I am just back from getting my second dose of Navelbine. I'm a bit tired, so plan to take a nap, but otherwise feel fine. I also got Zometa, the bone strengthener, today, so I spent a little longer at the Cancer Institute but had lots of good company.
Now it's time to snooze!
January 31, 2011
January 27, 2011
Finding me on the web
There was a good article in the recent Costco Connection about how to get your website noticed. I took advantage of several of their tips and submitted my blog site to Google, Yahoo!, Bing and dmoz.org (the Open Directory Project). Then I tried to "meta tag" my blog but I am afraid html code is way above my current level of understanding. Then I took advantage of the new fonts available through Blogger. Last, I messed around with key words but didn't really get anywhere.
If any of you have suggestions on how to improve my blog's visibility, I'd be open to hearing them. What do you think of the new fonts?
If any of you have suggestions on how to improve my blog's visibility, I'd be open to hearing them. What do you think of the new fonts?
January 25, 2011
Must have these....
I saw these amazing shoes in an ad in Vogue Magazine. (I know, you wouldn't think I'd read Vogue, but it was a free subscription from expiring airline miles.)
I could never afford them, but aren't they gorgeous?! From Prada's spring/summer 2011 collection.
The latest
I just realized I haven't posted in a few days. I've been well, just busy. Here's the skinny:
On Friday I woke up with some back pain, so didn't go to yoga. We enjoyed a great Shabbat dinner with friends. I went to bed with a slightly queasy tummy, perhaps related to the second dose of Navelbine.
By Saturday my back was much better so I went to shul. I felt a bit faint in the morning but fresh air helped. After a two-hour afternoon nap, we got a last minute dinner invitation from friends. Even though I wasn't hungry, it sure beat cooking! And I have to eat, to keep my weight stable while on chemo, especially if I have little appetite.
Friends joined us for Sunday brunch (Eltana bagels, lox and cream cheese; artichoke-mushroom-cheese strata; coffee and OJ and delicious fruit tarts from a small bakery in Bellevue). We shmoozed our way into the afternoon, and then I pooped out.
I was late to my Monday morning meeting. Still feeling tired, I also had my blood drawn in preparation for today's appointment with Dr G.
Today it was even harder to get started. My usual 30 minute walk with the dog took 40 minutes and I was out of breath going up hill. When I saw Dr G, he told me that the Navelbine's effectiveness is unclear: my tumor markers had continued to rise. But still, it's much too soon to make any treatment changes. I will continue onto the second cycle of Navelbine, with two doses one week apart and then a week off. Then I'll have another blood test to check my tumor markers and we will re-evaluate.
In the meanwhile, I am slightly anemic. That would explain my fatigue and shortness of breath. It's either from the Navelbine or from the Neulasta shot I had last week. I plan to increase my consumption of iron-rich foods such as spinach, red meat, dried fruit, etc. I also see the naturopath next week and he may have other recommendations.
I am still hoping for this treatment to be highly effective, well-tolerated and with minimal side effects.
On Friday I woke up with some back pain, so didn't go to yoga. We enjoyed a great Shabbat dinner with friends. I went to bed with a slightly queasy tummy, perhaps related to the second dose of Navelbine.
By Saturday my back was much better so I went to shul. I felt a bit faint in the morning but fresh air helped. After a two-hour afternoon nap, we got a last minute dinner invitation from friends. Even though I wasn't hungry, it sure beat cooking! And I have to eat, to keep my weight stable while on chemo, especially if I have little appetite.
Friends joined us for Sunday brunch (Eltana bagels, lox and cream cheese; artichoke-mushroom-cheese strata; coffee and OJ and delicious fruit tarts from a small bakery in Bellevue). We shmoozed our way into the afternoon, and then I pooped out.
I was late to my Monday morning meeting. Still feeling tired, I also had my blood drawn in preparation for today's appointment with Dr G.
