YIPPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Today was my chemotherapy with the new drug Adriamycin/Cytoxan. I arrived at the hospital at 8:15 for blood work and headed up to the cardiac department for the echocardiogram. I was taken in at 9:10 and was out of there within 45 minutes. (the echocardiogram had to be done before they would give me the Adriamycin. They wanted to make sure my heart was okay before proceeding and to get a baseline test in case I developed problems from the drug down the road). I also had an appointment with the nurse at the Breast Care Center, why I am not sure because I sat there for almost 2 hours before they had the results of the echo. I was pissed off that I had to wait that long for results of a test. I can't believe they couldn't get a doc to take a look at the study when they knew I was waiting for treatment. Finally at 12 noon I went to the day hospital for the infusion. I had a great nurse, Abbie, who remembered me from the time I had a reaction the first time. She had helped with my care that time. She hooked me up to my premeds which consisted of Zofran for nausea and a steroid. That took about 15 minutes. What is different with Adriamycin is it has to be hand injected by a nurse. She had two 50 mL syringes filled with a nice red liquid that she hand injected over 15 minutes. Adriamycin is very hard on the veins, so she was really careful about making sure the line was open as she injected. She frequently checked to make sure she could get a blood return. Over and done with that! On to the Cytoxan which is in a bag. That took an hour. Flush and done!!!!!!! NO REACTION!!!!!!
IT WORKED!!!!! HALFWAY THROUGH CHEMO TREATMENTS. ONLY 2 MORE TO GO!!!!!!
Now that is progress!!!!!!!!!! I sat in my nice lounge chair in the sun with a nice view of the pond and read my book the entire time. It sounds just like a spa doesn't it!!!???? NOT!!!
I will wait and see how the side effects hit me this weekend. But for now, I am soooo glad that I finally made it through a treatment.
Tonight... I am planning on going out to dinner with my book club ladies.

Vote!!!!!!

http://991wmyx.com/Jane---Kidd-s-2nd-Annual-Christmas-Choir-Competiti/3378092

Vote today !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WMXY radio station has a Christmas Choir competition that our high school choir participates in. Today is the voting for the 2nd round, bracket 2 for Brookfield Central High School. Go to the link above and vote!!!!! They are awesome!!!!!! You must vote today for the round today and stayed tuned every day as they make their way up the ladder. I expect to see them in the final round to win!!!!!! You need to register to vote but it only takes a few minutes. Thanks!!!!

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

~quote from the Susan Komen message boards~

Christmas lights!

AWESOME Christmas Lights.wmv

Things that make me smile!

~Jergens Natural Face glow lotion-My friend Linda gave this to me early on in my treatment for those days when I just looked crappy. LOL I use it every day( I must look crappy every day hahaha). It has a nice smell to it, and I think it actually puts some color in my face.
~Mederma-scar lotion. SIL Debbie swears by this stuff. I have been using it on my numerous scars from lymph node removal and drain sites. The scars are actually looking a little less noticeable.
~The smell of coffee first thing in the morning! I just absolutely love the smell in the house when I wake up. (John is the official coffee maker in the morning because I can't get up that early).
~The smell of a fresh Christmas tree. We can smell the Christmas tree throughout our house this year. I have never had a tree that smelled this good!
~My cat. They are the strangest pets in all the world. Ours just happens to be crazy. She is like a lightning bolt through the house for no apparent reason sometimes.
~Lunch dates and shopping at TJ Maxx. What more could a woman want.
~My bed. I love to sleep!
~A sunny day in the dead of winter. It makes the snow a little more tolerable.
~Crystal Light packets. I am not a huge water drinker. During chemo and after treatments water is essential in getting rid of the chemo drugs and keeping the body well hydrated. I am now able to drink lots of water with the help of these little packets. My favorites are Cherry Pomegranite, Raspberry Ice and Raspberry Lemonade.

Snorkeling in Wisconsin!

Only in Wisconsin! TGIF!

Sunny update

After an acupuncture treatment, lab work, x-rays and a physical exam (this took 2-1/2 hours) Sunny and I left the vet's office exhausted (she was more exhausted than me LOL). The good news is the tumor in her leg has not grown at all in a months' time which he found to be unusual if the tumor was truly an osteosarcoma. He also said that she should be in a lot more pain than she is. When he pressed on the area of leg that is involved she merely looked at him as if to say "what the heck are you doing mister." Osteosarcomas are very painful bone tumors, and she does not exhibit symptoms of having intense pain. Her chest x-ray was clear, which was also good. He explained to me a little about Chinese medicine (of which I know nothing. I will have to do some internet research LOL) and what he said makes a lot of sense. He is going to give us some Chinese herbs to give Sunny and would like to do some acupuncture for pain management. The acupuncture was pretty weird. He stuck about 5 small needles in various areas of her body. She actually laid down on the floor and slept for about 20 minutes. She seemed to walk better on her leg after the acupuncture. I will be talking to him tomorrow when he calls with the lab results, and we will go from there. I am willing to try something rather than nothing at this point.

