The Run for the Cure

I am continuing to enjoy my food and gain energy so things are going well these days.  That is really all I have to report.

Onto the Run for the Cure.  Attached is a copy of the poster Abby created for the Lab at St. Paul's (minus the pretty picture, apparently my techy skills are still somewhat lacking!).  The poster includes a link and instructions for registering.
The run is on Sunday September 30th so please register to participate if you can, or you can donate as a supporter of the team from the same link.

Hey Lab Staff

Please join our Team for the CIBC Run for the Cure

Who:  Lab Staff plus family, friends…….anyone you invite to join us

What:  a 5K run/walk or 1K walk

Where:  Vancouver;  Concord Pacific Place, 88 Pacific Boulevard

When:  Sunday, September 30, 2012

Start Times:
7:30am - Final Registration and Donation Drop-off
9:00am - Opening Ceremonies
9:15am - Warm-Up
9:30am - Start of Run
10:30am - Awards Celebration
11:00am - Survivor Parade

Why: to further our vision of creating a future without breast cancer

Our Team = Sheryl’s Specimens

-last year we were the Labsters; this year we dedicate our team to Sheryl in support of her current fight against Breast Cancer

-Our Team Goal = to raise $1500 towards this great cause

-we’ve already reached almost 10% of that goal……and we only have one Team Member so far - LOL

-please join for a fun day with a worthwhile cause; this event goes a long ways to increasing the feelings of camaraderie amongst co-workers and is a great way to improve relations in the work place

PLEASE JOIN…………here’s how:

GO TO:   www.runforthecure.com

CLICK:   Registration and Locations

CLICK:   Vancouver

CLICK:   Join a Team

TYPE:   “Sheryl’s Specimens” in the box that says Team Name

CLICK:   Search for a Team

FIND our team in the list and

CLICK:  Join-----it is only $40 to Participate or No Fee if you commit to fundraise just $150----it’s easy

                               -----I posted on Facebook asking for Support and got $125 within 24 hours----EVERYONE knows SOMEONE who has been touched by this disease!   

The Corner is Turned

Or perhaps the light switch is flipped......really I am not quite sure how to describe it.

Friday was day 4 after chemo and, again, it was the worst day.  Total exhaustion then the bone pain started again in the late afternoon in my jaw. Such an annoying sensation, it is sort of like the pressure feeling of a sinus headache but in the bone. My jaw almost feels swollen and the bone will explode outward. So unpleasant.
So, Friday ended with an unhappy face and total exhaustion. Yippee.

Then Saturday morning it was like I was in a whole new body. My face was still uncomfortable but the overwhelming fatigue was gone. It no longer took effort just to smile.
It's no wonder you have to go into chemo with a positive attitude. It is fact that it takes more effort to frown than smile. Considering how tiring it has been to smile this week there is just no hope in having the energy to frown!

Breakfast was buttermilk pancakes. Yes, they are one of my favorite foods. I am glad the cancer agency has them on the list of suggested foods for chemo patients.

In the afternoon I finally ventured outside for the first time since Tuesday. Such an exciting experience:)
Ian coated my head in sunscreen since the sun was out. Hopefully the blinding white will fade a bit soon.
In general, I started feeling like a human again.
I was a little concerned about how I would cope with the second round and overall I would say that it was better than the first round. It does seem to be true that the devil you know is a little easier to deal with.

Especially the bone pain.  When it started happening the first time it was kind of scary.  First off just the feel of bones that want to explode, but then I started wondering if there was something wrong.  Had I suddenly been overrun by mutantly aggressive cancer cells?  Were the chemo drugs eating my bone from the inside out?  And, most importantly, could my face really explode????
And after a few days it went away.  No visible consequences.  Whew.

Saturday ended with me in a partial human state and an uncomfortable face.  That I can handle.  The bone pain did wake me up in the middle of the night.  My face was better but the exploding bone feeling was in force from the knees down in both legs.  Almost as uncomfortable as the face.  Fortunately chemo keeps me tired enough that I can fall back to sleep pretty easily.  When I woke up a few hours later there was just a hint of discomfort in my legs and my face and that was it.

This being Sunday things have continued to improve.  The bone pain is gone now (2 days sooner than the first time.  That it definitely an improvement!) and I am able to stand up for a few minutes at a time without wanting to vomit or requiring a half hour nap to recover.  That is real progress.

And one last item of note, my appreciation goes out to Abby who has a registered a team in my name for the CIBC Run for the Cure in Vancouver.  The team name is Sheryl's Specimens so please sign up to participate if you are able.  The run is scheduled for the end of September  and I will post more details (and maybe even a link if can get my techy skills back online) soon.

The Chemo Daze

On Tuesday morning Ian packed up me, the pets, and all of my favorite post chemo foods into the car and brought us all to Pender Island for a two week period of relaxation with my parents. That means 3 people to fetch and carry for me.
As a result I have actually found the exhaustion not quite as bad as the first round. I think it helps that the only things I have had to do for the last 3 days are move from the bed to the couch, eat, and go to the bathroom. Not a bad way to recuperate!
I have stuck with all the bland foods - saltines, arrowroots, hard boiled eggs, angel food cake (my mom is looking after me so there have to be a few baked goods!). Plus some blueberries and grapes.

It is nice having a change of scenery even if I haven't made it outside yet.  Below is my view looking over Navy Channel to Mayne Island.  I really can't complain!

Everyone is a having a good time while I lie on the couch.  Ian has caught a fish and Orchid is rapidly piling up the mice count.  Jasper is just happy to be roaming free off leash.

My taste buds have faded again and my sense of smell is in overdrive.  Very frustrating.  I am hopeful that this round will be similar to the last round and my taste buds will start to return on Saturday.  In the mean time I will continue to enjoy my hard boiled eggs without any salt or pepper.

