Good news!

Not just good news, the best possible news ... no sign of cancer on my scan! The chemo is working!

Praise God. Thanks to all for the support and prayers.

Next up: two more rounds of the same chemo, which all of a sudden seems more tolerable now that I know it is working!

Save the date

Ok prayer warriors, I've got a new specific prayer request for you. I will have a scan on Monday, May 3 to check to see if we've made any progress against the beast. I'll see my oncologist the very next day for the results.

Nothing really exciting to report from my visit to the doctor today. She was suitably impressed with my ability to handle the horrific side effects most people seem to get from these drugs. I attribute this to all of you who have been praying for me. God has answered the "minimal side effects" prayers for sure. Keep them coming!

She did suggest something new to try for my mouth sores -- club soda. Apparently the carbonation in club soda helps for some reason with this specific type of sores. We'll give it a try.

That's it for now. Thanks for everything. I am feelin' the love!

Still kickin'

We're back from a fun but exhausting trip to Orlando for spring break. It turns out my "off week" from chemo was only a week off from taking pills, not from the side effects, which are still lingering on. But I was still able to have fun and enjoy myself so life is good!

I start my second three-week cycle of chemo (two weeks on and one week off) tomorrow. I still have some mouth sores that have not healed but they are definitely not as bad as they were this time last week. The first week of chemo wasn't too bad last time, so I'm hopeful it will be the same this time.

I'm seeing my oncologist on Tuesday just to check in and for her to gauge how well I am tolerating the meds. She seemed pretty concerned at the outset about the severity of side effects. But I am not interested in dropping the dosage (which is the only way to lessen most of the side effects, apparently), so ... will keep powering on.

Next step after completing this three-week cycle will be a PET scan to check on our progress.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

HAPPY SPRING!

Mouth sores galore

I'm nine days into my first 14-day chemo cycle and still suffering no major debilitating side effects. Yay me! I'm still able to play tennis and do all my regular mom stuff. I don't feel 100 percent, and I'm pretty wiped out at the end of the day, but that I can handle.

The only real problem I'm having at this point is an outbreak of mouth sores -- ouch! It's painful to eat, drink and even -- gasp! -- talk. But I got myself some "magic mouthwash" from the pharmacy and it's helping a little bit. And I'll take mouth sores (we're talking a dozen or more) over most of the other side effects any day.

Keep those prayers coming. They are working. Love to all.

More answered prayers

I've asked everyone I know to pray for minor side effects and it is working! Keep up the good work.

Today I have felt fatigued (I even took a nap!), but nothing unbearable. Lucky, lucky, lucky me!

Speaking of luck, I found a four-leaf clover while out walking with the boys on Tuesday. It just jumped out at me right away. Gotta love it!

Poppin' pills

So far, so ... not terrible.

Took my first dose of Xeloda yesterday with breakfast and the second dose yesterday at dinner. No major problems during the day, just a little fatigue. Took my first dose of Tykerb last night at bedtime. Woke up this morning with mild digestive symptoms and popped an Immodium. I think I'll take the doc's advice and take one every two hours today.

Hoping to play some tennis today! Stay tuned ...

Baby steps

Well, I saw my oncologist today and things are moving a little more slowly than I had anticipated. The two drugs I will be taking (only one of which is actually a chemo; I have mistakenly been calling them both that) have to come from a specialty pharmacy. The one our insurance uses is mail order, so it will be a few days before I get the meds.

The chemo pills are taken in three-week cycles. You take them twice a day for two weeks and then take a week off. The other drug, which is a targeted therapy, is once a day every day. After my first chemo cycle, I'll see the doctor to make sure I'm tolerating it well and start another cycle. After the second cycle, we'll do a scan to see how much (not if!) the cancer has diminished.

The good news is that I can plan my first chemo cycle so that my week off is the week of spring break. So that means I probably won't start until the week of March 22.

The bad news here is that it sounds as if the side effects can be really horrific. They've told me I'll need to take Immodium every two hours; you figure out the rest! I'm also told to be on the lookout for hand and foot disease.

Because the pills come in small amounts, I think I'll be taking something like 20 pills a day! Well, add the Immodium and I guess it's closer to 30! Yikes.

Thanks again for all the love, support and prayers. I feel very blessed.