September 27, 2011

Latest chemo dose

Yesterday I received dose 13 of Abraxane (and some Avastin, but I'm not counting the number of times I've had that drug). All went well, except that Swedish just upgraded the computer system and Dr G and his staff were not ready for it. As Minor and James gets more integrated into the Swedish system, I am sure things will improve. But in the meantime Dr G had a hard time implementing his orders digitally. And he may have been at the Swedish doctors' meeting from 8 - 9 AM when they all got a lesson in the new upgraded system.

So my early 8 AM arrival didn't matter, since Dr G wasn't in his office until after 9:00. I sat in the waiting room from 8:00 until 11:00, reading, doing the crossword puzzle, and chatting with a friend. Luckily, by the time they took me back to the infusion center, my drugs had arrived from the pharmacy and we got started right away. I was finished just after noon, making this the longest chemo day yet at four hours.

I have had a small sore on my tongue for a few days. It was annoying but not really painful. The infection is my toe from a manicure in mid-August has still been bothering me, so Dr G put me on an antibiotic, and I think that has helped the mouth sore as well. It's not bugging me at all and is practically gone.

And for those who recall, I took a mammoth nap the other day, but awoke after only an hour feeling refreshed and ready to go grocery shopping.

Today I started the cooking for the Rosh Hashanah meals we will be sharing with friends. I made zwetschkenkuchen, a cookie-like pastry baked with Italian prune plums. I didn't quite have enough plums for the quantity of pastry, so added some late raspberries and chester berries from our garden. It looks great and smells even better. Thanks H for the recipe! I also made some baked gefilte fish using D's recipe. Tomorrow I will bake the travados.....yum, travados! Many, many thanks to B who shared her family recipe with me several years ago. Although I am not Sephardic, I make these little nut-filled, lemon and honey simmered pastries every new Jewish year.

3 comments:

  1. I was searching the internet for cancer blogs, and came across yours. My mom has stage IV metastatic breast cancer and is on her third dose of Abraxane. She had cancer once before, but this time it is so much worse. She has made it over the hump of being really really sick, but the cancer has limited her so much that she is trying to find the meaning of her life and not sure what it is. She is trying to find things to keep her busy, but everything we keep suggesting to her, she just turns down. I know she is depressed, but she refuses to take anything for it. Going though this yourself, do you have any suggestions on how I can help her! I really have no idea what to do. I don't want to lose my mom.

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  2. Oh my that looks and sounds so yummy !!!
    Ive never heard of it. but I just know I would love it.

    I am glad that the antibiotic they gave you for your toe seems to be helping with the sore on your tongue too.

    Debbi

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  3. Stephanie2:20 PM

    I baked an Italian plum breakfast cobbler yesterday myself. Alas, the end of the fresh plums from the tree, for this year.

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