Way off topic: Clementines are in season. They are my absolute favorite winter fruit!

And last but not least: Chemo #? what number is this really? is next week Thursday. I have had a little of this and a little of that.... I am not sure what we call it. #2 I think. LOL

PHOOEYYYYY!

Well... I am at home. The treatment had to be stopped 10 minutes after the infusion started even with all the new premeds they gave me. My face and chest got flushed and red again, the other symptoms probably would have followed had we continued. My oncologist said we could go no further. Plan A never seems to be in my favor, so we are on to plan B. Adriamycin is my only other choice right now. The plan is to get a MUGGA scan (heart scan) or echocardiogram and plan another treatment early next week with the Adriamycin. I am actually not as mad or frustrated as the last time. I knew if the back of my mind it could go either way. If the Adriamycin works then my treatments should be over by the end of January if all goes as planned. That is a very short time frame, so I need to keep it in my mind that this is very short and temporary. I am feeling ok about the switch of drugs only because I don't really have any other choice at this point. I need to do whatever it takes to make sure I am covering all the bases in this cancer treatment. I only have a one-shot deal with this treatment. I don't ever want to look back and say "I should have done this but I didn't."

Sunny update:
I am taking Sunny for another opinion tomorrow with a holistic vet to see how we can medically manage her leg problem. From what he told me on the phone Sunny is not displaying normal symptoms of a dog with an osteosarcoma. I am hoping that she was misdiagnosed!

I am going to nap now as they gave me a nice dose of Benadryl, and I am beginning to feel tired!

Update on Chemo

Today I woke up with a completely different feeling about the chemo and what I should do. I was now leaning towards trying the Taxotere again. After talking with my SIL, Sandy, and listening to what her thoughts were, she reconfirmed my thoughts and I just needed to talk with my onc.
Maybe I don't need to make the choice, the choice will be made for me. By trying the Taxotere tomorrow it will be determined if I can tolerate it or not. If I can't tolerate it, I have no choice but to switch to Adriamycin. If I can tolerate it great! I at least need to give it another try and hopefully we will get through it. The adriamycin scares me with the heart risk. My luck has been shit and I would be the in the 1% that has a problem. My friend, Connie, also had the same type of reaction to the same chemo drugs, and I spoke with her the other night. My conversation with her the other night has been in the back of my mind since this has happened to me. She gave me hope that I will be able to tolerate the drug and get through the treatment just like she did, no matter how long it takes. It really helps to know of someone who has been through this and get their advice and opinions.

I just got off the phone with Dr. Charlson, and he gave me reassurance that we need to try one more time. Taxotere is the better drug for me, and like I am thinking he said it is reasonable to try again and see what happens. He will give me more premeds and slow the drip, and we will cross our fingers, pray to God and whomever else is the patron saints of chemotherapy and health ( is there one??? LOL) and hope my body tolerates the drugs.

Chemo is scheduled for 9 am tommorrow morning. I will know relatively shortly after infusion starts if this will work...... stay tuned for more...... the saga continues........ I hope I can sleep tonight! :)

Chemo decisions????

I spoke with my onc this morning and after a very lengthy discussion and discussing my options I opted to try the Taxotere treatment again with more steroids and some other premeds. As the day went on I am now doubting that this is what I should do. My other option is to switch to a completely different drug, Adriamycin. With Adriamycin there is a 1% risk of the drug causing some heart damage. Heart damage meaning that the way the valves work pumping out the blood is changed. For most people this is something that will resolve itself after treatments. But there is also the chance years down the road that there could be heart damage. A heart scan (MUGGA) scan is done before the chemo is even started and then after chemo treatments are done. The heart is monitored during the chemo treatments. If for any reason the heart appears damaged the chemo is then stopped. It is a risk, but then again, am I not taking a risk by having a toxic chemical dumped in my body.
Here are my thoughts....should I risk another reaction and possibly another treatment that won't work due to a reaction and then switch or do I just switch to the other drug, take the risk, and go on with treatment #2. My onc said I would only get 3 total treatments of Adriamycin, the next one will be a lesser dose due to the fact that I had a 1/4 of the Taxotere from Friday. He also said the only real problem I may have with Adriamycin is more nausea, and there are lots of drugs to counteract that. I guess the one question I need to ask my oncologist is, what is the benefit to trying the Taxotere again??? I am not sure at this point I want to risk another reaction, possibly worse, and then switch to another drug. I need to sleep on this one. Another Benadryl is in order for tonight. LOL Ohhhh someone please make the decision for meeeeee!

