Trucking right along here. Still so very fortunate to have minimal side effects with this current round of chemo. #9 and #10 are IN THE BOOKS! That means only 6 more to go. 6 more Wednesdays. 6 more times I will ice my hands and feet while “plugged in” via my port. 6 more chemo treatments. That’s it. After this Wednesday I literally only have to use one hand to show how many left I have. One hand! Woohoo! Wait until it’s only one finger. I’ll be saluting chemo with that one finger on my final treatment. Stay tuned to find out which finger. Sorry, not much of a cliff hanger to guess the finger.

Treatment 9 and 10 were fine. I am starting to get a little neuropathy in two fingers on my left hand. I continue to take my supplements and ice my hands and feet during treatment. It hasn’t gotten worse in the past week or so, so I’m just hoping it stays very minor. Neuropathy is nerve damage which causes numbness or tingling and weakness in that nerve. Chemo… the treatment that just keeps on giving. Fuck you cancer!

I’ve had a couple people ask what I do during treatment, since it’s a three hour process. Well, I mostly watch my iPad. Actually, I need some new shows to binge. I started watching, “God’s Favorite Idiot,” but I’m not hooked on that just yet. Comedies are my favorite. I don’t sleep because the doctors and nurses walk around and check in on you, so I don’t feel relaxed enough to even get a decent nap in. I always have my ‘bag of tricks though’ to kill the time. Items inside my Bringing Joy bag: iPad, ear buds, snacks, big bottle of water, Gatorade, blanket, queasy drops, Lemon Heads, ice packs and the mittens/socks for the ice packs. I also bring with me my labs folder so when they do bloodwork, I’m able to look back at my previous labs to see any significant changes that might spark questions I have for the Dr. So far everything has been pretty stable, nothing to cause alarm. If it did, they would not allow me to get my chemo treatment until my body is healthy enough to accept the treatment. I am a little anemic, but not enough to need iron infusions. Keep on truckin’.

On a happy note, it appears that despite chemotherapy, my hair is trying to grow back already. I’m still painting on my eye brows but I gave up on the fake eye lashes. It is what it is. My friend didn’t believe me that my eyebrows had in fact vanished, so of course I took a picture to send her and now I can share with you all.

Who Wore It Best?

Since my last post, the kids have started back to school. Hoping for a great year for both of them. I realize a lot is going on at home, so I hope school helps get them back into a regular structure and it can be their way to escape from home stress. Now I’m back at lunch prepping and homework. Two thumbs down.

If you’ve been putting off your mammogram because kids were home all summer and you just couldn’t get away, now’s your chance to start scheduling all of those appointments for YOU! Back to school mammograms… the way of the future! Squeeze, squeeze.