Liz writes:
"This week (on Wednesday...they've switched me to Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays) I had my fifth chemo treatment, which is also the first treatment with taxol. The weirdest part of the treatment was the big dose of Benadryl they give as one of the pre-meds...it made me so woozy, I was completely out of it for most of the time I was there. I felt better once I got home, and the day after that I felt better than I have for a long time...unfortunately, it was just the steroid (another pre-med that protects the bones) that was giving me the energy to do some stuff around the house and take the kids to the park. On day three, four and five I have had a lot of achiness in my joints and shooting pains in my bones. And, as usual, no energy at all. But I'll take that any day over the side effects of the previous four treatments...there's no white blood cell crashing with the taxol, and so far no nausea or digestive issues.
We had a nice Easter weekend, with a visit from Emma and my brother Paul, and a fun but low-key egg hunt for the girls at Gramma and Grampa's house. Griffin is busy cutting a bunch of teeth, and acting as cute as can be.
A huge thank you to our meal fairies this week...Kara, Charity (twice!), Holly, and Lisa A. My appetite has picked up again, now that the AC side effects are over, and all the meals tasted delicious, and were healthy and much appreciated. A huge thank you also to Tammi, who has worked hard to arrange several breast milk deliveries for Griffin...and thanks to all the milk donors and transporters too! An enormous thank you to Jessica H for the awesome veggie deliveries! And I don't know how to thank all of you who have donated money to us...we are overwhelmed by your generosity.
Love you all,
Liz"
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Milk needed for Griffin
Liz has gotten lots of very generous donations of breastmilk for Griffin, but she's gotten low and is in need of a new batch. Please let her know if you are able to help her out at all or know someone who is.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Headed back home
Just a quick note to say that Liz left me a phone message a while ago that she was being discharged from the hospital. She expected to be home by 12:30 or 1:00 today. She will need to rest after those unquiet nights of constant hospital interruptions, but she sure is glad to be going home.
Update from Liz later:
"I got to go home today! My white cell counts zoomed up to 2.9, so I'm no longer neutropenic. I am so relieved to be going home, where I can actually get some rest, and be with my family! I got home at around 1pm, and am looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight. I didn't get a wink at the hospital last night. Thanks to everyone for your calls and emails while I was there, they really helped keep my spirits up. And a huge thank you to Dee Dee for the delicious dinner tonight!"
Update from Liz later:
"I got to go home today! My white cell counts zoomed up to 2.9, so I'm no longer neutropenic. I am so relieved to be going home, where I can actually get some rest, and be with my family! I got home at around 1pm, and am looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight. I didn't get a wink at the hospital last night. Thanks to everyone for your calls and emails while I was there, they really helped keep my spirits up. And a huge thank you to Dee Dee for the delicious dinner tonight!"
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Update on chemo #4
Here is Liz's latest update:
"I'm late with this update, because chemo #4 hit me pretty hard. I felt very, very wiped out over the weekend, and spent a lot of time resting in bed (although I was able to attend a great musical assembly at the girls' school). Then on Monday, after a very nice in-home mani/pedi party hosted by my good friend Sara, I came down with a fever, which continued into Tuesday. My oncologist had me go into the ER Tuesday night, when the fever got pretty high, to have my blood levels checked...and it turned out my white cells were dangerously low (basically zero), so they admitted me to the hospital.
And I'm still here, on Thursday evening. I have been getting lots of IV antibiotics, and non-stop IV fluids, plus shots to boost the white cells. So far my counts have gone up from 0.2 to 0.8, which is at least in the right direction...they have to get to at least 1.5, I think. They will check my levels again in the morning, but there is just a 50/50 chance they will be high enough to go home on Friday, according to the doctor. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It has been very hard to be away from the baby and kids and Nathan...harder for me than them, probably, but also hard on them. They have been able to come visit me a few times, which totally cheered me up. I do feel it was definitely necessary to come here, as I was feeling extremely ill at home and wouldn't have been able to kick the infection without help...but I can't wait to go home.
The good news is that was my last chemo treatment with adriamiacin and cytoxan. Next I start the four treatments with taxol, and that does not cause the white cells to drop. It also won't cause all the digestive upsets I've been having, thankfully. It will cause me to feel achy like I have the flu for a few days each time, and will probably cause some neuropathy. We'll hope I can stay on schedule...if my counts don't go up enough by the weekend, they might delay my next chemo by a week.