Today it was even harder to get started. My usual 30 minute walk with the dog took 40 minutes and I was out of breath going up hill. When I saw Dr G, he told me that the Navelbine's effectiveness is unclear: my tumor markers had continued to rise. But still, it's much too soon to make any treatment changes. I will continue onto the second cycle of Navelbine, with two doses one week apart and then a week off. Then I'll have another blood test to check my tumor markers and we will re-evaluate.
In the meanwhile, I am slightly anemic. That would explain my fatigue and shortness of breath. It's either from the Navelbine or from the Neulasta shot I had last week. I plan to increase my consumption of iron-rich foods such as spinach, red meat, dried fruit, etc. I also see the naturopath next week and he may have other recommendations.
I am still hoping for this treatment to be highly effective, well-tolerated and with minimal side effects.
January 21, 2011
Little girl has breast cancer
I read about this very young girl who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age two. At three she had a mastectomy. She's now four years old, and her doctors say her prognosis is good. She will have reconstructive surgery at some time in the future. Aleisha Hunter was on the Today show yesterday with her mom.
How can such a small child have breast cancer? An article in Canada's Globe and Mail reported that Aleisha has juvenile secretory breast carcinoma, and that there is no support for a trend of increased cases of breast cancer among children.
How can such a small child have breast cancer? An article in Canada's Globe and Mail reported that Aleisha has juvenile secretory breast carcinoma, and that there is no support for a trend of increased cases of breast cancer among children.
January 20, 2011
Tu B'Shvat
Perhaps one of our least widely-celebrated holidays, Tu B'Shvat is the Jewish Arbor Day. It's the time (in Israel) when sap begins to flow in the trees and you know spring is on its way. Check out this article on Tu B'Shvat and environmentalism.
Yesterday I was at Costco buying dog food, among other items, and saw small trees for sale. I purchased two genetic dwarf Meteor sour cherries. The tag reads "a natural genetic-dwarf tree with medium size, bright red fruit with tart flesh that is great for pies, jellies and preserves. The tree is very hardy, productive and resistant to leaf spot. Ripens late. Self-fertile."
What does all this mean?
It's a short tree, so that when he picks the fruit, Rik won't fall out of it from too high a height. (In his tumble from our plum tree a couple of years ago, Rik fell fifteen feet from the top of the tree to the ground, and thankfully he hardly had a scratch or bruise.)
It will give sour cherries, for making cherry pie, which are so hard to find, even at farmers' markets.
I didn't have to buy two different kinds of cherries in order for them to cross-pollinate with each other. I did buy two trees because two sour cherries means we should get twice the amount of fruit!
And the two cherry trees will help replace the dead tree we had to cut down this summer and the plum tree that fell over in a recent windstorm.
Of course, we will also celebrate Tu B'Shvat by eating some of the seven fruits of the land of Israel: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. I'm thinking pasta with olive oil and a glass of red wine. And I plan to bring both a pomegranate and a bar of World Market pomegranate dark chocolate to tonight's meeting for everyone to share.
Yesterday I was at Costco buying dog food, among other items, and saw small trees for sale. I purchased two genetic dwarf Meteor sour cherries. The tag reads "a natural genetic-dwarf tree with medium size, bright red fruit with tart flesh that is great for pies, jellies and preserves. The tree is very hardy, productive and resistant to leaf spot. Ripens late. Self-fertile."What does all this mean?
It's a short tree, so that when he picks the fruit, Rik won't fall out of it from too high a height. (In his tumble from our plum tree a couple of years ago, Rik fell fifteen feet from the top of the tree to the ground, and thankfully he hardly had a scratch or bruise.)
It will give sour cherries, for making cherry pie, which are so hard to find, even at farmers' markets.
I didn't have to buy two different kinds of cherries in order for them to cross-pollinate with each other. I did buy two trees because two sour cherries means we should get twice the amount of fruit!
And the two cherry trees will help replace the dead tree we had to cut down this summer and the plum tree that fell over in a recent windstorm.
