March 22, 2005

So the journey begins. Yesterday, I had my first chemotherapy treatment. The day started out at 9 am at the the West County Siteman Center (where Dr. Naughton's office is located.) They ran a CBC (checking of my white and red blood counts.) The port in my chest worked amazingly, and it didn't hurt at all! All looked good, so I met with Dr. Naughton for a quick physical exam. He gave me the thumbs up to start my treatment. An ONC nurse let me pick out a comfy recliner to start my drips. Onc nurse Jim was my caregiver and infusion provider. Greg was beside me the whole time, and even made sure they gave me the right amount of drugs. He's my protector! :)
Jim started me out with a flush of saline. The saline assists with the infusion of the chemo drugs. After about 15 minutes of saline, he then gave me an Emend pill to take orally (nausea meds.) He then gave me a drip of Decadron, which also assists with nausea. That took about 15 minutes. While the Decadron was dripping, he gave a big folder full of info about my chemo drugs and how to take my anti-nausea meds once I got home. Then came out the big guns. My two drugs, Adriamycin and Cytoxan, came in a little basket after the nurse mixed up the solution.
Jim then put up on his thick blue gloves to push the Adriamycin. Adriamycin is injected straight into the port from two large syringes. I sat comfortably in my chair reading my Caribbean magazine. The funniest thing happen just as Jim was giving me the Adriamycin. The song "Margaitaville" by Jimmy Buffet came on the radio. It couldn't have come on at a more perfect moment. I had a good laugh. I then decided that I would no longer call Adriamycin the "Red Devil." I will now call it Rum Punch! And the hang over is wicked! :)
In between, injections Jim brought over some ice chips for me suck on. He said it that would aid in preventing mouth sores. After the Rum Punch was over, he started the Cytoxan drip. He warned my that most people experience sinus headaches from Cytoxan during the infusion. Sure enough, about 20 into the infusion I felt some pressure in my eyes. It really did feel like a sinus headache. Jim gave me some Tylenol. The Cytoxan took about an hour. I then finished up the saline, and headed out the door. The whole experience was positive. I wasn't afraid at all (thanks to a little talk with God the night before!) Greg and I headed over to Dr. Dietz for a post-surgical consultation (more on that later.)
We were home by 3 pm, and I was starting to feel dramatically different. I was very sluggish and a little disoriented. My mom and dad stopped by after a weekend out at the lake house. I was glad they were there before the worst started. By 4 pm, the nausea start in and continued to get worse. It was HORRIBLE!!! It was like having a severe stomach flu and influenza all at once. Body aches and severe stomach cramps. By 8:30 pm, I was in tears and tried vomiting. Thankfully, this seemed to help. Greg said that I was white as a ghost, all color had left my face. By 9 pm, the nausea was calmer. I think the drug Zofran also assisted in calming my stomach. Poor Greg was constantly running to the pharmacy for new drugs. Zofran seems to be my golden pill. I was able to have a good night's sleep.
Today, I am still struggling with moderate nausea (no quick movements and I have to keep food in my stomach,) and I am very tired. I tried carrying a laundry basket, and found it very difficult. Overall, yesterday was harder than I thought it was going to be, and today I am surprised at how much better I am feeling. Chemo is very yucky!!! Please pray for me as I recover.
I have posted some photos from yesterday's treatments, if you are interested. Thank you for the food, cards, and guestbook entries. I am being carried in love. Love, Alicia

March 14, 2005

I want to fill you on what my chemotherapy treatments will look like over the next 12 weeks. First off, I am very impressed with my oncologist, Dr. Michael Naughton. He was very friendly and was concern that we understood all of the facts. He even helped us by taking down some additional notes for us. I feel that I can trust him for quality treatment.
On Wed. March 16, I will have a port inserted just under my collarbone to assist in the delivery of my chemo drugs. It is also a handy tool retrieve blood from my body without poking me 5 times! :) The surgery will be brief, but in a way, serious because they will be sticking a tube into one of my major arteries coming out of my heart and up my lower neck. Yikes! Should be back on my feet within an hour, since it has minor anesthesia.
On Mon. March 21, I will start my first round of chemo. After some routine blood tests to see if my blood counts are good, they will administer some anti-nausea medicine (just some pills.) Once that juice starts in, so does the nausea. Got to get the meds in before it starts. I will receive two drugs through the port, Adriamycin and Cytoxan (referred to as just AC.) They are administered separately through a giant syringe over the course of about 1 1/2 hours. I just get to chill in a lounge chair. Adriamycin is referred to in the "real BC world" as "The Red Devil." It gets its name from the fact that it is bright red (like Kool-Aid), and that it treats you like the Devil. Of all of the chemo drugs, it is the worst, making the patient very sick for several days. BUT, anti-nausea meds have really made it more bearable. Also, if it leaks onto (or into) your skin it will severely burn the you. Skin grafts are the only way to heal the wound. That is why the port is very important! The important thing to understand about Adriamycin is that it is the most powerful chemo drug available for killing cancer cells. Getting AC is very good thing in the long run. I probably will be sick to my stomach on some level. Time will only tell how sick I become, since everyone reacts differently.
The most common side of effects of my treatment are nausea and vomiting, tiredness due to decreased white blood cell and platelet counts, hair loss, and mouth sores. Yep, all of my hair will be going bye-bye. I'm sure I will miss my head hair, but I won't miss shaving my legs (hey, I gotta get something positive out of this experience! :) Charity and I went wig shopping last Friday, and picked one out that I think I will be very happy with. It was fun and freaky at the same time (oh, by the way, I am not a good blonde. I tried!) I will post pictures when I get the wig.
The first week I will be sick and tired. The second week I will have low blood counts and will be tired, and the third week I will loose my hair, but will start feeling "better." Then, the follow Monday, I will start the second of my four cycles. Whoo-hoo! Sounds like a fun spring! :)
Please pray for Greg and I over the next couple weeks, as this will probably be the most difficult thing we have been through together. I am looking forward to relying on my Lord even more through this time.