I went to the Look Good Feel Better class sponsered by the American Cancer Society today at Froedert. It is a free class for all women going through cancer treatments. lookgoodfeelbetter.org
It is definitely a nice class to take during all of this nonsense and you leave with a huge array of some great cosmetics. (Natalie was ooohhhing and ahhhing at some of the makeup, and I told her not to get any ideas, it was all mine). I then went to my monthly nail appointment and then headed home for the day.

I will be making a call to my oncologist tomorrow morning to pick his brain some more and hopefully reach a decision. If we are to switch drugs, I need to have a MUGGA scan first, so treatment may not be until the end of the week. If I am going to try the Taxotere again, treatment will be this Wednesday. Stay tuned for more............

Beautiful Photo

Photo courtesy of my brother, Gary.
I LOVE this photo!

Just Can't seem to Get a Break in All of This!

I'm mad. I'm frustrated. I am ready to throw in the towel right now! I want to quit! I am tired of all of this, and I just seem to go from one mess to another. I went in for chemo this morning and after 15 minutes of the Taxotere running in I had a reaction. Flushed face, bright red chest, chest tightness and pain, blood pressure shot up and very lightheaded. They stopped the IV and gave me another steroid and some Benadryl, waited about 30 minutes and tried again. Same thing again with now tightness in throat and puffy eyes. They finally determined they could go not go further and discontinued the treatment. I then had to wait about an hour for the chest tightness to go away and I felt normal again. I drove myself today because the first treatment had gone so well that I didn't feel like I needed anyone there. I left about noon. I was actually mad I couldn't have the treatment. Who WANTS to have a treatment and here I am mad that I couldn't have it. I am tired of all these bumps in the road!! I just want to move forward! I need to call the oncologist Monday to see what he is going to do now. Change drugs? Try again? Who knows! What an emotional rollercoaster this has been. I am having a hard time holding myself together after today. Just what can go wrong next??? I apologize for the depressing post, but this blog is what it's all about, and this is what it's all about right now for me.
Cancer sucks!!!

On a somewhat uplifting note, John took me out to get a Christmas tree later this afternoon, and we got the biggest, fattest, tallest tree we could find. That made me a little happier. I love a big Christmast tree and last year's was kind of little.

Tommorrow is a family gathering with my niece, her husband and their adorable little baby whom we haven't seen in a few months( they live in Nashville. She is the niece who stepped in and updated my blog for me the last time I was in the hospital ) and the rest of John's family coming to our house. I am looking forward to getting together and getting my mind off of my problems.

Enjoy the weekend!

Chemo #2 tomorrow!

I had a great Thanksgiving today! We traveled to Madison to John's sisters house to celebrate. It was a nice quiet day spent with family. This year Sandy tried brining the turkey. Omgggg, it was the best turkey we have had by far. The white meat was so moist. It was delicious!!! Of course, my favorite, the stuffing was awesome! I even had a few cocktails to celebrate the holiday.

Tomorrow is round #2 of chemo. I am a bit nervous but very optimistic this time around. I will be at the Clinical Cancer Center at 8:00 and the chemo should take about 3 hours. I have a great book I am reading, and I am also taking my new favorite TV series, Mad Men. My friend Linda got me hooked on it. It is a great show if you have never seen it.

I will post later as to how it goes! I should feel 100% great for the first 3-4 days after chemo and then will start to feel the effects. With the neupogen injections, it is our goal to keep the WBC count up and keep me out of Hotel Froedert! Keep your fingers and toes crossed, and please send some prayers my body will hold up to the chemo drugs and keep me healthy this time around!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off your thighs!
-Unknown

Update on Sunny

I have had several people ask me about our dog Sunny and how she is doing. Sunny is doing great! Honestly, she is now running on all four legs with an occasional slight limp on her back leg. I have been in contact with a holistic veterinarian who is going to review her x-ray and give us advice as to how to holistically manage her condition. As of now, our vet is 86% sure that she has bone cancer. He advised a bone biopsy to make sure that is what she has. We are not going to do the bone biopsy at this time. According to the vet I just spoke with dogs that have been diagnosed with bone cancer will deteriorate rapidly within 2-3 after diagnosis. She found it very unusual that Sunny is now walking again and shows no signs of having a problem with her leg. She also found it unusual that her leg is not swollen. If indeed she has bone cancer there are some options. Amputation, chemo or holistically treat. Amputation and chemo we will not consider. If she does have cancer we want to be sure she is pain free most of all. She is perfectly happy as she is right now. I see no need to amputate her limb or put her through chemotherapy (heck, look what chemo did to my body, I can't do that to my dog). Whatever life she has left we want her live out happily just being Sunny as she is now. This vet lives in Green Bay and has referred me to a colleague who is a holistic vet in Burlington, a little closer for us to travel to. I will be in contact with him and then go from there.

