7-1-13: It is hard to believe July is here already! It seems like just yesterday I was diagnosed and it was almost 5 months ago. Today marked my first round of my next chemo treatment, Adriamycin Cytoxan (AC). All of my blood counts were right where they needed to be so away we go...... My treatment started out just normal until they pulled out the Adriamycin (or known to those in the cancer world as the Red Devil). The nurse attached the syringe to my IV and started to gradually push the drug into my veins. She was consistently asking me how I was feeling and about 1/2 way through my lips started to tingle. She kept going but wanted me to tell her if the symptoms changed. A few minutes later my lips went numb and my tongue started to tingle. They stopped administering the drug and went and grabbed on of the Oncologists. They were most concerned about my throat swelling or trouble breathing so they stopped giving me the drugs for a 1/2 hour and pumped me full of Benadryl which made me very groggy. After the 1/2 hour was up, they gave me the rest of the Adriamycin with no problems. I slept the remainder of my treatment. One of the main differences they expected with this round of AC was that it was to make me very tired and nauseous. I slept for a good 4-5 hours after treatment while my mom picked up Chase and got him some supper. I also had to start taking dexamethasone following treatment. This was the same drug that caused me to get headaches while on Taxol, but in the pill format I seemed to tolerate it without any issues.
7-2-13: Today I had to go back to the doctor to get my neulasta shot. This shot helps boost my white blood cell count back up to where it needs to be. I was very tired the next two days and somehow made it through two days of work. I went to bed as soon as Chase went down both of the next two nights.
7-4-13: Today Chase and I started off with the 4th of July parade in Shell Rock with the family. We had fun and thankfully it was not near as hot as it was last year at the parade. After a family dinner at Pizza Ranch it was back home for a much needed nap. Chase slept until 6:00! Once we were up and ready we headed to Marion to spend the evening with Jeff. We made our way downtown Cedar Rapids and took in some fireworks. It was such a gorgeous night.
7-5-13: I had taken this day off of work before I knew I'd be fresh off of an AC treatment. I wanted to do something fun with Chase before I am out of commission for surgery. Today we went to the Lost Island water park in Waterloo. He had such a blast! We went in the lazy river and wave pool one time each, otherwise it was a day spent at the kids treetop area. Chase had a blast going down all the slides and playing in the water. I really hope I am able to take him back one more time before the end of summer is upon us. Thankfully it was a good day and I wasn't tired. This momma finally saw some sun which was great! We ended the day with another family dinner at my sister's house. My brother was home and visiting my mom and Jim's new house in Cedar Falls for the first time. It was nice to have everyone together again!
7-6-13: Chase and I went to see the new Despicable Me 2 movie this morning with my brother Matt. After that it was lunch at my moms and nap time again. I just hadn't felt quite right all day long but couldn't really explain it. I had been lucky and hadn't felt nauseous at all since my treatment so I had stopped taking my nausea pills yesterday. I had gotten Chase to bed and was trying to fall asleep and still didn't feel quite right. Suddenly the nausea hit me and I spent the next four hours or so between the bathroom and my bedroom. I called my mom about an hour into it as I was worried if Chase woke up I wouldn't feel up to check on him. I finally got a nausea pill taken and fell asleep about 3:00 a.m.
7-7-13: Chase was up bright and early. My mom got him up and dressed and took him over to her house so I could try to get some sleep. I woke up about 11:00 a.m. I got some soup and crackers in me and was able to keep it down. I took another afternoon nap in preparation of Chase coming home that night. I was feeling much better by the time bedtime rolled around.
7-8-13: I was a little slow getting going into work this morning but I made it! I had a one week follow up appointment at the Oncologist today. My counts looked great and they weren't worried about future treatments. They did suggest I take my nausea pills through the entire first week to hopefully keep the nausea at bay for my second treatment. Today the Pink Heels tour was in the Cedar Valley. The pink fire trucks were in town to raise awareness for breast cancer. They even stopped at my office looking for me which was so neat! I got to sign the fire truck and they gave me a pink carnation and a coupon for a free scratch cupcake. I took Chase to see all the pink fire trucks (there were three) after work.
7-9-13: I spent Tuesday-Friday in Bloomington for work and felt great! Overall my first AC Treatment went better than I expected. Hopefully by keeping up on my nausea meds, I will do even better the next time around.
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