While it has been a really sad week for all of us here in Brisbane, I must admit that I have felt slightly selfish and guilty as my focus has continued to be on my wellness......I have desperately wanted to help post flooding but with all of the contamination issues in the clean up, I would not be wise to go anywhere near it...... instead I put my 'domestic goddess' hat on and did quite a bit of cooking for the troupes in at work this week.....so hopefully that will make their life a little easier and more enjoyable as they continue the challenging clean up operation! And hopefully they enjoy the taste of my cooking which is not one of my fortes!
I got to the gym three days last week. My oncologist has said that weight bearing exercise will make a big difference to my recovery and achy bones so I hit it with strong determination last week and managed three 45-50 min hill sessions on the treadmill, which I was pleased with given it was still my recovery week!
I had the week end off but have just got in from my first weight training session for six months! Oh what a feeling it was....... my strength has obviously suffered but it was not as bad as I thought and I now hope that it doesn't cause achy bones!!!
While the achy bones have only been in my legs, I have definitely felt a massive difference on the days where I exercise so word of advice to other achy bone sufferers; exercise makes a difference! (Pilates has also helped post surgery, particularly with gaining strength in my arm/chest)
I have been quite surprised at how well I am feeling after those eight gruelling treatments.... I continue to take a high volume of natural supplements every day as well as omit wheat, dairy, soy and gluten from my diet and I really believe that this combination of advice from my kinesiologist as well as regular exercise and a positive mindset has got me through this as well as possible......
It is such a relief and comfort that soon my eyelashes, eyebrows & hair will grow back and I will be feeling strong in a few weeks time which will be amazing!
While it felt like living hell on so so many days, now that I'm out the other end, I feel a great sense of happiness, perspective and gratitude for how I am feeling today........and I always remember that there are millions of people far worse off than I.......
xxx
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
FINALLY I have conquered Chemo! Post chemo 8...
It feels rather strange to be posting an entry on my blog on a day where our city is about to reach unprecedented flood levels but I know that there are friends across the globe who check in to this and I'm sure you are curious to find out how the final chemo went!
Today is day 5 and I am very pleased to say that I am feeling as well as possible after 8 gruelling sessions. Friday was such an exciting day for us and while I was dreading yet another treatment, I was also extremely excited that it was the last time I would sit in the very depressing chemo ward!
The haematology section at the Wesley is very busy but on Friday for my last session, I had a two hour wait before I even went in..... I have to say we were pretty frustrated as I hadn't eaten much and by the time I got in, I was starving, which is not a good start when having chemo (I have always felt better when I have a proper lunch beforehand) but it was the last one and nevertheless, I was dead excited!
My veins decided to hide at the mere site of any needle so after two failed attempts, the new nurse got the hot towels out and she had the choice of two very average veins.... thankfully it went in successfully into my hand on the third attempt; boy was I relieved!!!!
My red blood cell count had gone from 101 to 116 which is a massive improvement and meant I didn't have a blood transfusion; thank goodness! My white blood cell count on the other hand had gone from 7.1 to 2.6 so my oncologist was called and asked if he wanted to proceed....... thankfully he agreed that as I've been feeling ok, he was happy to proceed; PHEW!
The really added bonus was that I only had the half dose of Docetaxel and I cannot tell you how thrilled I was about that! We left the hospital and celebrated by having take away fish & chips (grilled of course!!!). We know how to live it up hey??!!!!
I have been feeling pretty terrible since Friday however, with all of my supplements and absolute rest, I am feeling slightly better each and every day....... I don't yet have the energy to get outwardly excited however, inwardly I am beside myself with excitement!
I have conquered chemo!!!!!
Thank you so much to everyone for your constant messages and well wishes....... I just cannot tell you how much this has cheered me up every single day and I am now really focused on getting well and feeling better each and every day....... my oncologist did say it would be around 5 months until I'm back to completely full health, but I should be feeling much better than I have throughout chemo in about a month which is fantastic!!!
On this day where our city is preparing for the biggest floods it has ever experienced, I hope that all of my friends are safe and that we get through this unbelievable natural disaster!
xx
Today is day 5 and I am very pleased to say that I am feeling as well as possible after 8 gruelling sessions. Friday was such an exciting day for us and while I was dreading yet another treatment, I was also extremely excited that it was the last time I would sit in the very depressing chemo ward!
The haematology section at the Wesley is very busy but on Friday for my last session, I had a two hour wait before I even went in..... I have to say we were pretty frustrated as I hadn't eaten much and by the time I got in, I was starving, which is not a good start when having chemo (I have always felt better when I have a proper lunch beforehand) but it was the last one and nevertheless, I was dead excited!
