Hello everyone,

Here is the Facebook update I posted after my last oncology visit for those of you who don't do Facebook..

"I had a good report at the doctor's today.  I am producing healthy blood once again, so I am done with chemo and will start a maintenance treatment one day every three months for two years.  Hallelujah!  Thanks to all of you for your support during the last six months."

As you can see, the report was better than expected.  I am slowly getting my energy back.  Still waiting for my hair to stop falling out.  I have cut it really short for the duration.  Hopefully it will start coming back in, thicker and not so much gray!!!  Another side effect that just won't go away is numbness in my toes and the balls of my feet.  It is such a weird feeling and it affects my walking somewhat.  The dr. says it will go away but it is not going very quickly.

The other medical issue, my heart, is still being monitored.  I have to be on the medication for three months, then will have an EKG to see if it is helping my blood to pump out of my heart better than the 55% it was last November.  I won't know that until mid-July.

So this is it for my blog for now.  Will get back to it if things change or if I have news to pass on.  Have a great spring, especially all of you in the midwest who struggled through a never ending winter.  Thanks for all of your support during this time.

Chris

Two excited boys getting ready for the
 scavenger hunt to look for their Easter gift.
Cam is laughing because he had just spied
one of the eggs that were hidden outside!

Our lovely brunch outside on Courtney's
patio was the beginning of our Sunday meals
we have outside all summer when the boys are here.

It's been a while since I updated you, so let's remedy that.

On March 12, I saw my cardiologist.  She has been increasing the dosage of one of my heart medications until I reached the level she wanted me at.  This visit, she increased my blood pressure medicine to the level she wants me at.  She wants me to be on these meds for three months.  Then she wants me to have an electrocardiogram so she can see if the medicine is helping the blood flow out of my heart.  It was at 55% when I was first diagnosed with heart failure.  I have one scheduled in June.

On March 14 (my birthday), I had a blood test, then saw my oncologist on March 17 (happy St. Patrick's Day!) to discuss the results.  He was happy to tell me that all my red and white blood cell levels were good and that my bone marrow is producing healthy blood platelets.  My bone marrow was full of cancer cells last November, so I have come a long way since then.  He was also glad to see that I wore green so he wouldn't have to pinch me!  I have my last chemo treatment on Friday, March 28.  They switched up my day because they were fully booked on Thursday.  Sad, so many cancer patients.

There have been some fun things going on since I last wrote.  I had a birthday on the 14th, went to lunch with Courtney and Andrea and to get pedicures after.  What fun.  Then I was taken out for a Mexican dinner on the 19th.  The boys were here for Spring Break from Weds. thru today, that is why we waited to go to dinner.  They love Mexican food!

My brother Archie and his wife Bonnie, who live in Ohio, were out here to visit their daughter Heather, who lives on the coast.  They came here on Friday, and were excited that they would be seeing the boys too.  We all went bowling, then went to a restaurant called Route 66, and old time diner.  There just happened to be a classic car show going on so we saw some awesome vehicles, one VW bus was my favorite.  We came back to my house and had a St. Patrick's Day/birthday cake that I made, a new recipe that I saw on Facebook.  Delicious!  Went to Courtney's on Saturday to hang with the boys and the girls.  Admired their new back yard fence that was just finished on Friday.  White vinyl, very nice.

Five more days till my last treatment, I will have to go in the day before for a blood test so they will have the results on Friday.  So long till then.  Happy Spring, especially to those of you who have had such a horrible winter.

After my birthday pedicure with my girls.
Can you guess whose foot is whose?

At my birthday Mexican dinner.
My first taste of fried ice cream.  The boys
shared one and us girls shared the other.

My young bowlers did awesome.  Finn (L) and Cam (R).

This was my favorite classic car at the Route 66 restaurant.

It was so nice to visit with Archie and Bonnie.

Hello friends and family,

Well I had treatment #4 yesterday.  It actually went a lot quicker than any previous ones because they dripped one of the drugs into me much faster since I was not having any bad reactions previously.  In at 8:00, out by 12:30, a record.

I had a few side effects kick in sooner than before, probably because of the quicker drip.  My toes were numb last evening, such a weird feeling, doesn't hurt, just feels like they are asleep.  My finger tips too, but not so much.  I had a slight headache when I left the hospital but it didn't last long, and my taste buds are off again.  Ugh, nothing tastes normal.

I woke up this morning to a puffy face (prednisone) and it was red, like I got sunburned.  That will go away once I stop the prednisone after Sunday.  I am going to Courtney's for fish tacos tonight with the boys there so she can give me my first shot then, if I remember to take the medicine . . .Andrea went to her parents today so she won't be there for dinner.

The boys had a game on Wednesday, I didn't go but Courtney did and took some pictures for me.  They play again tomorrow and I will be there for that one.  It will be a busy weekend for me so soon after my treatment and I will be exhausted by Sunday afternoon, but the boys are only here every other weekend and I so enjoy seeing them.

I see my cardiologist next Wednesday, they might be doing another electocardiogram, I'm not sure.  They are checking to see how my heart is dealing with the chemo treatments.  They will be checking my meds, hopefully not changing them again.  I will let you know what they say.

