Starting chemo April 2023
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Good morning!
Patiently awaiting the last Nulasta shot in the late afternoon. Once I pull that off my arm, I'll really feel like I'm in the home stretch! I just have to wait out 2+ weeks of the ickies and then I'll be in pre-op mode. I had an appointment for an MRI today but moved it because this Nulasta Onpro isn't MRI compatible. So next Wednesday is the Mammogram, Sonogram and MRI all in one afternoon.
Bird: Headache and stomachache plus dealing with your arm issue and the stress of your parents situation sounds like a pretty huge blah. Sending hugs your way. If any of us needs them, it's you. I am so sorry your dad isn't doing well. I'm sure your mom will be relieved to have you there if you are able to go in October. This has been a big transition in a very compressed timeframe. I'm sure it's overwhelming for all of you.
Cat: Your flower arrangements came out great! I hope you're feeling better today. I'm counting down the days to your last chemo! We so need this to be finished!!
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Good morning! Sorry no check in yesterday. I had to go back to the embassy to retrieve my badge in person with my finger print lol. So stupid. I don’t know why my husband couldn’t pick it up, but the rules were in person. Anywho. It is a long trek there anyways and I actually took a tram going the wrong way (hello chemo brain). I also bought two day passes for the metro. Seriously. I am glad that I don’t do anything overly important or operate dangerous machinery. All good. We had Mexican in town for dinner and dessert and then hit a couple of record shops. My kiddo is way into 80s and early 90s alternative stuff. Like I was. We snagged a Cranberries album. Tonight we are going to an Elvis Costello concert. We had been thinking about it and then decided what the heck. It has seats so should be fine. Not too many folks come to Helsinki and my husband just likes all kinds of music. I am more of a fan. Hubby flies for Athens tomorrow. Another guy we know (he is currently posted in Algiers and we went to junior high together) is going also and bringing his wife. I’m so jealous. And a couple of friends from Beijing will be there (currently posted in Australia).
NJ: So great to hear from you! And yes! You will shift to surgery mode! Woohoo. And I am excited that you have all of your long awaited scans next week. Your hair looks great! You and Cat are poster children for cold capping through some incredibly tough chemo. I hope the doggies are doing okay and treating you gently while you recover. I think I am just compartmentalizing all of the stuff that is happening. Otherwise I would be too sad and I am trying to reach for things to love and be happy about. You know?
Cat: The flowers were just beautiful. I hope that you are feeling lots better and enjoying a chill girls weekend. I love that she cooks and owns the Staub. I have quite a bit of Staub and Le Creuset. They are super heavy. Hahaha. I once read a memoir of a woman raised in Africa Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandria Fuller. Her mom was an alcoholic and dad was crazy as well. Anyways. Her mother had a full set of Le Creuset that she dragged around Africa for her entire life. I was impressed and figured it had to be good cookware. The book is good (but both sad and funny) if you haven’t read it.
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Morning gals,
Thanks for your kind words re the floral arrangements. I got the other 5 done yesterday and was pleased with how they turned out. Some of the flowers weren’t fresh though so I’m just holding my breath that they make it through tonight, the rehearsal dinner. My friend (mother of the groom) was smart to keep a distance from me. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, poor thing.
I went to the bank to shut off the automatic Verizon payments from my mom’s cellphone that were still going through a Bank of America account, even though I had completely closed my mother’s cellphone. I had all my documents (death certificate/court appointment), plus my laptop. I was official and on it! The banker told me no account existed. I assured him (with a checkbook in hand) that an account DID exist. He then looked at me and said, “Your at Wells Fargo”. Whoops! Well that was an exciting bit of the chemo brain at work! Glad I’m not operating machinery other than my car, which perhaps should be revisited, ha! What a pain to have to go in person Bird to get your ID but glad you made it into something more fun with dinner.Bird, I can’t adequately put in words how sorry I am about the situation with your dad. It’s just beyond hard and you have the B/C and the international component. I think you are doing all the right things, including getting to your dad and mom in October.
Bird, I’ve asked my friend about any recommendations for Cashiers. She didn’t have any but is doing some asking. The PJ’s came by the way. Thank you so very, very much. They look really great and thanks too for the drain holder, very handy!Bird how’s the swelling in your arm?
NJ: Did you and the pups have the celebratory pizza party? Just love envisioning all of that and shared your description with my daughter who loved it too. Next Wednesday will be a long day for you but am glad you were able to get that imaging scheduled and can move forward.I felt well yesterday and Thursday, thankfully. Have a lot of hair coming out so just holding my breath. It is what it is but I’d sure love to hold onto what’s left, right?
Cat
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oh meant to also share- seeing therapist on Monday.
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Good morning!
Bird: No kidding on the chemo brain and heavy machinery. Was the scenery in the wrong direction interesting? If so, all good! I'm glad you made it to your destination safely. I have avoided traffic circles (aka roundabouts) since my first drive home from an infusion. After 40+ years of driving, I was somehow confused about what to do. Elvis Costello sounds like fun! Can't wait to hear your review! Your kiddo has excellent taste! 80's alternative is some of the best music EVER!! Sorry that you're missing the Athens trip. You're almost over the finish line so hopefully that will be the last trip you skip! So much to look forward to after treatment is over!!