A big thank you for the delicious meals we received last week! Thanks Kimberley, Sara, and Alexa and Greg! And thanks to Sara for hosting my "half-way-done" mani-pedi party (it was also a party for our friend who just had a baby today. Congratulations Nicole!). And thanks to Adele for picking up the girls after school for a play date...you are awesome. And thanks to my mom for coming with me to the ER, and Mom and Dad for helping with the baby and kids...and huge, huge thanks to my wonderful husband for holding everything together at home while I'm gone. Oh, and many, many thanks to all the mamas who donated milk for Griffin this week, and to Tammi for bringing a big supply over to us! We were down to the last few bags, I put out one email, and then poof, we had milk...amazing. We are so grateful. I hope everyone saw the article in the Post this week about milk-sharing...it was a little limited (no mention of reasons for needing milk donations, other than low-supply), but good to see it getting publicity.
Thanks to everyone for your love and support. I'll let you know when I get out of here.
Love you all,
Liz"
"I'm late with this update, because chemo #4 hit me pretty hard. I felt very, very wiped out over the weekend, and spent a lot of time resting in bed (although I was able to attend a great musical assembly at the girls' school). Then on Monday, after a very nice in-home mani/pedi party hosted by my good friend Sara, I came down with a fever, which continued into Tuesday. My oncologist had me go into the ER Tuesday night, when the fever got pretty high, to have my blood levels checked...and it turned out my white cells were dangerously low (basically zero), so they admitted me to the hospital.
And I'm still here, on Thursday evening. I have been getting lots of IV antibiotics, and non-stop IV fluids, plus shots to boost the white cells. So far my counts have gone up from 0.2 to 0.8, which is at least in the right direction...they have to get to at least 1.5, I think. They will check my levels again in the morning, but there is just a 50/50 chance they will be high enough to go home on Friday, according to the doctor. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It has been very hard to be away from the baby and kids and Nathan...harder for me than them, probably, but also hard on them. They have been able to come visit me a few times, which totally cheered me up. I do feel it was definitely necessary to come here, as I was feeling extremely ill at home and wouldn't have been able to kick the infection without help...but I can't wait to go home.
The good news is that was my last chemo treatment with adriamiacin and cytoxan. Next I start the four treatments with taxol, and that does not cause the white cells to drop. It also won't cause all the digestive upsets I've been having, thankfully. It will cause me to feel achy like I have the flu for a few days each time, and will probably cause some neuropathy. We'll hope I can stay on schedule...if my counts don't go up enough by the weekend, they might delay my next chemo by a week.
A big thank you for the delicious meals we received last week! Thanks Kimberley, Sara, and Alexa and Greg! And thanks to Sara for hosting my "half-way-done" mani-pedi party (it was also a party for our friend who just had a baby today. Congratulations Nicole!). And thanks to Adele for picking up the girls after school for a play date...you are awesome. And thanks to my mom for coming with me to the ER, and Mom and Dad for helping with the baby and kids...and huge, huge thanks to my wonderful husband for holding everything together at home while I'm gone. Oh, and many, many thanks to all the mamas who donated milk for Griffin this week, and to Tammi for bringing a big supply over to us! We were down to the last few bags, I put out one email, and then poof, we had milk...amazing. We are so grateful. I hope everyone saw the article in the Post this week about milk-sharing...it was a little limited (no mention of reasons for needing milk donations, other than low-supply), but good to see it getting publicity.
Thanks to everyone for your love and support. I'll let you know when I get out of here.
Love you all,
Liz"
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Preparing for Chemo #4 ... and Griffin's First Birthday!
Liz writes:
"I'm a little late with this update...we had a busy weekend! Griffin turned one on Saturday, and we had a little party. Despite the rain and hail (!?!?!), and the fact that he was sick, it was a fun celebration. Then on Sunday we traveled to Richmond and had a very nice visit with Emma. I'm kind of relieved the Rams didn't win, because it would have been pandemonium while we were down there.
This past week was a bit hard, as I came down with a bug on Monday (my lowest white cell day) which included a fever. You are supposed to call if your fever gets higher than 100.5, which mine did. I was told to go to bed and come in Tuesday morning. But I already had an appointment scheduled for Wednesday morning, so I decided to wait...I'm glad I did, because apparently they would have admitted me to the hospital for observation if I had gone in. By Wednesday the fever was gone, but the annoying cough is lingering, I now am on antibiotics, and I've been extra tired, at times a bit woozy, and feeling like I didn't get back to my normal self during this week as I did the other off-weeks.
