Treatment & Care: Chemotherapy

Day 111: Chemo Round 2 was no match for me! But the cold I caught a few days later was brutal.

Overall, my second round of chemo went much better than the first...thanks to an adjustment Dr. Soule made based on my round one experience (she extended my steroid to be taken for three days after chemo, instead of just one, though with smaller doses on each day). I still had chemo side effects, but it was much better…no burning-from-the-inside-out feeling this time, THANK GOODNESS!

However, I didn’t rebound from round two as quickly as I did the first time. Somehow, as careful as I have been about staying in my house and avoiding public places when my white blood cell count is at its lowest, I still managed to catch a cold a week or so after chemo.

Prior to catching the cold, I was already feeling very rundown and fatigued with very little energy. Then the cold came and I felt even worse for several days…over a week, actually. So in a nutshell, I felt really, really crummy for more than two weeks straight, BUT now I’m feeling better and have been for a whole three days now! Woohoo!

I tell ya...when you generally feel lousy, feeling good even for just three days is absolutely AWESOME! Being that I almost never get to leave the house, coupled with the fact that I felt pretty bad for a long time after each chemo treatment, I was super excited to get my white blood cell count back up and feel good enough to enjoy a night out last night with my amazingly supportive boyfriend. He took me out for a great Italian dinner, and then we went to see a movie – I thought the flick was fantastic, but he thought it was too slow and boring. Though I felt bad he didn't really like my movie choice, I had a great time and was so thrilled to get to do something "normal" for a change…and so was he.

But, feeling good and getting to do something normal are short-lived for now...the roller coaster ride continues as I prepare for round three of chemo tomorrow. This means my white blood cell count will take another nose dive for a while, and I will have to stay in and avoid public places for at least 10 days. I miss my regular life and all of you! This is going to be a LONG month.

Ok, since I may be out of commission for a while after tomorrow, I’m taking some time now to express my gratitude to more of the amazing people in my life who have shown me unending love, encouragement and support. That includes anyone who is reading this, all of you who have sent meals, gifts, cards, emails, stopped by for a visit, and/or showed your support when I was lucky enough to run into you during one of the rare times I've been out and about. THANK YOU ALL!

I know I’ve said it before, but it’s so awesome I’ll say it again: cancer has been the scariest event of my life so far, but it’s also brought the greatest gift other than life itself – it has shown me how much love I have in my life. People keep telling me how amazing and strong I am, but from my perspective, it’s those around me who are so incredible because they’re giving so much of themselves to help me through this. Because of their generosity of spirit, my life is going to be even better than before...and that's saying a lot because my life was already pretty darn awesome!

So here’s my advice to everyone reading this: find appreciation for every experience in life, good or bad. I firmly believe appreciation is the key to true and everlasting happiness. The ability to appreciate is the reason some of the poorest, least fortunate people on the planet are sometimes the happiest people you will ever meet. I realize now more than ever how truly blessed and lucky I am to be completely enveloped in love. I am in love with life! Have a great week and MUCH LOVE, my dear friends!

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