It’s that time of the month…

“It’s that time of the month” has brought a whole new meaning to me. Bill and I headed to Tucson Wednesday morning for my 5th round of treatment. Even though I dread this, I am excited about maybe seeing the end of the tunnel.

As I entered the treatment room, my nurse introduced me to a woman who was getting Taxol IV for the very first time. She was extremely nervous to receive this drug for the first time, since a person never really knows what the side effects will be. We talked for a while about how the drug affects me, aches and pains that are relieved with Advil and only occasionally narcotics, some numbness in my hands, slight headaces and fatigue. I get this drug the first day of chemo IV. Today I will get Cisplatin IP. Now this is the drug I hate the most. This is the one that keeps me down and out in bed for about 4 days with slight nausea, no energy and the inability to eat. But these two drugs are “doing their thing”. My CA-125 is now 14!!

Bill is feeling better after his angiogram. Only mild plaque was noted in the coronary arteries, so no angioplasty or stent was needed. He was very lucky with this result. His luck almost ran out when on Monday evening (when I just could not keep him in bed to rest and keep his leg straight). As he was walking down the hallway, he almost passed out. I caught him, woke him up and helped him to the floor. He was definitely pale in the face, but he did not have any bleeding or hematoma noted in the femoral artery. After about 15 minutes Danielle walked through the door, thank God, and she helped me get him to bed. Let the lectures begin!!! I read recently that it is OK to bitch, just keep it short.
He woke up the next morning and the first words out of his mouth were that he was going to go for a walk, you know, 4 or so miles. Of course my immediate response was “NO”. Statements from Bill such as these are the reasons I keep my frying pans in the kitchen and not in the bedroom, I believe in warning labels, use as intended. Do you ever feel that at times you live in a cartoon? Needless to say he did not go for a walk. But on Wednesday morning before we left for Tucson, he insisted on going to the gym. Well, as luck would have it, Bill was only on the bike for about 10 minutes when Dr. John walked up and basically told Bill he was crazy. He was home 5 minutes later. Once again a big shout out of Thanks to Dr. John.

Bill needs to head home to Phoenix this morning, so Michelle will be coming down today to stay with me. She will be bringing Chloe with her. Nicole has decided to go to Hawaii with Billy. Their good friends are getting married. We will keep the baby for about 3 days and are so excited! Nicole is really having a hard time about leaving the baby, but as I told her, she and Billy could use a few days together to reconnect without the baby.

As Michelle mentioned in the last blog, Marcia W. wrote a wonderful comment to us about her own struggle with cancer, we were all very touched with her words and kindness. Even though I never met her she will live in our hearts and blog forever. I am so sorry to her friends and family for their loss. I do hope you all find some peace in your hearts very soon.

On Sunday night we had game night with Dr. John and the rest of the Shufeldt clan. We had a great time eating homemade pizza and playing games. It is wonderful what you can learn about a family just playing games. We had so much fun, thanks John and Rene for opening your home and family to us. We are excited to do it again!

Well, I am writing this blog at 2:00 AM. Because the pre-meds I get before the chemo keep me up for hours, but now I am finally wearing down.

Take care and love to you all.

Happy Valentine’s Day,

Colleen