Chemotherapy & Radiation

In half an hour, Mrs. W. will be here to bring me to my last Taxol chemotherapy treatment. I’m celebrating by putting on extra eyeliner, wearing one of my favorite scarves, using the new purse given to me by my webmaster, and bringing my needles along to the infusion center to finish knitting some slippers for my kids. Boy, I […]

Editing my “happy cancer book” and trying to get all the little snatches of information into a coherent chapter-by-chapter storyline has been interesting, to say the least. A huge portion of it was written while I was doped up on Vicodin. As I’ve mentioned several times in this blog, I am pretty sensitive to aspirin, […]

My left big toe keeps hurting like the dickens. I don’t understand this. If I have neuropathy–fancy word for “nerve pain that hurts like the dickens”–caused, in fact, by the chemotherapy drug Taxol, why doesn’t it affect both toes? Did the other toe not get the memo that it’s supposed to start hurting? My only […]

I had a Taxol infusion today and will have only two more. I had a lot of other good news today: 1. My liver is almost back to normal. It took a month, but, hey, I’m happy. 2. The chemotherapy drug, Herceptin, begins in January, will be every three weeks, and is supposed to be […]

My five goals for December (to keep my marbles in check) are: 1. Convince my liver to behave enough so that I can get my last three Taxol chemotherapy treatments on the 10th, 17th, and 23rd. 2. End the “cancer book” on December 31 so that I can think about getting it sold to help […]

Today, I decided to stop talking about my liver in the third-person and pretend I don’t have Stage III breast cancer. I went out in the bright, sunshiny sunshine and… transplanted a tree. Not just any old tree. A six-foot Western Red Cedar, one of my favorite evergreens. It only took me an hour. The ground […]

For the past two nights, I haven’t been able to sleep because my toenails hurt. I finally realized that they’re jealous of all the press my liver has been getting lately. I better keep an eye on those eyelashes (no pun intended)… I have a sneaking suspicion they’re next.  

The noble thing for me to celebrate Thanksgiving this year would be for me to show gratitude for my family, friends, church, and country, but, the number one thing I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving is: No more Lapatinib! My liver has not recuperated as fast as it should from its toxic state, so I’m off it permanently […]