Of course, we will also celebrate Tu B'Shvat by eating some of the seven fruits of the land of Israel: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. I'm thinking pasta with olive oil and a glass of red wine. And I plan to bring both a pomegranate and a bar of World Market pomegranate dark chocolate to tonight's meeting for everyone to share.
January 18, 2011
The New York Times gets it right
The New York Times ran this great article about metastatic breast cancer yesterday. In "A Pink-Ribbon Race, Years Long", journalist Roni Caryn Rabin eloquently conveys many of the fears, frustrations and concerns of women living with metastatic disease.
"Since it is metastasis that ultimately kills, some advocates want more resources devoted to its study and treatment. Even though many cancer drugs are initially tested on patients with advanced disease, Danny Welch, an expert on metastasis, says only a few hundred scientists in the world are trying to understand the process.
“It’s responsible for 90 percent of the morbidity and mortality, but gets less than 5 percent of the budget,” said Dr. Welch."This is a great reason to tell those who count -- your Congressional representatives, Komen, American Cancer Society, etc. -- to increase NIH funding specifically for metastatic breast cancer.
Navelbine #2, day 2
Things took a little longer than expected yesterday. Due to the MLK holiday, there was very little parking in on the street and we drove around a while looking for a spot. My appointment was later in the morning, and so the lab and the Cancer Institute in general were busier. Still, the lab finished my blood work in relatively quick time, and I was sitting in the chemo chair only a half-hour later than my appointment. Then the pharmacy never got the fax from the lab, indicating that they should make up my drug. The nurse realized something was wrong and 45 minutes later, I was getting the Navelbine. By the time I was finished, many of the nurses were extremely busy with other patients, so I had to wait. All in all, we left the Cancer Institute at 1:45 PM and went straight to get some lunch at Mediterranean Kitchen. Then we ran one errand downtown.
It was almost 4 PM by the time we got home, and I collapsed on the sofa for a nice, two hour-plus nap. It was a good thing Rik and I had both eaten that big, late lunch, because I didn't really want any dinner. We relaxed for the rest of the evening and I woke up this morning feeling fine. My cold feels almost over!
I'll be off to the Cancer Institute today for a shot of Neulasta, a drug that will keep my white blood cell count up. Although my counts weren't especially low yesterday (right on the border for normal), Dr G doesn't want to take any chances that this second dose of Navelbine will drop the counts further.
Next week is the week off, so no chemo then. Here's hoping for highly effective, well-tolerated and with minimal side effects.
It was almost 4 PM by the time we got home, and I collapsed on the sofa for a nice, two hour-plus nap. It was a good thing Rik and I had both eaten that big, late lunch, because I didn't really want any dinner. We relaxed for the rest of the evening and I woke up this morning feeling fine. My cold feels almost over!
I'll be off to the Cancer Institute today for a shot of Neulasta, a drug that will keep my white blood cell count up. Although my counts weren't especially low yesterday (right on the border for normal), Dr G doesn't want to take any chances that this second dose of Navelbine will drop the counts further.
Next week is the week off, so no chemo then. Here's hoping for highly effective, well-tolerated and with minimal side effects.
January 16, 2011
Navelbine + 1 week
It's been a week since my first dose of Navelbine and so far, excellent. I had only one side effect for a couple of day (constipation) and prune juice took care of that nicely.
However, I came down with a cold on Tuesday, and by Thursday it was at its worst. I spent much of that day napping, making chicken soup, and then eating the soup. Feeling better on Friday, I went to yoga, and then felt fatigued again. (More soup.) I went to shul on Saturday, relaxed for the rest of the day, but didn't sleep well. (Soup again.)
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I'm assuming that my fatigue has been related to the cold, as well as the runny nose and coughing. Tomorrow's lab work will let me know if my counts are low; that could also contribute to feeling fatigued. The real reason I think this is the cold and not the chemo is that Rik has been sick also, with the same symptoms. Hopefully we are both well on the road to recovery!
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