Thank you for your prayer!

Praise God for answered prayer!

I am on day eight after chemo, and I am happy to report that I am actually feeling pretty good!  I kept waiting to get slammed, but it really never happened.  The side effects this week were probably only about 30% of what I experienced with the first dose of Taxotier.  I think my biggest complaint this time is extremely dry skin, dry nose and mouth.  I have been a little tired, but nothing like the last time.  I think that my body was shocked at the new medicine and freaked out.  Now it is starting to realize that this is our new normal.  However, I am soooo happy to say that 3 weeks from today I will have my last chemo infusion! June 8!  After that I will need to let my body recover for 3 to 4 weeks, and then go to surgery.

Speaking of surgery...  I had my consultation with the Plastic Surgeon yesterday.  He was so nice--extremely caring, calming, and very patient as he explained each step of my options and answered every one of my 1,000,000 questions. Best of all...he is going to call my surgeon and my oncologist and coordinate my care.  I thought I was going to have to do that, so that news was load off my plate.

As God is carrying me through this trying time in my life, I am blown away at the blessings that He constantly showers me with.  When I contemplate on the blessings, I have tears in my eyes.  These are blessings that give me deep peace and indescribable joy. I would love to share some of the blessings that blow my socks off and leave me in awe of my Creator:

...I have a husband that loves me very much and would do anything in the world for me
...Our three sons, our daughter, our three daughters-in-law, our son-in-law who love us and are constantly there for us.
...A Mother's Day weekend where I got to spend hours and hours with every one of my kids and their beautiful families
...A season of opportunity to slow down my life and evaluate my priorities.  I value my time with God first, my husband second, my family third, and everything else after that.
,..My precious little 7 year old granddaughter, Riley, who couldn't wait to tell me last Thursday morning that she had prayed and asked Jesus into her heart.  Wow! That made me cry!
...My bright eyed darling little 6 year old granddaughter, Karley. As we were on our way to school, I asked her how her day is...she said "I'm on top of the world!".  She gave me a beautiful new perspective on life.
...My sweet 11 year old grandson, Cameron, (the only boy) who is very concerned about how my chemo is going. It really bothered him that my fingertips were numb after my last treatment, so he checks on me and shows me how much he loves me
...My beautiful 15 year old granddaughter, Taryn, whose sweet nature makes her comforting and fun to spend time with. What a blessing she is!
...My precious 13 year old granddaughter, Haley, who always shows her love for me by calling me, coming over to visit, and writing and singing songs.
...My  beautiful 19 year old granddaughter, Shaela, who has grown into a young woman that I am very proud of.  She is a blessing in our lives...and we have fun coffee dates!
...Our newest granddaughter, Amber.  Our 10 year old sweet little girl who is blending into our family beautifully and is starting to get comfortable calling us grandma and papa.
...The opportunity that God has given me to do a bible study each Wednesday morning with some absolutely amazing women--good friends!
...My church family!  I cannot even begin to explain the love, support, and comfort I get from my extended familly--the church.  This family prays diligently for me, brings us meals, sends us encouraging messages.  What would I do without them?
...The opportunity that I had to share Jesus with an old friend.  What an awesome blessing!
...The fact that my body is responding so well to treatment.

Have a blessed week!
Jane

Gearing up for Round Six

What a different and crazy couple of weeks!  I have been on a bit of a roller coaster and have been negligent with my blog;(  

I just reread my last post (April 17) and saw that I was whining about not feeling good for two days and then looking forward to what I thought I understood my doctor to say, "less side effects" with Taxotier, which is the chemo I received on April 27.  Well...for clarification, the doctor actually said "less nausea side effects" with Taxotier.  My ears chose to just hear "less side effects", and that's what I was counting on.  On April 27 I had my first dose of Taxotier and my first dose of Herceptin.  I came home and felt good.  Saturday, I felt good.  Sunday, it hit...and lasted for a full week.  The doctor was completely accurate when he said "less nausea side effects".  In fact, nausea hasn't even been an issue with this chemo.  All the other side effects are what knocked me on my back side.

I'll start with a disclaimer...I might be whining a little, but I absolutely realize that I don't have it nearly as bad as many others.  I am incredibly blessed!  Prayers are being answered, I feel the arms of my Father around me, and I lift up in prayer all  those that are suffering physically, emotionally or spiritually.  

My body is experiencing side effects from Taxotier very differently from the previous chemotherapy drugs.  The major problem was extreme fatigue.  One would think "Well if you are tired, just go to sleep".  It's not quite that easy.  For me, as I was going through this, sleep wasn't restful.  I woke up as tired as I was when I went to sleep.  I felt a complete lack of motivation, where even taking a shower required major amounts of effort. Here is an example of how the fatigue knocked me down:  On day seven after chemo, I was invited by a friend to go to Glen Ivy Spa for her birthday.  What a wonderful relaxing day that would be...Well, I could not muster up the energy to even do that.  Much to my disappointment, I had to decline.  The biggest problem with the fatigue for me is that it messed with my attitude.  I got very discouraged for a few days.  

Another miserable side effect of the chemo has been an extremely sore mouth, and I can actually taste the chemo.  I think that is a constant reminder that it is poison that is being infused into my body to kill those cancer cells.  This was a big problem for about 10 days.  Thank God I have not gotten actual sores in my mouth (which is a common side effect), but I have had a very sore mouth in general.  Probably the third most difficult side effect that I've been dealing with is "neuropathy" in my fingertips.  That is numbness and tingling in my fingertips, and sore fingernails beds.  

As these symptoms have subsided over the past few days and my strength, stamina, and good attitude are rebuilding, I am gearing up for dose #2 of Taxotier and Herceptin.  That crummy feeling is becoming a fading memory already.  I am so thankful for the way God made our bodies to quickly repair itself when something goes wrong with it.  My strength is good today in all aspects--physical, emotional, and spiritual.  I am sitting here with God's Word putting on my armor for battle. We are going to team up with chemotherapy and destroy that cancer!!!

Thank you for standing beside me in this battle.  With God on my side and your prayer support, I know we already have this thing conquered.

Please pray for the chemo infusion today--that God will use it to do its job and not harm the rest of my body.  Please pray that as I go through the next week that the power of Jesus Christ will be most evident in my life and through that power I will rebuke the discouragement that wants to set in.  God is in control and I am so grateful for that!

I promise I won't be such a flake with my blog updates this time--even if I don't feel good:)

God bless you!

Jane