Second Week of Treatment - 8/22/24

I am into my second week of treatment and wanted to share some updates. 

On Saturday night, I was feeling good enough to go to a comedy show with my friends to see Alli Wong.  It was nice to go out for a delicious meal and some laughter which I really needed.  Don’t they say laughter is the best medicine!  During the show I started to feel a little hot and when I got home, I realized I had red rashes all over my face and body.  Wasn’t quite sure what exactly that was from, whether the chemo or medications from the Port surgery on Friday.  I do remember the nurse letting me know that they will give me the drug anicef during anesthesia to prevent infections, which is a distant relative of penicillin, which I am allergic to.  On Sunday morning I talked with a doctor and they said it was likely from the medication anicef.  I was told to take some Benadryl and it should go away within a few days.  Thankfully, the rashes have started getting a lot better and now they are almost gone!  So that was fun, and I now have anicef listed as a medication I am allergic to in addition to penicillin, amoxicillin and sulfa meds.  My body definitely doesn’t like antibiotics! 

On Monday I had my second treatment that my best friend Kelsey took me to.  This treatment was only going to be Paclitaxel.  Paclitaxel is given to me weekly and helps to stop the growth of the cancer from spreading even further.  The nurse wanted to give me the medication from my port, which I will continue to use instead of my veins for every treatment, but my port was still pretty swollen from surgery and being stubborn.  I mean, this port is still very tender to the touch and sticking maybe an inch out from my skin, I didn’t think they were going to be able to mess with it at all, nor did I want them to, because it hurt so much.  But she tried, and it didn’t work.  Then proceeded to my left arm for an IV in a different vein again, then that vein wasn’t drawing blood, so proceeded to my right arm to draw blood.  I said to the nurses jokingly of course, “I am the problem child this morning!”  They need to draw blood every week before treatment to make sure I can receive treatment.  If my White Blood Cell count is too low, I must wait a little longer to get the treatment to let my body recover.  Thankfully I got the green light.  One of the nurses also saw that I had those rashes on my body and was slightly concerned, since the rashes could be a side effect from chemo too, but I was still pretty sure it was from the anicef.  She consulted the doctor and said we would still pursue the treatment, thankfully.  I will do whatever it takes to get the treatment I need to kill these damn cancer cells!

Treatment ended up going well but this week I experienced more side effects.  On Monday night, I ended up waking up with bad acid reflux, threw up and then ended up with mild hypothermia as my body was at a temperature of 95 degrees.  Apparently, both of those can be side effects.  I ended up taking famotidine and Pepto Bismol, then used a heated blanket to warm my body temperature back up.  Over the course of the night, I started to feel better, but I didn’t get much sleep at all.  Since then, been trying to catch up on sleep each night.  Other recurring side effects are just tiredness and sluggishness, especially later in the day.  On Wed, I couldn’t stand for a long time and had to sit down – just some normal stuff I would expect.  The one side effect I did not expect though is blurry vision.  I find myself having to squint watching the tv sometimes, like I am 80 years old!  But overall the side effects are still minimal and good news is I still haven’t lost any of my hair yet, so enjoying every bit of my new haircut until I do.

This week I have had ups and downs emotionally.  Things are starting to feel more real, settle in and become a little harder for me.  A couple days this week I broke down crying with my mom, just feeling really sad that my life is this way now and potentially will be shortened.  Coming to those terms is incredibly hard and I am still not able to admit to myself of the realities.  I am choosing to still be on the faith side and believe that I am unique, will live a long life and can beat this horrible disease that should never happen to anyone!  While I still have that mindset, I am allowing myself to feel my emotions when I have them and recognizing that I will have those bad days.  Life just isn’t fair, but I won’t let this get me down.

As far as wins this week goes – because I like to focus on the positives!  I have been able to go on walks with my mom and Obie almost daily.  The weather here in Minnesota has been so beautiful and we even had a few dog park visits to Obie and I’s happy place.  There was an afternoon farmers market on Tuesday that my mom and I attended, where I bought some good vegetables and she bought me some nice new earrings that will be a stunning new accessory with hair wraps in the future.  Showed up for my wig appointment at Nedia’s Salon in Minnetonka on Wed and then realized it was scheduled for the 4th (whoops, chemo brain).  Was able though to reschedule my wig appointment for Friday the 30th, which actually works well since my sister will be in town for that too.  Everything happens for a reason.  Tomorrow I am going to the Minnesota State Fair with my mom and friends, which should be a fun time.  Excited to get out and enjoy fresh air and all the activities the fair has to offer with people I love. 

This week I have been making a lot of swaps with clean ingredient products from laundry detergent, dish soap, makeup, skin care, shampoo/conditioner, perfume, deodorant – basically anything I put on my body to reduce the toxins going in.  What I put in and put on my body is 100% in my control, and I will be prioritizing my health and well-being for the long run.  Like I said, I believe the body can heal itself and will be looking into additional ways to do this alongside my chemo treatments. 

For those that are in the Minneapolis area, my parents and I, my friends and others are going to Fat Pants Brewery in Eden Prairie on Sunday, August 25th from 1-4pm.  There was supposed to be a fundraising event for The Hope Chest, an organization that offers financial support to families in Minnesota affected by breast cancer to those who need it, but that got canceled.  Instead of the brewery donating, I will personally be donating to this organization.  I can’t imagine having to worry about financials with a breast cancer diagnosis.  For those that are local, would love to see you on Sunday if you can stop by, even if for just a bit!

Still waiting on my liver biopsy results to come back and will update again once I hear more. Continued thanks to so many of you for your thoughts, prayers and support.  Feeling so loved. 

Love, Stacy