I haven't really taken to blogging every day. There's so much else to do to entertain oneself when faced with a 14-month "extended vacation".
There was the month in the hospital while they got some of the cancer, but missed it all the first time, held me there while they readjusted, and got the cancer the second time.
There was the month for me to "recover" from that, rebuild my vocabulary (at least, the written word with some semblance of the vocal), and sleep a lot in preparation for them to use radiation on my skull.
There was the month of radiation in which I got to practice my transcendental meditation as they filled my system with a nuclear holocaust designed to negate the growth of any further cancer cells.
And then we started chemotherapy, in which I willingly take drugs that could as easily cause my death as well as cure me. There was a stutter at the beginning, when they tried to increase my medications faster than my body wanted to handle it (as documented in an earlier post), but this week is the final week. This is the one thing I've been waiting for.
And it starts on Monday, September 11 - the final dosing with the Temodar.
As a writer, I've decided to come into this post every day to leave my comments, good or bad. This is, as my oncologist stated, a milestone in my life. At the end of this week, I can adjust to the fact that, with the exception of the neurologist whom I'll have to see for the rest of my life, I'm a "cancer survivor"....
And this is the last week of Chemo......
SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 10
As I've prepared for this one, I've noticed all the "little things" I've been doing without - not because the market sells them and I can't get them, but because the market doesn't sell them. They are:
Tiger Milk Bars (since the store that was selling them STOPPED selling them) - which was, early on, one of the few things I could eat throughout the chemo. It's worse without my Tiger's Milk.
Guldens Honey Mustard, which is "advertised" on Walmart.com, but ISN'T available on any shelves in Maine. Red hot dogs just aren't the same without it.
Sherrilyn Kenyon's books that I DON'T already have. (Okay, this is just a "don't have the money for it", but some of the bigger books that the author puts out don't reach my favorite bookstores for QUITE a while.....but I think it has more with the popularity of the author.) I was reading "Styxx" when I went into the hospital and had finished it before the second surgery, so I started it again. My "favorite bookstore" is in the Undercover Flea Market, but they don't seem to have it yet.
Stephen King - same deal. (If I counted the number of times I went in for a "Mr. Mercedes" and walked back out bookless.)
Of course, delving into the bookstores happens very seldom, but.....
*hinting to a few people I know out there*
MONDAY - SEPTEMBER 11
All went well - until 11:30 p.m. That's when the "vomiting bandit" came to call. Luckily, I had taken my last pills at 9-ish, so it was just some bile, but.....
I will be SO glad when this is done so that I don't wake with that "You've got to run to the bathroom" thing again in the middle of Monday night. (And I missed "Midnight, Texas" last night to boot...darn.)
Oh well. There's today to look forward too....
TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 12
All went very well - for a Tuesday.
WEDNESDAY - SEPTEMBER 13
Wednesday are my "if anything can go wrong" day.
I woke up with a headache.
I woke wanting to puke.
What I DID is I made my hubby's lunch, took an extra pill among my others this morning (to "dummy up" the headache) - and went back to bed.
I feel better, but not 100% until next week.
THURSDAY - SEPTEMBER 14
I went into the garden to get any veggies that I could - and lay back down. I've been telling some people that these are rugged, but this week is the ultimate.
Bonus points: I forgot to turn off the sprinkler, so we had almost no water pressure all night. (The joy of living of spring water....)
FRIDAY - SEPTEMBER 15
Bonus points if I manage to make it through the night without barfing!
No?
How about we stay and home and I go to bed early....
Such it is - but it's the FINAL DAY OF CHEMO!
WOOHOO!
*oops! Shuddupp about that "woohoo" crap....*
*gives me a headache*
SATURDAY - SEPTEMBER 16
The first day with nothing but my seizure meds! I'd be a little more enthusiastic if the nausea abated with the chemo meds.
Oh well. There's a medical check-up on November 3, but until then, I can try this on for size:
I'm a cancer survivor.
*lacks enthusiasm*
I'M A CANCER SURVIVOR!
