Mambo No. 5

Ladies and gentleman, this is chemotherapy No. 5.

All morning I just kept saying “five of six”. Saying that to my self makes it seem almost done. I can see the end just over the horizon. There is still a chance that I may have to do radiation, but the Doctor won’t give me a definite answer until I have another PET Scan after my treatment is done. Let’s hope not. Everyone please collectively hope that the chemotherapy will be the end of it.

My favorite nurse was back today so all seemed right with the world. We were moving along pretty quickly for most of the morning until I hit the Adriamycin also known as the Red Devil. It decided to earn its devilish name today. The IV was in my hand, and the area below it started to turn red, swell, and get welts. It was just some kind of bizarre allergic reaction. It seemed very strange considering I haven’t had a reaction the other four treatments. The nurse stopped my drip for a few minutes and then gave me an IV of Benadryl and it cleared up after about 10 or 15 minutes. It slowed down my treatment a bit though and it ended up taking over 6 hours today.

For those keeping track of the Scrabble tournament - I won two games, and Robbie won one. I'm still keeping a little of my brain power! I had a 66 point word today with tuxedo! The "x" was a double letter, and it was a triple word score. Good times.

The Benadryl and Ativan drips made me sleepy and I took a nap when we got home. I asked Robbie to wake me after an hour so that I’ll sleep well tonight. I had a fabulous nap that was so good my pillow was wet with drool. After my nap we ran to pick up Robbie’s NEW CAR at the shop. We recently got a Toyota Highlander (used, but very nice) and he had blue tooth installed so that he can use his Droid through the car stereo system. He has promised to post a photo on Facebook, but I have yet to see it! It has been a busy week.

My Mom is in town this week. She has been fabulous and spent the day cleaning our house while I was at work yesterday and at chemotherapy today. My laundry is done, my bed has clean sheets, and our floors our sparkly. It has been wonderful. With chemotherapy it is hard to find the time to do the things you need to do, so house cleaning is not always my top priority. I appreciate it so much!

For the most part, I feel good. I’m starting to pick at my food a bit, but that is normal. I’m drinking lots of fluids and hoping for a good round with minimal side effects. ONLY ONE MORE ROUND! WOOHOO! I’m a little excited…