My Mum Hat Hunting In Spain For Me.

My mum just came back from spending a week in Spain with some friends. I told her I had been searching high and low for a decent hat that I could wear around the house when I'm not wearing the wig. She said she would keep her eyes open for one in Spain while she was away. She went away with a group of Ladies and 2 of my Aunty's. They were searching the shops for a nice hat that covered my whole head but could not find nothing but scarves and head bands. My mum got me 3 head bands with a bit that comes down the back of your head not all the way but pretty close. She picked 3 different colors for me. It was cool and they can be worn in the house. Since she moved away I had not been able to get much time with her because I'm not able to travel for hours yet and neither is she. We got to spend a good few hours together which was really nice.

Herceptin Only Day.

On Wednesday morning I went to the hospital for the short Herceptin visit. The hospital was packed with Cancer patients waiting to be seen. I got called after about half an hour of waiting. The nurse asked me if I had any problems and I said yeah I'm still feeling sick all the time and the anti-sickness tablets were not working and that the doctor forgot to give me some new anti-sickness tablets last week to try. She went off and got the doctor and he gave me a new kind of medicine to try for a week. I need to pick them up today. I am hoping they work for me. I was in an awful mood it was 8.30 am and I was tired and not in the mood for talking. The Herceptin took half an hour then I went home and slept for hours. My mouth is still very dry and sore from the Big Chemo day last week and I'm starving but cannot taste a single thing.

How I'm Feeling After My 5th Round Of Chemotherapy.

It's been 6 days since my 5th big round of Chemo. My bones are starting to feel much better from the Neulasta injection. I didn't get upset this time from the steroids like I normally do. My tongue is very sore and my mouth is very dry. In a few days my mouth should be much better. My hand and arm is still swollen but I will know soon enough after the last Chemo session if the swelling is due to Chemo or the surgery. Today is the first day since last Wednesday that I stayed awake all day. Kevin and I had been working on a project all day helping the little one for school. Her project was to do with muscles and bones. She got it finished and was very happy with it. The food and drinks taste so off right now. I cant wait for my taste buds to return to normal after the last big Chemo session. This time after the Chemo my feet felt really numb and are still numb in places. I'm still having acid reflux all the time and the Zoton are not working for me. I have asked for something else to try but the doctor forgot to give it to me. The peppermint foot spray and gel for my legs seems to be helping a great deal.
I still have hair on my head, eyelashes and some eyebrows so I guess i'm doing pretty good after all.

Why Are There Weeks Between The Big Chemotherapy Sessions?

Why are there weeks between each big Chemotherapy Sessions? The reason for this is because it takes you nearly 3 weeks to recover from all the Chemotherapy and it's side effects. For me once the steroids wear off on the Friday after the Chemo I do be pretty ill for a straight 8 days after. Not everyone is the same and some people take longer or quicker then others to recover each person is different and recovers in their own time. So many side effects go on at the same time for me things like dry mouth, tiredness, weakness, stomach cramps, feeling sick, broken sleep, sore bones from the Neulasta. After the 8 days I start to feel a bit better except for the tiredness that seems to stay with me. The second week after Chemo is when your immune system goes down and you have to be very careful around people that are sick with colds and other illnesses. The third week after Chemo you start to feel a lot better then it's time to have some more Chemotherapy so your body really does need time to recover before it has to be able to take the next dose of Chemotherapy.

Kevin's Birthday 25th September. 3 Days After My 5th Big Chemotherapy Session.

Today is Kevin's birthday. We went out last Thursday evening the next day after the big Chemo session we went to a fancy restaurant with a couch on the floor and it had cushions all around the couch and red curtains that you could draw shut if you wanted to. We ordered lots of little dishes of all different foods in tiny little bowls. I was very very sick with my stomach and felt like I needed to leave and come home a couple of times but I didn't want to spoil Kevin's birthday dinner. He wanted me to leave and go home the last thing he was worried about was his birthday dinner. It was very important for me to be able to stay for all of it. I did not want to spoil the birthday dinner we had planned for a while I wanted Kevin to be happy because I knew we would not be able to celebrate his birthday on the actual day when the steroids wore off and I would be all sick and sore from the Chemotherapy and the Neulasta. I got up this morning and cooked a birthday breakfast for Kevin. He enjoyed it which was good.I just wish it could be a better birthday for him especially as we actually getting to spend his birthday together instead of been half way around the world apart on his birthday.
I love you with all my heart Kevin and happy birthday to you honey xxxxx

Physiotherapy Appointment For Swelling Of Arm And Hand.

Yesterday I went to see the oncologist physiotherapist. He looked at my hand and arm and took some measurements and said he didn't know if the swelling was from the Chemo or swelling from after the surgery. He gave me a support sleeve and glove for my left arm and I have to go back to see him in December when the Chemotherapy finishes then he will know more. He told me to protect my arm as much as I can for longterm. I have to exercise and massage with E-45 medicated cream which I am doing already. The sleeve and glove have to be worn from morning till night everyday to help with the swelling.
So hopefully they will do some good and take the swelling down. It's great having Kevin beside me through the whole nightmare he has been a blessing from God to me I could not have asked for a better person.

My Advice For When Your Taking Steroids On Chemotherapy.

Before you start your Chemotherapy after been diagnosed with breast cancer your given lots of different medicine to take and steroids are what you are given along with anti-sickness tablets, anti-reflux tablets and mouth wash to keep your mouth from getting sore. The steroids stop you from sleeping and keep you awake sometimes till the next day without any sleep. The first time I took them I took 4 steroids the morning before the Chemotherapy started and I took them at 8am and then took the second 4 steroids 12 hours later no one had explained that I needed to take the second lot at lunchtime and I was awake the whole night. The next time I went I was told they keep you awake so take the second lot at lunchtime not in the evening. Not that it made much of a difference because they still keep you awake. You have to take the steroids twice a day for 3 days to stop you having a reaction form the Chemotherapy. They are taken the day before Chemotherapy, the day of Chemotherapy and the day after Chemotherapy. My advice to anyone taken steroids before Chemotherapy is to take them as early as you can and take the second lot 4 hours after. They give you lots of energy while your taken them for the 3 days. When you finish taken steroids after the third day as they start to wear off they make you depressed for a couple of days and then you really start to feel very very tired again so rest and sleep as much as you can.