My hair is still falling out slowly, I still have a whole head full but it is very thin.  Needless to say, I wore another new scarf cap to my appointment.  Even added pearls, very dolled up.  Had a chatty neighbor this time, only the two of us in the room, so the time went by quickly.  She was only in to get a shot and take pills but she had a lot of waiting time.  She left and another came in, this one had breast cancer and it wasn't looking so good for her but she was pretty upbeat, so good for her.

The weather has warmed up again, in the 70s during the day, 50s at night.  The air is off, the windows are open, my cats are so happy to sit in the windows again.  I have started walking around in the park a little, need to get moving.  Can't go far yet, but every little bit helps.  The flowers Courtney planted survived the rain and the high winds, I hope I can keep them going.

That's it for now, till next time stay healthy and I hope it warms up for most of you who are still experiencing winter weather.  I don't miss it.  LOL.

My new cap, brown with pink scarf  with
brown polka dots.  And pink pearls.

Finn playing infield in this pic.

Camden the catcher.

Hello Everyone,

I went to the oncologist on Monday and had a good report.  My blood test looked good and my spleen felt a little softer than right after the body scan, so things are progressing well.  I did have one new comment by the doctor that I didn't like.  I have a virus in my system that produces a cyst in my tailbone area every once in a while.  I haven't had one for quite some time, I was hoping it went dormant.  But in the last couple weeks, FOUR have popped up, some on a nerve that was quite painful.  My doctor said my chemo is likely the culprit for irritating the virus, thus they are popping out like crazy.  Boo!

On the other hand, my doctor said it is possible that my chemo is helping my Sjogren's, an autoimmune illness I have had since diagnosed in my 40s.  Apparently, the lymph nodes are a conduit for autoimmune diseases, or something like that.  The gist of his comment is that my Sjogren's may be cured, or at least be far less symptomatic.  Joy!  Who knew I could be so happy about chemo.

My next treatment is on March 6, #5.  Only one more after that, then another body scan to see where I am with this disease.  Hopefully as well as the doctor expects it to be.

On a more pleasurable note, the boys were here last weekend and we were quite busy.  The whole family got home at the same time on Friday, the girls from their Santa Catalina Island getaway and the boys, who were picked up at school on the way home.  I was so happy to see the whole gang, as were the dogs, who were beside themselves with excitement.  It was a very noisy reunion.

On Saturday, the boys had their first ball game of the season.  We all went to see them win their first game. The boys were quite happy about that.  I like the new coach, he seems to know what he is doing and is very good with the kids.  On Sunday, we were up BEFORE the crack of dawn as we had to leave at 5:15 to drive to Pasadena, then catch the train into Chinatown in LA at 6:15, so Andrea could be there to get registered for her 5K Firecracker run.  The boys also ran a Kiddie Run a little later.  It was so fun, and the entertainment beforehand was great.  Dancing dragons going through the crowd and 100,000 firecrackers going off all at once.  We all had to plug our ears, the noise was so loud.  Needless to say, I came home right after the boys run, said good-bye to the boys for another 2 weeks, and went to bed.  I was exhausted.  That's it for now.  Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers, they seem to be working.  Love you, Chris.

In the dugout, getting ready to head out to the field.
Camden is the catcher, so has to put on all his
protective gear.  Finn is checking out the other team.

The architecture in Chinatown is awe inspiring.

The dancing dragons walked all through the crowd
and then back to where they started so they could
dance among the 100,000 firecrackers when they went off.

None of the shops were open but there was a stage with
entertainment by young dancing girls, it was very
festive.  And there were tons of runners, I don't know
the exact amount.  There was also a 10K race.  

Hello friends,

Well, I had treatment #4 last Thursday, only 2 more to go.  It was a long day at the chemo center, 8-5.  They got a late start, not till 10, not sure why as I did my blood work the day before.  Then on the last bag of medicine, the IV machine got turned off by accident and it wasn't discovered until 40 minutes later.  So I was the first one in and the last one out that day.  Wore one of my new scarf caps, got a lot of compliments. I  haven't lost all of my hair, but it has thinned out quite a bit.  The only really noticeable side effect this time was my taste buds were way off.  Nothing tastes normal, not drinks or food.  That could be a good thing, I eat less when it doesn't taste good.  The prednisone that I have to take for three days after treatment causes me to swell up in my face and hands and feet.  A little annoying but doesn't last long after my last dose.

       

Loved the peacock scarf, all my colors.

\

I came home and got immediately into my nightgown.  Sat in my living room to watch the news and my sweet Lily came up to keep me company. She sprawled across my entire body.  I think my cats know when I have had my treatments, they both want to be close to me the whole evening.

I thought I would post some pictures from when

my sister was here.  We had such a good visit,

it was just what I needed.  Lots of laughter and making new memories.  I wish the weather would have been a little warmer for them, but they thought 60s felt like summer.  It was a little windy too, but it didn't stop us from doing anything.  Now it has been in the 80s for a couple days.  I know Nancy McConnell is out here for her dad's birthday, I'm sure she is loving these warm temps.  Enjoy.  

