Chemo 7 and a few days later…. September 3, 2009

Ok so I have been lagging a bit on this blog…sorry. Miss J started back to school this week and I just finished chemo #7! The dr appt went well we were told the pet scan and heart scan were both good and I am now waiting to do a final CT scan after chemo #8. We are praying now that the mass will be small enough in my chest that there will be no more treatmant needed. We have a possibility of doing radiation if the mass is not small enough and that comes with a new set of side effects and risks to my heart. 

God is good and we are believing for a miracle. My next chemo is on Fri Sept 11th 2009 and my dr will be out of town so I will be seeing a new Dr for the 1st time after all this. My final CT scan is scheduled for the 28th?? I think and we will have a follow up after this to find out what the rest of the treatmant plan is. (hopefully nothing!)

Well that’s it on the appts and updates. Today I am tired and fatigued and can’t wait to stop chemo and food and drinks taste like they should again! I also can’t wait to get my hair back. I will miss not having to shave my legs etc…LOL

Till the next update!

Kirsty

3 days after chemo #6 August 16, 2009

I am a few days after chemo round 6 and doing quite well. We have been busy building around our house too. Life is crazy.

My dr appt pre chemo went well and the dr said my heart murmur has gone away now. So I am now scheduled for a heart exam to check everything out again since the begining of all this. I also have a PET scan this week to check on the mass and lymphnodes. Fingers crossed that we r in the home stretch.

We have 2 chemo treatments left and we have scheduled a family cruise for December to celebrate the end of treatment and my daughters 10th bday.

(my very early morning self portrait!)

That’s the big update for now.
Kirsty.

A post from the infusuon center August 5, 2009

So it has been a good week so far since chemo. I am at the infusion center right now getting my pic line cleaned. I have had minimal side effects this time so far although the worst is usually days 7-10 which is today! Yikes.

I have my 2nd shot tonite so that makes things worse too but we will see. I have been out and about so much this cycle and the last 2 it feels
Great to have a few good days every two weeks.

Well that’s it for now. Next chemo is Thursday next week it will be round 6!

Have a great day everyday!
Kirsty.

Posting from chemo today July 30, 2009

So I am getting started with chemo sooo late today and won’t be done till 4:00…. So frustrating as I just want to get it over with.

The last two weeks have been so so. I
am not sleeping still and got the flu too. Yikes.

Good news the pain was a bit less this cycle since I only had to do 4 shots this cycle.

Till next time.
Kirsty @ cycle # 5.

good news! July 20, 2009

So I did my 4th round of chemo last Thursday and got good news that my new CT showed shrinkage of the mass in my chest and the nodes on my organs. The nodes in my lungs are now gone and the fluid around my heart is gone too! This news made walking into chemo right after a lot easier!

4 treatmants to go then maybe radiation for the mass only! Light is at the end of the tunnel!

Till the next update!
Kirsty.

Rough days… July 11, 2009

So it has been a tough few days, I am having so much bone and muscle pain it’s almost unbearable the last 3 days. I am so tired of numb fingers too! I really want to just have the feeling back in my fingers and be done with chemo and shots!

I did a repeat CT scan on Thursday in the hopes to see the mass and lymphnodes are getting smaller. I am so nervous about this result! It basically is what tells us that the chemo is working or not! I have already done 3 treatments and it would be so hard on several levels to hear that it is not working.

My next treatment is Thursday the 16th and it will be #4.  I have 8 treatments scheduled so far, so this puts me at the 1/2 way mark! I should be more excited about that!  The pain I am in makes a day seem like a week right now so 4 more treatments is just to much to think about at the moment…

Ok thats enough not so positive talk for the morning,

Till next time,

Kirsty

Update since Thursdays Chemo… July 7, 2009

So I was lucky enough to have a good Fri, Sat and Sunday and even a part of Monday. It was my daughters 1st lesson,  in her last session of swim lessons and I was lucky enough to go and see it and get a few pics…I am now feeling pretty sore as it is my 1st day back on Nupogen shots. I just took an advil PM as this helps with the pain and actually lets me sleep even on the steroids.

At my chemo on Thursday I was very cheered up as the nurse I had the whole day came in at the end of treatment and told me that she had breast cancer three years ago and was now in remmission. She is my age and has twin boys 1 year younger than my daughter. She talked to me about hair loss and mom emotions during the process etc… I can not tell you how much I just needed to hear that all my feelings were valid and normal.

I have amazing family/friends that are so supportive and cooking us meals and taking our daughter out and keeping her life as normal as possible. We are also blessed with amazing neighbors who have cooked us a dinner…Jenn we really loved that dinner and have enough for another night…If you see this a Big THANKS to you guys!  I also want to say thanks to people that I have met via my photography business that are emailing me and keeping me in there prayers too. (some of which I have never met) just AMAZING!

I go to bed tonite feeling very blessed for all the people in our lives…Thanks

Here is a pic of me doing sparklers by myself since I didn’t have my daughter for the first time ever on the 4th!

 

Kirsty

Just a quick update…. July 1, 2009

This is just a quick update before my chemo appt tommorow. I have had a rough couple of days, but yesterday I was able to manage the pain and go a whole day with no Tylenol or advil at all! It was a goal of mine as I hate taking meds. I have only slept 3 hours a night the last 3 nights so it was rough but I did it!

Last night I took an Advil PM and slept all night only waking once for a short moment and slept till 6.00am. It was just what I needed a real nights sleep.

Today I am going to visit my sis n law who is pregnant with my new niece or nephew!!!! She is due in Jan 2010!  Not that I am counting, but if I was she is 210 days away from her due date!  I can not wait to meet this new baby and take it’s pictures! It will be the most photographed baby! Baby Luton I am fighting the cancer fight for you too!

Ok well now that my auntie bragging is done I will leave you with a pic of the little bean! I will update again either at my appt tommorow or within the next few days!

Kirsty

It’s 2:00 am so why not post… June 24, 2009

So I guess I will post a comment being that it’s 2:00 in the morning and I woke up in pain and can not sleep! I had my steroid pill and Neupogen shot yesterday, so one makes it hard to sleep and the other seems to make my bones ache….(not so fun).

All in all I can’t complain, I was getting the shots everyday for 5days in a row during the last round of Chemo and it was so hard on me I ended up in the ER twice for dehydration and pain manangement. So this time my Dr is letting me try every other day still with 5 shots total. Yesterday morning was my second shot and so it does seem to be a bit more tolerable this time. My mouth is sore again along with most of my body parts but not to an unbearable level. I jumped up my pain meds last night from Tylenol to Advil and hope I can manage the pain with minimal meds (as the corner of my kitchen now looks like a pharmacy from all the meds I take a day).

Well that kinda sums up the last 24 hours of changes. I go today to get the picline in my arm cleaned at 10:30 and then my next appt after that  will be July 1st for bloodwork and another cleaning, as of now round 3 of Chemo will be July 2nd.

Kirsty – I will leave you with a picture of me and my daughter at the hospital for round 2 right before my hair came all the way out!

My hair is now all gone…. June 22, 2009

Hello again!

So todays update is that I had to shave what was left of my hair off as it was coming out everywhere. I cried so hard as we used our  electric clipper and shaved it off. It just made things so final! At the same time when the crying was done and I showered I actually felt less stressed as it now wasn’t everywhere and a constant reminder of the chemo and cancer. 

My head is so sensitive and was cold last night in bed! LOL

All in all it’s just another part of the process and I am going to hold my head up high and fight this fight for everyone!

Till the next news…

Kirsty