I had two appointments Wednesday, one with the surgeon and one with the oncologist. My surgeon (Dr. G) did an exam and sonogram of the tumors, and the measurements show a significant shrinkage, even though I'm not even half-way done...from 3.5 cm across the largest diameter to 2.5 cm across; plus it feels a lot softer and more movable. So the chemo is working well...good news! The oncologist (Dr. D) agreed that there is good progress. Both of them answered a lot of my questions...I've been doing more reading about everything these days, now that the initial shock is past and the weaning is done, so I had a lot of questions for them. One thing I read is that by the time most women are diagnosed, the cancer has been there already for 5 to 8 years! Dr. G doesn't think so in my case (it is a fast-growing type), and there is no way of knowing for sure, but she thinks maybe it's been there for around 2 years. I also asked a lot about the surgery, as I am really thinking about it lately and weighing my options as far as do I want to do a single or double mastectomy. The surgery will most likely be the last week of June. I'll also be talking to a plastic surgeon soon to learn about reconstruction options.
Tomorrow is my last AC chemo (adriamyacin and cytoxan)...then I switch to taxol. My mother is coming with me tomorrow to keep me company. I'm planning to bring a large supply of ginger ale with me...last time, just being in that place made me feel queasy, mostly from the smells...drinking ginger ale helped, but the hospital only has mini cans, so this time I'm bringing my own. I think I forgot to post that last time Nathan came with me...we passed the time playing scrabble on the ipod and watching Northern Exposure on the laptop. So nice to have such great company, and those high-tech gadgets, to help get through the treatments.
There is progress on the health insurance front. I qualified for the pre-existing condition insurance ("Obama care"). We sent in the first payment this week (using some of the very generous donations you all have sent!). The insurance started April 1st...but there is a $2000 deductible. We already owe WAY more than that in medical bills...but not sure yet if it will count as the deductible. We are still waiting to see if we qualified for financial aid through the hospital.
Love you all,
Liz"
"I'm a little late with this update...we had a busy weekend! Griffin turned one on Saturday, and we had a little party. Despite the rain and hail (!?!?!), and the fact that he was sick, it was a fun celebration. Then on Sunday we traveled to Richmond and had a very nice visit with Emma. I'm kind of relieved the Rams didn't win, because it would have been pandemonium while we were down there.
This past week was a bit hard, as I came down with a bug on Monday (my lowest white cell day) which included a fever. You are supposed to call if your fever gets higher than 100.5, which mine did. I was told to go to bed and come in Tuesday morning. But I already had an appointment scheduled for Wednesday morning, so I decided to wait...I'm glad I did, because apparently they would have admitted me to the hospital for observation if I had gone in. By Wednesday the fever was gone, but the annoying cough is lingering, I now am on antibiotics, and I've been extra tired, at times a bit woozy, and feeling like I didn't get back to my normal self during this week as I did the other off-weeks.
I had two appointments Wednesday, one with the surgeon and one with the oncologist. My surgeon (Dr. G) did an exam and sonogram of the tumors, and the measurements show a significant shrinkage, even though I'm not even half-way done...from 3.5 cm across the largest diameter to 2.5 cm across; plus it feels a lot softer and more movable. So the chemo is working well...good news! The oncologist (Dr. D) agreed that there is good progress. Both of them answered a lot of my questions...I've been doing more reading about everything these days, now that the initial shock is past and the weaning is done, so I had a lot of questions for them. One thing I read is that by the time most women are diagnosed, the cancer has been there already for 5 to 8 years! Dr. G doesn't think so in my case (it is a fast-growing type), and there is no way of knowing for sure, but she thinks maybe it's been there for around 2 years. I also asked a lot about the surgery, as I am really thinking about it lately and weighing my options as far as do I want to do a single or double mastectomy. The surgery will most likely be the last week of June. I'll also be talking to a plastic surgeon soon to learn about reconstruction options.
Tomorrow is my last AC chemo (adriamyacin and cytoxan)...then I switch to taxol. My mother is coming with me tomorrow to keep me company. I'm planning to bring a large supply of ginger ale with me...last time, just being in that place made me feel queasy, mostly from the smells...drinking ginger ale helped, but the hospital only has mini cans, so this time I'm bringing my own. I think I forgot to post that last time Nathan came with me...we passed the time playing scrabble on the ipod and watching Northern Exposure on the laptop. So nice to have such great company, and those high-tech gadgets, to help get through the treatments.
There is progress on the health insurance front. I qualified for the pre-existing condition insurance ("Obama care"). We sent in the first payment this week (using some of the very generous donations you all have sent!). The insurance started April 1st...but there is a $2000 deductible. We already owe WAY more than that in medical bills...but not sure yet if it will count as the deductible. We are still waiting to see if we qualified for financial aid through the hospital.
Love you all,
Liz"
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