Round #3 = DUNZO

I had my 3rd round of chemotherapy today!!!  Thank goodness they only had to stick me one time in order to get my IV…I was so relieved!  I still have a bruise on my arm from when they poked me four times last week!  It was such a joy to have my good friends Alyssa and Sarah there with me…Sarah even brought us Starbucks!!!  Having great friends join me makes my treatments go by so freaking fast!!!  I love it!! Plus, it's a bonus to catch up with them and chit chat!!!

Alyssa and I during my third round of chemo!!  I work with her and she has become such a great and special friend to me!!!  Her and her husband have brought us a meal, she came to my first chemo round with another girl I work with and gave my mom, Linda, and me a stand up to cancer bracelet, she brought me the cutest coffee cup that she made with a more tea today!  She is so thoughtful and creative!!!  I just love her!

Sarah and I during my third round of chemo!!!  She is such a great friend!  We have been through so much together!  I helped her through a tough situation about a year and half ago, and when I was diagnosed, she hasn't left my side!!!  I love that she was there today!!

After reading several blogs, I went to my treatment with so many questions!!!

Can I get more information about my mutations as I was really shocked to learn through some blogs that I will be on an oral form of chemotherapy for the rest of my life?  

The mutation that I have is a mutation of the cancer cell DNA, I thought it was my DNA and therefore it would be a genetic mutation and I was worried about my sisters getting this cancer.  The mutation is not genetic.  I will have to be on oral chemotherapy for the rest of my life due to the stage of my cancer, not because of the mutation.  There are just specific medications that target my mutations.  I will have one more treatment of IV chemotherapy and will then have scans 3 weeks after my last round.  At that time I will be put on Tarceva.  My body can build up a resistance to the Tarceva and if that happens it will stop working, but that is not the end of treatment.  There are at least 4 more drugs to be able to use if the Tarceva stops working and they have all been FDA approved only since August!  

I have noticed that most of the blogs that I have read the patients are started on Tarceva right away.  Why was I started on IV chemotherapy and not Tarceva right away?  

I was started on IV chemotherapy because my oncologist wasn't comfortable waiting for the mutations to come back in order to start treatment with my advanced stage of disease.  So, she started to treat me with what I would have been treated with if I didn't have a mutation.  I will eventually be on Tarceva.

I have been having bone pain about 3 days after my treatment and Tylenol hasn't been working to make me more comfortable.  Can I take the hydrocodone that I have left over from my surgery?

The bone pain is originating from my bone marrow.  The chemotherapy attacks all cells, healthy and cancer cells.  So it attacks my bone marrow, causing the bone pain.  I believe I have written in one of my blogs that I wouldn't even let Ian hug me because of the pain and I didn't sleep well the night I had the pain.  I was having pain in my sternum, back of my skull, the back of my ribs, and my pelvis.  The answer to the question is that yes, I can take my hydrocodone as I can't have ibuprofen or naproxen for pain because of their effects on my platelets.  She also suggested that I take Claritin, which I had no idea that it helped with bone pain.  So, I started taking that today when I got home from my treatment. 

Can I go back to work?

Yes, I will be going back to work June 27th!  I am excited to get back to my normal life that involves work.  I have no limitation when I go back!  I have discussed this with my director and she is willing to work with me to get me worked back up to my 12 hours shifts.  I just don't think that I have the stamina to go back to full time 12 hour shifts right away.  So, I will be working back up to that by doing more office hours in my ANM role!!  I am ready to see all my staff and be normal!  I am getting bored at home, there is only so much TV and book reading a person can do before they want to poke their eyes out!!!!  

After chemo, Alyssa, Sarah, and I went to get a manicure and pedicure!  It was so amazing!!  I just love the time that I spend with those girls!!  What great friends they are!!

A girl that went to my high school made this and posted it to Facebook today!!!  I love it!!  It is my motto!  Leesa is also a cancer survivor as she has beaten uterine cancer!  Leesa, thank you so much for making this!  I am honored that you would think of me and take the time to put this together!  I really do love it!  It is so special!!! 

On Friday, Ian and I will be headed to Kansas City for my friend's wedding that I am in on Saturday!  I am so glad that I don't have the title of "Always the Bridesmaid, never the Bride" anymore, as I am next one in our friend group to get married.  However, the amount of bridesmaid dresses I have is unreal!!!  On Sunday, we will fly from Kansas City to Pittsburgh to visit Ian's mom for the week!  She is throwing us a couple's shower with friends and family that live in PA as some of them can't make the wedding!  We are excited for the week of vacation and relaxation!  

Tonight I will thank God that round #3 is complete, I will pray for minimal side effects, I will pray for all the people I have met this last week or read about through their blogs, I will thank God that I have the best friends that care so much for me that they spend the day sitting at chemo with me, I will pray for safe travels for my uncle who headed to Rome today, I will then thank God for him, as always I am in awe of his almighty power to give me what I need to continue my fight!