Kidney Stone

Yeah, seriously...I had a kidney stone last week. Apparently, chemotherapy can cause kidney stones. No one ever told me this. I was none to happy about it. In fact, I was downright ticked off! I did not have a pity party when I found out I had cancer, but the kidney stone almost through me over the edge. I definitely sank into one of those why me, it's not fair, what's next moments for a little while. I think I'm better now, but the whole thing still really ticks me off. Anyway, hopefully it was just the 1 stone. And, in case your curious, it is as painful as child labor. It was awful, I never want to do it again, and I'm glad they make really good pain drugs.

Hair!

As promised, here is a picture of my hair. It is somewhat darker than it was before, and is starting to get curly in the back. I have a terrible feeling it's going to be a nightmare to do anything with in another few months because I apparently have cowlicks everywhere. We'll see...

Feelin' good!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I'm trying to resume normal life and have been really busy lately. I'm feeling great in general; I'm almost back to normal. Other than running out of steam a little faster than I would have a year ago, I can pretty much do whatever I want. I'm exercising and doing some light weight lifting and having no trouble with that at all. My body is still in limbo, but that is to be expected. It can take 2 full years to get completely back to normal. I'm still in full menopause, but something seems to be kicking back into gear as I gained about 6 pounds over 1 weekend and can't lose it no matter what I do. My only guess is that some long-dormant hormone has started back up. That is incredibly irritating, but I'll get it off eventually. My hair is growing back in for those of you who don't see me regularly. I need to get a picture posted. Luke will start Kindergarten on the 19th, so we are gearing up for school. I can't believe he is starting school. It's been a crazy year for us to say the least. Anyway, that's the update for now. I'll try to be better about posting, but this blog probably has limited time left. Here's a picture of Jeremy and I in Times Square from our New York trip. If you don't know, Jeremy took me to New York the middle of June as a treat for finishing up the worst of the chemo.

Side Effects

If there is a single part of your body that chemo doesn't mess with, I want to know about it. Overall, I'm doing really well. I'm still having some emotional side effects, but I've pretty much physically gotten back to normal. My biggest problem at the moment is menopause. The chemo has thrust me headlong into menopause at the age of 33. I have minor symptoms like hot flashes and other symptoms that are much worse. I can't take oral hormones because of the cancer, so I'm pretty much stuck. This stinks beyond comprehension. I'm hoping any day now my ovaries will kick back into gear and start working again, but, the truth is, they may never start working again. I guess I'll just have to deal with that when I get there. Oh great, I'm having a hot flash right now.

FINISHED!!!

I had my last full throttle chemo treatment today. In about 4 weeks, my hair should start to grow back in, I should start getting some energy back, and most of my bodily functions should start returning to normal. I'm so excited I'm giddy! I do still have to take 1 of the drugs (Herceptin) every 3 weeks for the rest of the year, but it does not have the side effects of the 2 drugs I am finished with. It also only takes about 30 minutes to have the Herceptin administered whereas the treatments I've been taking up through today took about 4 hours.

All I can say is WOO HOO!!!!!!!

Race for the Cure

Last night we had a wonderful pasta party with the team to get ready for the big race complete with petit fours from Shelby Lynn's! Unfortunately, the weather was so bad today we decided to just go eat breakfast instead of actually participating in the race. (I really did not want to catch a cold 2 days before my next treatment!) We still had a great time, and I was reminded once again that I have the greatest friends in the world. Not only did they throw a party for me and bring hats, masks, and special shirts for the race, 3 of my friends came all the way from Little Rock to be here. I am so very blessed!

Thanks and I love you guys!!!

Men Everywhere

So where have all the female nurses gone? On my last visit to UAMS Friday, I had 4 male nurses, 3 male doctors, and 1 male nursing student. (We were there for 7 hours because no OR was available.) Seriously!!! And, it's not like I'm having knee surgery. You know they have to come in and "mark you" before your surgery. I had my right breast autographed no less than 2 times Friday night by 2 different men. I really don't think this could get more embarrassing. Nothing like having a wound check in a sensitive area by 5 different men in the course of 2 hours. Next time, I'm requesting female nursing staff!