Since Sunny's initial diagnosis we have been considering getting another puppy. John misses having a dog to hunt with. We do not know how much time she has left but we do know she will probably not be able to hunt any longer. Today we met with the breeder that we got Sunny from 8 years ago. Two female dogs will be expecting litters, one in January and the other in May. We met the moms today and the dad. We are hoping to get a female pup out of the litter coming in January. If not, we will get first pick of the litter in May. Either way, we have our name on the list for a new puppy!! Oh boy, here we go again.

I will never forget the first night we had Sunny. Both kids wanted to sleep with the dog next to her crate. They both got their sleeping bags and camped out in the laundry room with the new dog. Natalie lasted about 30 minutes with the dog howling in her ears. I don't even know how Billy fell asleep listening to the dog howling. The poor thing cried and cried. I woke up in the middle of the night to silence. I tiptoed out into the laundry room to find Billy asleep on his sleeping bag and no dog in the crate. The door of the crate had not been shut tightly and the little stinker had gotten out. I found her sleeping in the kitchen snuggled inside a shirt that had been left on the kitchen floor. Cute!!!

Monday

No, that is not my dog in the first photo. That was a coyote passing through my yard this morning. I just happened to be looking out the window as I saw him coming.
The snow sure was pretty this morning when I woke up. That is about all I can say about it! I am not a snow lover (I think you may have figured that out by now from previous posts LOL).
I was out of the house early today for a plastic surgery appointment and then some grocery shopping. Nothing new in the boob department. Just a check on the stitches and to make sure everything is healing. As for the grocery store, I am pretty sure that no one even noticed I was there today!

Happy Monday!

Quote of the Day

One kind word can warm three winter months
~Japanese proverb~

Medical costs!

When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer I tried to do an internet search regarding costs of surgeries and chemotherapies to get an idea of what things cost. There is very little on the internet regarding costs. I did find some information on other blogs and also on the Komen website. It is interesting that most doctors have NO idea what things cost. My oncologist didn't even know how much he charges for an office visit. LOL I am posting this information in case someone is searching for information regarding costs for some of these tests and procedures.

Mamogram and ultrasound-bilateral breasts $225.oo
Ultrasound guided-biopsy and stereotactic biopsy-bilateral breasts $8, 800.00 not inlcuding radiologist charge
Pathology report from biopsies $1,200.00
Nuclear medicine sentinel node mapping $1,200.00 not including radiologist charge
Surgery-Bilateral mastectomy $57,000.00
Anesthesia $3,500.00 and $2,000.000 not sure why two separate charges
Plastic surgeon bill $$20,000.00
Room and board 4 days $1,780.00
Lab expenses-one day-in hospital $3,000.00 (not even sure what this was?)
Misc. surgery expense $7,800.00
Chemotherapy treatment Cytoxan/Taxotere $5,500.00 per treatment
Neupogen shots- 7 injections $1,600.00 (these are given after chemo to stimulate bone marrow generation to keep white blood cell count up)
Neulesta shot- 1 injection $3,000.000 (also used after chemo to stimulate bone marrow)
Oncology office visit $220.00
Outpatient surgery-debridement of breast tissue. One hour surgery. $13,000.00

A lot of the expenses are not itemized, and it is hard to determine exactly what the charges were for. The above is what I could figure out, and these charges are what the insurance company allowed. The original costs were higher, obviously. I have not even seen any of the charges come through for my last hospital visit for 6 days. I can only image what those will be!

This will make you smile!!!!

www.ustream.tv/channel/shibu-inu-puppy-cam

You have to check this out. Cute, Cute, Cute!!!!!!

Backyard Wildlife

Here is Wisconsin and especially the area we live, we typically see lots of different wildlife. We have seen coyotes (and hear them howling at night) fox, mink, turkeys and of course deer. The dog went crazy yesterday afternoon barking at the window, so I knew it had to be deer. This little fellow was just taking a leisurely walk through my yard. It was the second time I had seen him that day. It is kind of funny as there have been numerous times we see people parked on the side of the road taking pictures of the deer walking in our area and to us it is just like seeing a bird or squirrel. We have become so used to seeing them. It is mating season right now, so deer sightings are frequent. We even had a light dusting of SNOW yesterday. Ughhhhhh!!!!!