July's Latest Update

Things continue to roll along pretty smoothly.  I am officially halfway through the second round and look forward to this Friday because it will be number 7 out of 12!  So much of this battle is psychological so it helps to say it's halfway over and then chemo will be done.  Round 2 almost over!  Meanwhile, there are no major side effects to speak of.  Nothing that knocks me out but rather a host of itty bitty irritants...eyelid twitching, sensitive stomach, night sweats, continued hair loss, insomnia...there are meds for the side effects of the meds already taken, but I have no desire to put more meds into a body that is already full of 'em.   

Instead I do things like stay awake all night and watch educational shows at 2am like Honey Boo Boo and Duck Dynasty.  Interesting.  I think about things like common themes...(you'd think that I was writing a thesis or something, although I'm sure there is a sociology program out there that would grant me a PhD for it...)  Both of these shows ultimately depict two families that love each other and love being together.  They have fun, take care of each other, and laugh a lot - a great recipe for happiness.  Many American families could learn a lot from them.  (You just have to ignore the fart jokes and potty talk and lots of other stuff!)  I've also enjoyed the naked shows on the Discovery Channel - Naked & Afraid, Naked Castaway - no, I'm not making those titles up - in the middle of the night they are quite entertaining.  Much more so than the show about the bubonic plague that I got caught up in on the History Channel.  (Did you know that in dealing with the Black Death in Europe thousands of Jews were killed as those in power thought they might win God's favor by doing so? I learned some gruesome facts that made it even harder to sleep after that.)          

Lest you think I am squandering my remaining brain cells on TV all summer, please know that reading is my primary task these days.  While I'm not lethargic the way I was with round 1, the weekly cocktails keep me on the edge of tiredness all the time.  I am more than happy to crawl into bed with a good book at any time of day, and I've gotten through quite a few over the last few weeks.  I am grateful for the time to let my body rest whenever it needs to and for the workings of my brain which finds reading possible and enjoyable again. 

As I countdown to August 23rd and The Last Cocktail, I am also excited about the next phase, the second mastectomy.  I recently met with my oncologist and my plastic surgeon, and we are beginning to talk about future possibilities.  The plan is finish with chemo, get all my counts back to normal and give my body a rest, and then complete the mastectomy as soon as possible after that.  I am also done with echocardiograms, which means that my heart is strong and survived chemo!  It feels like there is an end to the journey in sight!