Third of the first round - DONE

Hi there - So today I completed my third Abraxane treatment - the last in my first round of treatment. My counts are staying up pretty well so no Neulasta treatments for me. Now I get a week off from treatment -- WooHoo. Next week only blood tests.

I have lost 30 REAL pounds of weight - I am down 30 pounds from my first chemo. Helps a little that I can't eat many foods but it's still good weight loss. YEAH

Also went to see the Plastic Surgeon and he released me from his care and told me that I only need to come back if my legs look infected or worse.

Today I am feeling wonderful and hope this will be a good week. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the prayers and love.

Followup and next treatment

So Abraxane seems to agree with me except for the fatigue that took over my whole weekend. I also had some severe bone pain on Saturday that I ended up taking Darvocet to manage. I slept a whole bunch and that was a bonus.

Monday I did bloodwork and my counts stayed up. Tuesday - second treatment. So far so good. I didn't sleep well last nite due to the steroids from pretreatment but my house is cleaner :)

Thanks for keeping in touch with me this way. One more treatment and then a break week. I'll keep you updated.

Love to all of you. B

The week of June 3rd, 2007

Went to see the plastic surgeon on Tuesday the 5th and he removed all of the bandages and told me to put Vaseline on my legs. That night two of the scabs slid off my legs. The next day after a good long hot shower the rest of the scabs slid off - wow!! I have legs again. They are a little pink where the scabs were but they look great - doesn't appear to be too much scarring. Plastic Surgeon said use Medirma on them - over the counter stuff all the way with him!!!!

Blood work on Tuesday 5th also showed my counts continuing to climb which is really good.

Went in for my first Taxol treatment on Wednesday June 6th. Took a vacation day to cover since I didn't know what to expect. When I met with Dr. Welt, he was ecstatic with the look of my legs. He then explained to me that the one most common side effect of the Taxol is fluid retention and he doesn't want to take a chance that I get ANY fluid retention of any kind. So he told me that he is going to switch me to Abraxane which is a sister drug to Taxol.

The main difference is that Taxol is dissolved in a oil base and the Abraxane is dissolved in a protein. There is some belief that the side effects from Taxol are really from the oil and the way that delivers the drug through your body. So the Abraxane should have fewer side effects because the protein is more easily accepted by your body.

The dosing is different as well - Taxol was one treatment every other week for 4 treatments and each treatment takes up to 4 hours. Abraxane is given once a week for three weeks with a week off - for a 4 week treatment cycle and each treatment takes 30 minutes. You have to have 3 treatment cycles for a total of 12 weeks. I will now be done in the middle of August with my chemo.

So yesterday, I had my first Abraxane. I have had very little side effects and feel pretty good. Because I'm more prone to blood count dropping, I did get a Neulasta shot today but I may not need to after this round. We are using the first week as a "trial" period to see what I need and don't need. I go in for blood work on Monday and my next treatment on Tuesday.

OH - and i'm down 53 pounds since my all time high weight in the hospital. Which means, I've really lost 13 pounds. WooHoo :)

Thanks for all the love and support - caring and prayers - I feel all of you all around me all the time. I love you all.
B

Through June 1, 2007

Sunday came and went without my normal "bad day" and I was hopeful for a "pass". But the idea that I would get a "pass" on my last AC chemo - one dose without any significant side effects - was truly a pipe dream.
Monday was also a good day. Tuesday I went in for blood work - knowing I would need a neupogin shot or four. I went back down for the shot at 5 and came home - feeling more and more run down every hour that went by. Wednesday I went in for two Pro Crit shots and for the first time I was actually feeling "kinda" nauseous. I declined a nausea shot and went home for the day - heading back in at 3 for my neupogin. By that time I was feelling so ill that I had Rob drive me. They suggested that I get fluids and a nausea shot so I did. They also did more blood testing - including blood cultures and CBC stat to get my counts again. My counts had gone down instead of up -- not good.
The result of that little visit was an admission to the Robert Packer Hospital (AGAIN) onto the Oncology floor for a diagnosis of possible Neupotrinic Fever. I was in a private room and had wonderful treatment. On Thursday I got two units of blood and each day I got 5 bags of IV antibiotics. They also brought up the skin care staff who looked at my poor blistered legs and came up with a care plan for them. I was finally released on Saturday morning.
I'm now ramping up mentally and physically for my next round of chemo - starting this Wednesday - with the new drug. I'm asking that all of you pray that I will have no side effects from this drug - that would be a welcome change and as always -- I appreciate your prayers and thoughts no matter what.
I will post again after treatment on Wednesday -- I love you all -- thanks for your support and prayers.