Fun at the park with mommy.

Swings are so much fun!  Hazel loved them.

Aunt Chris and Kate enjoying the sun.

Meeting up with Finn and Cam at Kid Space,
an awesome place for kids to have fun.

Andrea and Courtney brought their
 two small dogs over to meet Hazel.
Good dogs, Moxie and Wally.

Hazel and her Grammy, all dolled up with
some scarves from Chris' collection.
Hazel's scarf is going on one of my caps.

All the young girls at the Gentle Barn.
Hazel loved petting all the animals.
We all had our first vegan hot dogs for lunch.

The two cousins just chillin'.

Hello everyone.  I have been away from this blog for a while as I had company for the last week.  My sister and her daughter and her granddaughter were here for a visit since Jan 30.  I took them back to the airport yesterday, and took the rest of the day off to recuperate.  I was not used to that much activity or the early hours waking up, but when there is a 15 month old baby here, that is what you do.  Their visit was so much fun, my great-niece was just precious and was extremely well-mannered the whole visit.  I miss them already. They arrived back to Chicago last night in the midst of a snowstorm, but all got home intact.

Since I last wrote, I saw my cardiologist on the 29th.  She said my vitals were OK, and increased one of my meds to the maximum she wanted me to take.  She started me out on a low milligram prescription and has been upping it slowly since I started taking it.  Since I was not having any bad side effects, she put me on the maximum dosage she had been working up to.  In three months she wants to do another EKG to see how my heart is doing on the two medications I take, one for blood pressure and one for blood pressure and to help my heart to not work so hard during my chemo treatments.

I also had my full body scan on the 29th, but would have to wait til the 3rd to hear how it came out.
On February 3rd, I saw my oncologist.  He said my blood work looks great at this halfway mark of my treatments.  My platelets are pretty high considering how low they were when I started, 25,000 at the lowest point to almost 200,000 currently.  My red and white blood cells look normal at this point in my treatment. Then I asked him how my scan came out.  He wanted to see the results at the same time I did, so he pulled up the report then and there and here are the results:

1.  The lymph node in my upper body had shrunk from 16mm to 12mm
2.  The lumph node near my belly had shrunk from 26mm to 11mm

Woohoo I said.  That sounds like my treatments are working.  Then he said there was one more improvement:

3.  My spleen, which had enlarged to 23.2cm, was now down to 13.8cm.

The doctor was ecstatic about that, as was I.  My liver had not gone down much but he wasn't too worried about that, the spleen was a huge improvement.  He said my bone marrow had been full of cancer when he did the biopsy, but was now producing healthy blood.

So I and all my company went to Courtney and Andrea's house for a celebratory dinner of grilled steak and salad.  It was a lovely way for my company to end their vacation and celebrate with me on my great results from the cat scan.

I started a new chemo cap right before my company arrived so have not worked on it since.  But I will be back at it tomorrow.  I have the scarves I ordered, so I now have to go to the yarn store and get some yarn to match the scarves, then I will start making more of those.

My darling girls came over for dinner one night and had a surprise for me.  They planted a bunch of lovely spring flowers in my pots, which were full of dead flowers from last year.  Courtney rearranged the pots into a more symmetrical pattern, and they look awesome.  I just hope I can keep them alive till summer.  I did not inherit my mother's green thumb!

Hello friends and family,

Well, 4 days into this 3rd treatment, I still am not having too many bad side effects.  My teeth hurt again and my taste buds are off so things taste weird, even drinks.  My left hand has been a little numb for a couple days, but it is doing better.  Of course my face and ankles are swollen, but that is from the prednisone I have to take for 3 days after my treatment.  I also get some at my treatment.  That all goes back to normal by the second week which is when my sister arrives, on Thursday.

I finished making a crocheted blanket for my son, I finished it in a week, the fastest I have ever made one.  It is quite cold where he is in Milwaukee, so I hope it keeps him warm while he is snuggled up under it.

Now I can go back to making more chemo caps.  I have ordered some scarves to use with the scarf chemo cap.  When I get them, I will go get more yarn in colors to match them.  I am half way through my treatments now and my hair is slowly falling out, getting pretty thin.  So I will need to wear these caps and of course, I will need different colors to match my outfits.  You all know I am all about the accessories.

I had a good weekend, saw the boys on Saturday.  They were all over here as Courtney and Andrea were helping me with a couple things I needed done.  Then we had dinner at their house and a movie after.  Some Lego movie.  The boys are all into legos right now, especially Finn.

Deep cleaned my kitchen today and walked to the Post Office to mail Jake's blanket.  This was as much activity as I could stand for the day.  I get tired very easily, so will go to bed early tonight.  Am waiting for Courtney to stop by on her way home from work to give me my shot.  One last one tomorrow and I am done for this treatment.

I am having my full body scan on Wednesday, and I'm seeing my cardiologist, so I will be back then to let you know how things are going.  Probably won't know about the scan till next week, I see my oncologist on Monday and he will tell me how it came out.  Let's all pray for good news.