My veins decided to hide at the mere site of any needle so after two failed attempts, the new nurse got the hot towels out and she had the choice of two very average veins.... thankfully it went in successfully into my hand on the third attempt; boy was I relieved!!!!
My red blood cell count had gone from 101 to 116 which is a massive improvement and meant I didn't have a blood transfusion; thank goodness! My white blood cell count on the other hand had gone from 7.1 to 2.6 so my oncologist was called and asked if he wanted to proceed....... thankfully he agreed that as I've been feeling ok, he was happy to proceed; PHEW!
The really added bonus was that I only had the half dose of Docetaxel and I cannot tell you how thrilled I was about that! We left the hospital and celebrated by having take away fish & chips (grilled of course!!!). We know how to live it up hey??!!!!
I have been feeling pretty terrible since Friday however, with all of my supplements and absolute rest, I am feeling slightly better each and every day....... I don't yet have the energy to get outwardly excited however, inwardly I am beside myself with excitement!
I have conquered chemo!!!!!
Thank you so much to everyone for your constant messages and well wishes....... I just cannot tell you how much this has cheered me up every single day and I am now really focused on getting well and feeling better each and every day....... my oncologist did say it would be around 5 months until I'm back to completely full health, but I should be feeling much better than I have throughout chemo in about a month which is fantastic!!!
On this day where our city is preparing for the biggest floods it has ever experienced, I hope that all of my friends are safe and that we get through this unbelievable natural disaster!
xx
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Day Is HERE - FINAL CHEMO DAY!!!!
I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent lying in bed, usually in tears, wishing for this day to come..... and I'm feeling so overjoyed, relieved and grateful that it is here. Today is my final chemo day and at 1.20pm today (7 January 2011) I will be enduring the last session of poison entering my body which is such an amazing feeling.
While I still have my radiation treatment, my hormone follow up treatment and reconstruction to face, I am still so happy that I will never have to feel so terribly sick hopefully ever again!
I am still dreading today's treatment, mainly because I will need a blood transfusion if my red cell count has gone down one point and I had a half dosage on my last treatment because of my feet being so sore, so I will be very devastated if I have to go back to the full dosage today as I know my feet will get infected if I do....... they are still very tender and will not recover until post chemo but I would love for everyone to cross everything and hope that I get the reduced dosage today.........
I am so excited by the prospect of now starting to recover. For the past 3 treatments, I haven't felt much change over the three week period as my body is always so tired and weak so it is going to be amazing to not have to go back for chemo from now on and gradually improve my strength and fitness.
I am also very excited about my hair growing back; it is very hot wearing a wig during this heat and humidity so I cannot wait to have my own short 'do'!!! It will be exciting to have eyelashes back too as my eyes have been quite painful for the past few treatments.... so I will welcome them back with open arms.....
As for the hot flushes, which have now become quite unbearable, I never want to feel them again after this recovery; I now have much more empathy for every woman going through menopause! It is hell!
I know I have said this to all of the people that are closest to me but I am lost for words when it comes to expressing my gratitude and appreciation for the love, kindness and support that everyone I know has shown to me during this journey. I could never have done this as well as I have without the constant reminders of how much you care about me and love me so thank you......(I sit here crying as I write this bit)
It's a momentous day and one that I'm both dreading but feeling very excited about......
Let this day be the beginning of wellness for all of us.........one of my friends has just said she's going to eat chocolate today and hope that I can taste it too........what a treat and I'm very much looking forward to that Shannon!
At about 5pm today I can FINALLY say 8 down, NONE to go!!! What a feeling it will be!
xxx
While I still have my radiation treatment, my hormone follow up treatment and reconstruction to face, I am still so happy that I will never have to feel so terribly sick hopefully ever again!
I am still dreading today's treatment, mainly because I will need a blood transfusion if my red cell count has gone down one point and I had a half dosage on my last treatment because of my feet being so sore, so I will be very devastated if I have to go back to the full dosage today as I know my feet will get infected if I do....... they are still very tender and will not recover until post chemo but I would love for everyone to cross everything and hope that I get the reduced dosage today.........
I am so excited by the prospect of now starting to recover. For the past 3 treatments, I haven't felt much change over the three week period as my body is always so tired and weak so it is going to be amazing to not have to go back for chemo from now on and gradually improve my strength and fitness.
I am also very excited about my hair growing back; it is very hot wearing a wig during this heat and humidity so I cannot wait to have my own short 'do'!!! It will be exciting to have eyelashes back too as my eyes have been quite painful for the past few treatments.... so I will welcome them back with open arms.....
