for me is to first have my port accessed, and get my blood drawn. Then I see my doctor and he goes over the results of the blood work as well as checking my vitals and asks me questions about how I am doing and answers any questions I may have. Then I go upstairs for an infusion that lasts 30 minutes. It has become very routine to me. But today was different. My numbers have gone up, quite a bit. They are now 624. And that is after increasing my current medication. He said he didn't feel that it was effective any more and wanted to put me back on FOLFOX which was the chemotherapy that I was first started on. It wasn't really a surprise to me. I knew this was coming and I could tell the medication wasn't as effective as it once was but I was still a little disappointed.

But I've been here before and I know what to expect. I asked him how long I need to do the folfox and he said he normally starts with 2 months and then does a CT scan to see how things are going and  makes a decsion based on the resuls of the CT scan.

So, for now I say good-bye to ice, good-bye to nice cold drinks, good-bye to ice cream and good-bye to nice thick hair. And I say hello to my old friend the pump. We will need to get reaquainted with each other. It goes everywhere with me for 3 days and 2 nights every other week. It gently reminds me it is there with it's regular pump noises. It sleeps between me and Eddie so it doesn't fall off the bed. And I need to be careful to not keep turning in the same direction all night so we don't get all tangled up together. I need to remember to pick it up before I start walking anywhere...to answer the phone, to wash my hands to get the remote. If I forget to take it with me, I am reminded very quickly!

I can do this. I will keep focused on 2 months...just 2 months.

Keep those prayers coming, they are working. I am so grateful that I feel as good as I do.

Genetic Testing

Back in early November I had some genetic testing done. They wanted to see if I had Lynch syndrome which is an inherited condition that increases the risk for developing colon cancer and other types of cancers. Doctors estimate that about 3 out of every 100 colon cancers are caused by Lynch syndrome.
People who have Lynch syndrome have a significantly increased risk of developing colorectal cancer and an increased risk of developing other types of cancers such as, endometrial (uterine), stomach, breast, ovarian, small bowel (intestinal), pancreatic, urinary tract, liver, kidney, and bile duct cancers.
In addition, cancer is more likely to be diagnosed at a young age. The average age for colorectal cancer to be diagnosed in someone with Lynch syndrome is 45, as compared with the average age of 72 for a new diagnosis of colorectal cancer in the general population.

I recieved a phone call today with the results of the testing. They said everything looked normal. I do not have Lynch Syndrome or any mutated genes that would lead to cancer.

So there is no answer as to why I developed colon cancer at such a young age but I find it comforting to know that I don't have Lynch Syndrome and can't pass that on to my children...although they will need to start having colonoscopies at the age of 30.