Two thirds done with Taxotere!!

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.  ~Walter Elliott, The Spiritual Life

I think I’m going to try putting my “inspirational quote” at the top and the “You know you’re a cancer patient when…..” at the bottom.  We’ll see how that goes.  I didn’t really like them both together. 

Yesterday I had Taxotere drip #8!  Yay!  Only 4 more to go!!  The drip was preceded by an appointment with Dr. Sprawls (he was running an hour and 20 minutes behind – thank God for my antianxiety pill and Sudoku puzzles, which I now have as an app on my Iphone – the Sudoku, not the antianxiety pill – now there’s an idea for an app!).  Anyway, it was an “uneventful” visit – my labs looked good.  White count rose to 6.4 after the Neupogen injection, and the other numbers looked good, too.  I asked him if Ken and I could plan a road trip in the RV for the month between chemo and radiation, and he said, “Plan away!”  So now we have something to look forward to after this rather yucky summer.  That trip will be for the month of October, which should be a nice time to take a trip – should be cooler and not too crowded with all the kids back in school. 

Dr. Sprawls did say he wanted me to continue getting the Neupogen injection each week after chemo to keep the white count up.  Not excited about that, but I don’t want to end up in the hospital again either, so I’ll just bite the bullet and do it.  It kind of wiped me out last weekend – severe fatigue and mild nausea all weekend.  Hoping for better results this weekend (Neupogen #2 tomorrow at 0800). 

In fact, we’re hoping to go to the Brevard Zoo tomorrow, which is a pretty nice zoo as far as zoos go.  We actually thought about going to Disney’s Animal Kingdom because we’ve never been there, but I think it might wear me out – just the drive to and from Orlando is a lot, and then all the walking, all the crowds, all the hustle and bustle, etc……not to mention all the germs!  So I think we’ll keep it low key and stick to our local zoo, which will be much less crowded, not nearly as far, and I should be able to handle the excitement.  I would love to try the new Treetop Trek with tightropes, jungle bridges, and ziplines, but I don’t think I have quite the stamina for that yet.  In the future, though……

Last night we went to Rusty’s Seafood in Port Canaveral for an early-bird dinner – to celebrate the 2/3 Taxotere point and to check out their new waterfront deck/dock.  Maybe we’ll even go there by boat someday.  Of course, I was pretty tired by the time we got home – long day at the chemo center and then going out to dinner did me in, I guess.  I was in my PJs by 1815, in bed by 1915, and lights out at 2000! 

Today I’m feeling really good so far.  And I’m once again on one of my “forced” vacations (without pay, of course).  Jill, one of the nurse practitioners, is off for almost 2 weeks.  When she’s off, I’m off.  Well, I still have a little bit of work from the doctor (2 half-days per week).  My “girls” do the other nurse practitioner’s stuff.  Anyway, it will be kind of nice to have the break, although it’s a little frustrating not to be able to go anywhere (trapped by chemo and Neupogen appointments) and to not have the paycheck.  Ken is doing some work on the boat engine; maybe we can take that on a day trip or 2 when it’s back together.  And we’ll just have to look forward to the big road trip in October.  Just gotta figure out where to go now. 

You know you’re a cancer patient when……all you want is liquor and dessert…..    (Dr. Sprawls asked me yesterday if my taste buds were back yet.  I said, “No.  Everything tastes like crap…..except margaritas…..and ice cream!!”   I try really hard to stay away from both, but it ain’t easy……  The joys of chemo cravings!) 

Celebrating the 2/3 point of Taxotere -- at Rusty's Seafood -- Ken with 2-4-1 Cabernet, me with bottomless ice water!