March 10, 2005

What a week I've had! Thank you for all of your love and support. I know I keep saying that, but I really mean it. You are such an important part of my recovery. I am very humbled by your concern. On to the big stuff....
Yes, I will have to have a mastectomy. This is not what I had hoped for or wanted, but it is part of God's plan for my life. He knew I would be going through this, and He has been carrying me since my diagnosis. My faith is bound to a mighty Rock that will not move. It would have been very easy for me to question His sovereignty, saying, "I prayed for healing, and nothing happened! Are you even listening?"
I can say with full confidence that He is listening, and hearing my cry. For starters, He gave me the wisdom to know that the bump I found was not normal and head straight to a doctor. He gave me the words to tell my husband that the biopsy came back positive for cancer cells. He helped me get a VERY good (and very much needed) rest the night before my first surgery. He gave me my Mom to care for me during a very discouraging recovery. I COULD NOT have been able to get through that week without her. He stopped the cancer from advancing into my lymph nodes. He gave me a a very good sense of humor and lack of fear heading into my second surgery (ask the Anesthesiologist!) He was with me as I was waking from my anesthesia with constant deep shivers (those will wear you out!) He quietly told my heart that the results of pathology were not going to be good (some call it intuition, I call it God whipsers.) He was comforting me when I was kicking, screaming, and crying after Dr. Deitz called me and said, "I wish I had better news...." He helped me be brave when I became a human pin cushion yesterday for blood tests (4 very painful attempts and 1 excruciating success .) And most of all, He gave me a loving, compassionate, strong, devoted husband, who truly believes in "in sickness and in health." Greg literally drops everything to go to appointments with me (thanks Jerry Stauder!), and is a really great note taker.
Christ has walked the path of human suffering ahead of me, so that He could show me the way.
I will be starting chemotherapy on March 21. I will fill you in on all of that over the weekend. I think I've blogged a little too long tonight! :)
Hugs and Kisses, Alicia

March 5, 2005 (by Greg)

Yesterday was a tough day! Alicia had a big cry when she got the news from Dr. Dietz about the fact that the 2nd surgery didn't get all of the cancer. It appears that her right breast is just full of DCIS cancer and a mastectomy is the only option left. Alicia really didn't want to think about this option, but she knew it would be the only option left if the 2nd surgery wasn't successful.
Alicia has an appointment with her oncologist (Dr. Naughton) on Wednesday. He will outline the chemotherapy schedule. Alicia will go ahead and have chemo before the next surgery. This is because chemotherapy drops the white blood cell count so low, if Alicia was recovering from the mastectomy at the time, there is a greater risk of infection.

March 4, 2005 (by Greg)

Bad News. The cancer still remains. More later...

March 1, 2005 (by Greg)

Today was the 2nd surgery to remove more margins around the original tumor. Everything went well again, but like last time, we are waiting on the results of the pathology report to find out exactly how successful the surgery went. We hope to get that back by Friday.
We left the house around 6am, got to the hospital around 6:30am and we felt like old pros at this surgery thing, knowing where to park, how to get around, basically the whole process. Alicia was led into pre-op around 7am, I met up with her again around 7:15am while, Jeff, the anesthesiologist, was there putting the IV needle in place. Around 7:30am, I was kicked out and Alicia was led into surgery.
Dr. Dietz came and found me around 8:45am and told me that everything went well. Alicia did excellent! She said that the conditions were perfect for the 2nd surgery and that she was able to get a good margin around the cavity. She also cautioned that if the pathology report does not come back negative this time around, then they are probably doing the wrong surgery. The clear implication that a mastectomy would be needed in that case. I know that Alicia really doesn't want that option, so we all are praying hard that there are good clean margins this time. Dr. Dietz also said that the odds are in her favor and this second surgery is usually all that is needed in most cases.
I got to see Alicia again around 9am and she was already awake! The anesthesia they used this time was not as drastic as the last time. She ate a couple of crackers, took some pain medicine and we were on the road back home by 9:30am. She is sleeping on the sofa once again. I think the pain meds make her sleepy.
Your prayers did wonders last time we when asked everyone to pray for negative lymph nodes and not a single cancer cell was found in any of the three lymph nodes they removed during the first surgery. We ask that you pray with us again this time that the margins are good and clean.
Thank you all for your support!Greg...