As for the hot flushes, which have now become quite unbearable, I never want to feel them again after this recovery; I now have much more empathy for every woman going through menopause! It is hell!
I know I have said this to all of the people that are closest to me but I am lost for words when it comes to expressing my gratitude and appreciation for the love, kindness and support that everyone I know has shown to me during this journey. I could never have done this as well as I have without the constant reminders of how much you care about me and love me so thank you......(I sit here crying as I write this bit)
It's a momentous day and one that I'm both dreading but feeling very excited about......
Let this day be the beginning of wellness for all of us.........one of my friends has just said she's going to eat chocolate today and hope that I can taste it too........what a treat and I'm very much looking forward to that Shannon!
At about 5pm today I can FINALLY say 8 down, NONE to go!!! What a feeling it will be!
xxx
My first tattoos
Yes, you read it here; I now have four tattoos!!!! (only kidding)
I had my radiation planning meeting this week which went well. I had the CT scan and they marked me with four very small tattoos....... I was curious to find out what they were actually going to do so made sure I had the full run down before the needles went in..... basically, they put a dollop of ink on each point and she then put a big needle into each point, ensuring the ink went at least two layers under the skin...... thankfully there are three on the one side (which is still numb so I didn't feel a thing) and one on the other which did hurt!
So I've decided to keep my tattoo free body as I wasn't at all enticed by the pain!
Radiation begins on 27 January and will take place every day for five weeks........ I'm hoping it will be a breeze compared to chemo!
I had my radiation planning meeting this week which went well. I had the CT scan and they marked me with four very small tattoos....... I was curious to find out what they were actually going to do so made sure I had the full run down before the needles went in..... basically, they put a dollop of ink on each point and she then put a big needle into each point, ensuring the ink went at least two layers under the skin...... thankfully there are three on the one side (which is still numb so I didn't feel a thing) and one on the other which did hurt!
So I've decided to keep my tattoo free body as I wasn't at all enticed by the pain!
Radiation begins on 27 January and will take place every day for five weeks........ I'm hoping it will be a breeze compared to chemo!
Putting the swim prosthesis to the test!
This was always going to be a bit of a nervous day, given that I have hand sewed pockets into my existing bikinis (if you have seen the swimwear range for cancer patients, you will understand why) but it would probably be most sensible to test it out in a nice calm, private swimming pool (such as at my parents!)...... but you know I never do things in halves so when we had the offer to meet my best friend and her family up the coast for a swim I couldn't resist........
I hadn't thought about the getting changed bit as I've never had to before, but I opted for a private toilet to do this in....... I came out in my beautiful flower covered white swim cap and my bikinis thinking I looked pretty good!!!! As we made our way down to the beach (Noosa) I realised that not only was I the ONLY person in a swim cap (and it stands out this one!) but everyone was staring at me as if I looked a bit strange! Anyway I motored on down the beach and decided I didn't care about people staring as if I took it off, it would be much scarier for them!
While the surf was very calm, I was still slightly nervous about whether my sewing would let me down but alas, it didn't! I had visions of it falling out (and looking like a jelly fish as the woman who sold it to me explained) and me having to do the walk of shame up the beach with only one breast but all was ok.......
I even went for a swim in my parents swimming pool the next day....... I never used to be able to do laps in it as it was too small but for now (it's about 14 mts) it is perfect as it is a great way to exercise my arm which is still quite tender and numb......
So we had a great time at the beach; even if it was only for a few hours.... and I retired in bed at 7pm that evening completely exhausted but it was worth it!
xx
I hadn't thought about the getting changed bit as I've never had to before, but I opted for a private toilet to do this in....... I came out in my beautiful flower covered white swim cap and my bikinis thinking I looked pretty good!!!! As we made our way down to the beach (Noosa) I realised that not only was I the ONLY person in a swim cap (and it stands out this one!) but everyone was staring at me as if I looked a bit strange! Anyway I motored on down the beach and decided I didn't care about people staring as if I took it off, it would be much scarier for them!
While the surf was very calm, I was still slightly nervous about whether my sewing would let me down but alas, it didn't! I had visions of it falling out (and looking like a jelly fish as the woman who sold it to me explained) and me having to do the walk of shame up the beach with only one breast but all was ok.......
I even went for a swim in my parents swimming pool the next day....... I never used to be able to do laps in it as it was too small but for now (it's about 14 mts) it is perfect as it is a great way to exercise my arm which is still quite tender and numb......
So we had a great time at the beach; even if it was only for a few hours.... and I retired in bed at 7pm that evening completely exhausted but it was worth it!
xx
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