Cat: Glad you missed the exposure and I hope your friend recovers quickly. How on earth is she going to get through a rehearsal dinner and wedding with pneumonia? Poor thing, indeed! Wells Fargo story made me laugh. Thanks so much for sharing! It's nice to not feel alone in the dark corners of little "c". Chemo brain is real. I lost a ring last week that's been on my pinky for 15 years. I never take it off. No clue where I put it. My brother suggested I check the refrigerator because that's where his wife's ring was found when she was in chemo. I'm glad that you are checking out therapy and hope that you find it helpful. I wasn't feeling great last night so we postponed pizza night. It's a good thing I didn't mention it to them! The did get to split a bacon and egg on a roll in the morning so that should hold them over until pizza night.
On the hair topic, I'm pretty bald on top where the cold cap wasn't making great contact and I am wondering if this is going to turn into a mullet when it grows out. I'm still shedding quite a bit. I think I have another couple of weeks to go before it starts growing again.
I bought cherries a couple of weeks ago to try out the boozy cherries recipe. I located a bottle of bourbon in my liquor stash and got some new mason jars for storing them then totally forgot to make them. It wasn't like the cherries were hidden. The bourbon was sitting on the kitchen counter all this time. The cherry pitter is sitting right next to the bourbon. I just tried to put cherries in my online shopping cart and it seems they aren't available anymore. Perhaps I'll remember next year! 🤣
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Some humor, hopefully 🤣:
Chemo brain gratitude
- You can tell your phone to set an alarm. I wish it would also tell you why you set it when it goes off.
- The coffee pot shuts itself off
- The iron stands off the fabric when I let go of it and also shuts itself off when left too long
- The dogs make a ton of noise moving the water bowl if it's empty
- Dog meds come in a different color container than people meds
- The washing machine continues to tumble the clothes after the cycle is finished. It buys me an extra bunch of hours to remember why I had an alarm set on my phone.
- The car puts up a big warning screen when I'm low on gas
- Email, text and phone reminders for all of these medical and vet appointments because I'm always surprised to find out what day of the week it is.
- You can ask your phone what day of the week it is if you remember that your phone can tell you.
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NJ: I love your list! And yes, I totally relate. My pets also push at water bowls and the cats complain loudly so that helps with remembering to feed the zoo! So I agree that the 80s indie/alternative is the best. I had forgotten how many Elvis Costello songs I knew and liked. BUT, his voice isn’t the best anymore and he was really struggling. He also was leaning heavily into a really electronic sound and I didn’t love it. We saw the Cure here last year and they were SO good! This concert just wasn’t. Ah well. It was still a nice outing. I love that the boozy cherries were such a thing. You will remember and make them next year when the cancer stuff is just a memory. I’m also sorry for the ring loss. That is super annoying. Hoping it turns up at some point. Fingers crossed you are feeling okay.
Cat: Yay. So glad you received the PJs. And glad you can use them. I tried to donate them here, but couldn’t find a place. Language barrier. Plus the European drains are much bigger so they wouldn’t have worked. I hope you are still feeling well and enjoying some downtime. Thanks for checking around. I am browsing Airbnb and have some leads as well. My mom wants to come. My arm isn’t painful but you can feel the knot or whatever under the skin. No redness or swelling or anything like that. So it is probably fine but I think they might want to ultrasound next week. Just so we know what it is.
Just got hubby off to the airport. It’s a lounging about day here. I am also seeing my therapist on Monday:). And meeting a friend for coffee. And doing blood work. I’ve been good. Lots of water, no alcohol. So hopefully liver function goes down a bit, Hot flashes are making me crazy. Night sweats and day sweats. It is a cruel irony that I have a wig and hot flashes 🤣. It’s turning pretty cold the end of this week though so it should be more manageable in the winter. My hair is growing like crazy in the areas that I had saved in cold capping. The thin spots that were there before we shaved aren’t growing so much yet.
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I packed up my cold cap and tucked it away in the closet last night. It felt so good to do that! And now I'm cleaning out the chemo backpack and will put that away too. That's about all the energy I can muster between rounds of laundry. And it's almost nap time. I've noticed that water doesn't taste metallic anymore. I'm not sure when that happened but it's a welcome change!
Bird: Bummer that the concert wasn't great. The Elvis Costello sound is about his distinctive voice so leaning into electronics would be really weird. Glad you had a nice outing anyway and I'm so envious about The Cure!! I did find my missing ring yesterday. It turned up when I vacuumed the couch. Night sweats and day sweats and hot flashes and wigs are all so very unfair. Cooler weather will be a welcome change for sure! Will be thinking of you with fingers crossed that your bloodwork looks good and that all goes well with the ultrasound.
Cat: How are you feeling? Are you enjoying a low key, relaxing girls weekend? I hope your friend is feeling better and that she was able to enjoy the wedding festivities.
Are we on for our call tomorrow?
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Hi friends,
Bird: sorry you are dealing with swelling and your arm. An ultrasound is probably a good idea. Ugh about the hot flashes. As I mentioned, my hot flashes were awful a year ago but now, thankfully, they r just gone! Fingers crossed for a good report on your blood work.NJ: I just loved your chemo brain list, so spot on and hysterical! One of my favorites (as I do this all day long) is my phone alarm going off and me staring at my phone trying to remember why I set the alarm! Glad you found your ring and yay to putting away the chemo stuff!
Have had a nice low key weekend. I’m shedding a lot of hair so we’ll just see. I’ve been feeling very good actually which has been nice. The floral arrangements held up nicely yesterday. I was so glad and relieved. I don’t know how my friend fared last night with her pneumonia. She texted earlier that she felt pretty good with the z pack kicking in.
I’m up for a chat tomorrow at 10:00 US time.
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Hey! Just dropping in to say I can also make the call today at 10. Talk soon!
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I'm looking forward to our end of chemo celebration at 10! I got fresh oranges and the champagne is chilling!
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