Chemo Round 2

Yay! My neutrophil count was high enough so I got to have my chemo.  Huh, those are words I never thought I would be so excited over.
And before you ask, no, I didn't ask what the count  was.  I was so glad I could have my treatment that I didn't care what the actual number was.

As my treatment was in the afternoon this time there were a lot more patients around.  I was in a room with four chairs but unfortunately not the same nice view as last time.  At least there was a window.  I was the youngest of the 4 of us by at least 20 years though which is a bit of a weird feeling.  I had seen that in other blogs from young cancer patients so I was kind of expecting it but it was still weird.

It was the same routine as last time, I took my pills then I got my IV put in.  Then it was time for patient identification of the name on the drug bags.  One thing I will say, everyone I have dealt with at the cancer agency is good about confirming patient identification.

My nurse had to manually inject the toxic red drug and then the second was run automatically.  Again, no wasabi nose but I did start to feel a little tickle.  The tickle was not a big deal but it lasted for a little while after I got home so next time I will ask to have the drug run for longer so it shouldn't be a problem.

Now, I am home, I've had dinner, I'm working on my 3rd bottle of water, and I can feel the daze coming on.

And for your final entertainment, here are a couple of photos of my blindingly white scalp:)

Velcro Head

I don't know how guys with really short hair can stand it, 3 days of 1/4 inch long hair and I was ready to go crazy.  My head stuck to everything!!  It truly was velcro.
I put on a shirt and the shirt stuck to my head.  I dry my head after a shower and I had towel fuzz.  Go within 5 feet of the dog and I looked like a redhead.  Not fun.
But that's okay, this morning it truly started falling out in chunks so Ian shaved me the rest of the way.
Now if only it was sunny so I could try and make my head not quite so deathly white!  After all my scalp has not seen the sun since some time in 1976.

The other big excitement in my life was my blood work and my visit to my oncologist on Friday.  Turns out my neutrophil (for all the non lab techs out there, that is one type of white blood cell and it is very important for fighting bacterial infections and is knocked out by chemo) count was 0.7.  For chemo I need it at 1.  So, as I am busy willing my neuts to go higher I have also broken down and invested in wheatgrass juice which supposedly can help.
Grossest. Stuff. Ever.
The things I do because I have cancer.

I also got my PET scan results.  If you have been having a good day just stop reading now as it was not the best news.  Not surprising news but not good news.

Hair Yesterday, Gone Today

Poor Jasper caught his first wasp today.

Note the swollen left lip.  Fortunately he is not allergic so he is still alive and the swelling has gone down.  He did have to thoroughly inspect the patio area where he was so violently attacked by the nasty wasp when he next ventured outside.  No more wasps so he could stay.

And I am now bald.  I started getting a scalp-ache last night and when I woke up this morning there was a lot more hair on the pillow.  And the shower was interesting.  I figured it was time to just take it off before my hair started looking patchy.  Even cancer patients don't need patchy hair, that is just cruel.

Trusty Keetah, my fabulous hairdresser and friend, was coming over for a visit so it was perfect timing:)
Turns out I don't have any random scars that I don't remember getting.

It is definitely cooler not having hair.  But kind of weird.

About the PET scan, I brought music for the initial lying down part but there was no music during the scan itself, just the clunking of the bed as it moves around.  Although it didn't clunk as much as the bone scan bed, that one scared the tech a bit.
And no emergency button.
It is pretty much the same type of machine as for a CT scan so the tube you go in is only about 2 feet wide so you can see at least part of the outside world the whole time.  That probably helps limit the clautrophobia.

The reason for the test is that I had a couple of spots on my CT scan and my bone scan that are "suspicious".  One is on my pelvis and one is on my T5 vertebra.  Due to the locations neither spot can be biopsied thus the PET scan.
Bone involvement is bad since that would move me into stage 4.  And even badder, that is not curable territory.  That would also potentially change my treatment but I have to wait for my oncology appointment tomorrow to learn more about that.

I also get my pre-chemo bloodwork done tomorrow.  I am curious to find out what my white count is.  I think that it is probably close to normal right now but we shall see!

Whitecaps Game.......no, wait, a PET Scan

Yay! I'm radioactive, again.  At some point I may start to glow in the dark.

I was supposed to go the Whitecaps game.  Instead I was booked for a PET scan.  That's also known as Positron Emission Tomography.  Yet another exciting full body scan.  First, no exercise for 24 hours.....that's okay, all I can do is walk anyway.  Then I had to fast for 6 hours before the test.  For the last 3 weeks I have been in small meal every 2-3 hour mode.....that part sucked.  Then I had to drink lots of water.  Oh well, I am doing that anyway so no biggie.

The test was at the cancer clinic.  I had to fill out a form about previous surgeries, any allergies, any medications.  Really, I should just take a form and photocopy it 80 times, it would save me from hand cramp.  I also had to sign a release form, PET scans are still classified as "experimental".  They have been in Canada for over 6 years but we don't want to rush anything.

I had an IV inserted then a radioactive glucose solution was injected.  Then I had to lie down for an hour, the tech was nice enough to dim the lights.  PET scan - most boring test ever.  Then it was off to the scanner, I'm not totally sure but I think it was Siemens again.  The scans took about half an hour of lying down with my hands over my head without moving.  Yes, my arms did fall asleep just before the scan was finished.  My hands started to slip right at the end and then there was a little beeping noise from the machine.  I thought they might have to rescan the end bit, since it was my hands, but the beep was just the signal it was all over.  Thank goodness.

Now I just have to get myself psyched up for my next treatment on Monday.  I picked up a prescription and now I need to finish my post chemo shopping list.  Lots of saltines, lots of arrowroots, some soda water, some eggs.  All sorts of exciting things.  I can't wait!