Hair and Other Things

Hair Again

I have had more haircuts in the last three months than I had in all of 2019.  My hair is still growing, thinner but growing.  I am so thankful that I still have my eyebrows and eyelashes.  

I am rocking my super short hair as best as I can.  Sometimes I wear a headband if I’m feeling fancy.  That’s about all I can do.  I have hats, but it’s August and too hot for most of those.  I have a snood hat (slouchy beanie) that I wear sometimes.  I always wear my hiking hat on my walks – I don’t want sunburn on my head.  My treatment might cause sun sensitivity, so I’m playing it safe.

While I’m on the subject of might-be side effects from my treatment, I am thankful that I do not have tingling in my fingers or toes, mouth sores, massive tummy problems or any of the many, many, many other side effects that are possible with the treatment.

Treatment Update

There are many phases to my treatment, but here we are …

• I have completed 11 / 20 weeks of treatment
• I have completed 11 / 16 treatments
• I have completed 11 / 12 of Taxol
• I have completed 4 / 4 of Pembro

After next week, I start a second set of drugs which I believe will be:

• Cytoxan
• Adriamycin

These will be administered every-other week, rather than the weekly treatments I have been doing.  I am looking forward to fewer frequent flyer miles driven to and from Swedish.  

I have been doing really well with my treatments so far and my fingers are crossed that I don’t have any new side effects with changing drugs.  

Remember My Port?

Remember way back when I talked about getting a port? Well, I’ve had it for eleven weeks and while I still don’t like it, it works well. The placement is kinda weird, though. They usually place in on the right side, but since that’s where my tumor is they put it on my left – right next to my ladybug tattoo.

Many of the nurses have asked if I got it after the port placement, but it’s really just a weird coincidence. (It doesn’t seem wise to get a tattoo as you’re breaking down your immune system, but … whatever). I’ve always thought that ladybugs bring good luck, so here’s hoping that she continues to help me out here.

You can also see my first real scar, just above the port. I’ve had lots of little scars, from shaving or cheese grater incidents, but this one is a biggie. I also have a little scar that you can see up by my throat from where my port leads into my vein.

While I am eager to get my port out, it is nice to have. Each week when I go in for treatment I get two pokes – Lidocaine to numb the area and then the needle. Everything else goes through that one needle. They do my blood draws, my premeds and my treatments all through my port saving me from many more pokes and destroying my veins.

Steroids

And speaking of premeds, this week I experienced my first energy boost from the steroids they give me each week. At the beginning of my treatment, the medical team warned me that the steroids might keep me awake at night on treatment days. Or I might not be able to quiet my brain at night. Or I might get a burst of energy and feel like Iron Man.

This week, at about 7:30 pm I decided to clean up in the basement. I had so many great ideas about how to organize my crafty messes and proceeded to make piles all over the floor before returning the items to where they should have been in the first place. It was the most energy I have had in a long time and it felt really good to get something done and have something to show for it.

I’m taking off a few days from work before I start my new treatment. I am planning to do some (more) house cleaning, maybe pull some weeds and center myself for the next stage in my treatment.

I send many happy thoughts out into the world, especially to my library friends who have started during curbside pickup. It’s been great getting my library fix and seeing your friendly faces from afar. Stay safe and distanced everyone.