*better, but maybe when the nausea subsides*
There was the month in the hospital while they got some of the cancer, but missed it all the first time, held me there while they readjusted, and got the cancer the second time.
There was the month for me to "recover" from that, rebuild my vocabulary (at least, the written word with some semblance of the vocal), and sleep a lot in preparation for them to use radiation on my skull.
There was the month of radiation in which I got to practice my transcendental meditation as they filled my system with a nuclear holocaust designed to negate the growth of any further cancer cells.
And then we started chemotherapy, in which I willingly take drugs that could as easily cause my death as well as cure me. There was a stutter at the beginning, when they tried to increase my medications faster than my body wanted to handle it (as documented in an earlier post), but this week is the final week. This is the one thing I've been waiting for.
And it starts on Monday, September 11 - the final dosing with the Temodar.
As a writer, I've decided to come into this post every day to leave my comments, good or bad. This is, as my oncologist stated, a milestone in my life. At the end of this week, I can adjust to the fact that, with the exception of the neurologist whom I'll have to see for the rest of my life, I'm a "cancer survivor"....
And this is the last week of Chemo......
SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 10
As I've prepared for this one, I've noticed all the "little things" I've been doing without - not because the market sells them and I can't get them, but because the market doesn't sell them. They are:
Tiger Milk Bars (since the store that was selling them STOPPED selling them) - which was, early on, one of the few things I could eat throughout the chemo. It's worse without my Tiger's Milk.
Guldens Honey Mustard, which is "advertised" on Walmart.com, but ISN'T available on any shelves in Maine. Red hot dogs just aren't the same without it.
Sherrilyn Kenyon's books that I DON'T already have. (Okay, this is just a "don't have the money for it", but some of the bigger books that the author puts out don't reach my favorite bookstores for QUITE a while.....but I think it has more with the popularity of the author.) I was reading "Styxx" when I went into the hospital and had finished it before the second surgery, so I started it again. My "favorite bookstore" is in the Undercover Flea Market, but they don't seem to have it yet.
Stephen King - same deal. (If I counted the number of times I went in for a "Mr. Mercedes" and walked back out bookless.)
Of course, delving into the bookstores happens very seldom, but.....
*hinting to a few people I know out there*
MONDAY - SEPTEMBER 11
All went well - until 11:30 p.m. That's when the "vomiting bandit" came to call. Luckily, I had taken my last pills at 9-ish, so it was just some bile, but.....
I will be SO glad when this is done so that I don't wake with that "You've got to run to the bathroom" thing again in the middle of Monday night. (And I missed "Midnight, Texas" last night to boot...darn.)
Oh well. There's today to look forward too....
TUESDAY - SEPTEMBER 12
All went very well - for a Tuesday.
WEDNESDAY - SEPTEMBER 13
Wednesday are my "if anything can go wrong" day.
I woke up with a headache.
I woke wanting to puke.
What I DID is I made my hubby's lunch, took an extra pill among my others this morning (to "dummy up" the headache) - and went back to bed.
I feel better, but not 100% until next week.
THURSDAY - SEPTEMBER 14
I went into the garden to get any veggies that I could - and lay back down. I've been telling some people that these are rugged, but this week is the ultimate.
Bonus points: I forgot to turn off the sprinkler, so we had almost no water pressure all night. (The joy of living of spring water....)
FRIDAY - SEPTEMBER 15
Bonus points if I manage to make it through the night without barfing!
No?
How about we stay and home and I go to bed early....
Such it is - but it's the FINAL DAY OF CHEMO!
WOOHOO!
*oops! Shuddupp about that "woohoo" crap....*
*gives me a headache*
SATURDAY - SEPTEMBER 16
The first day with nothing but my seizure meds! I'd be a little more enthusiastic if the nausea abated with the chemo meds.
Oh well. There's a medical check-up on November 3, but until then, I can try this on for size:
I'm a cancer survivor.
*lacks enthusiasm*
I'M A CANCER SURVIVOR!
*better, but maybe when the nausea subsides*
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