Well, I am the worst blogger on the planet. I guess it's safe to say that I have been holding the realities of my illness close to my chest for quite a while. There are certain things I have chosen to not share with everyone. And, I am going to continue that way. But, that said, I have started a new chemotherapy due to new things showing up on scans.
I started to have some pain in my ribs on the right side in September. I talked with Dr. Steffens about the pain and he suggested I see Dr. Lankford in radiation oncology. I met with him and we decided to do 10 radiation treatments on my ribs. This is the quickest way to get rid of the pain...and it worked! I am no longer having pain in my ribs. That is the great news. But, the ribs were not the only spot lighting up on my scans. There is a spot in the soft tissue of my left flank.
I sat down last week with Dr. Steffens and he had 5 different drugs that were options for me. We opted out of 3 drugs, due to the high risk of neuropathy. I already have a pretty severe case of neuropathy in my right foot and we really don't want to compound that issue. So, that left 2 drugs. One of the drugs was offered as an oral option. The last chemotherapy I was on, Xeloda, was also oral. I took it on a 21 day schedule: 14 days on and 7 days off. The VB-16 is the same schedule. It sounded like a great option to me. Any chance I have of skipping out on going to the clinic for infusions, I am going to jump on it.
After almost an entire week of being put on hold by my pharmacy, I finally started the VB-16 last night. I will be taking 50mg once a day for the next 2 weeks. I am a little nervous. I am going to lose my hair. I know I've done it so many times before, but this time is going to be a little harder for me. I was finally growing out my hair. I have only had a handful of cuts since February of 2010. I know it's only hair, but I was excited to have longer hair for the first time since I was in high school. That being said, I'll get over it. I always do. There is a risk of me being neutropenic and of getting nauseous. I have really been feeling pretty great for most of this year and I'm not looking forward to feeling crappy. Whine Whine Whine!!!
I have been doing a bit of traveling this year. I still have lots of plans for more travel and I hope this chemo regimen does not get in the way of that. I stepped out of my little bubble world last year and went to Park City, Utah for Christmas. Since dad died, I have had a really hard time being home on the holidays. Last year we spent the holiday with family; Gloria, Sarah, Jeff and Wynter. It was awesome. Then we went to San Francisco to see our family there. We had such a good time with Evelyn, Donna, Steve, Heather, Steve and Ella. I had so much fun that I decided to stay on through New Years. Heather and Steve had an awesome party and it was amazing to be out and about again. The trip gave me some confidence in myself that had been missing for way too long. Due to the fun I had on that trip, I made a decision to get out more. I went to the beach 3 times this year. I went to my cousin Barry's wedding in May, in Wichita, KS. That trip was awesome, as I got to see everyone in the Engstrom family. I spent a week in the triangle area of NC visiting 3 different friends and their kids. Aninda, Kat and Amy were awesome hostesses and I loved playing with and getting to know their kids better. 2 of the beach trips were with Kimyatta, Gary, Kat and Aninda. The five of us are such great vacation buddies and all just love hanging out and telling stories and laughing!! Lots of laughs! The last beach trip was with my mother and my aunt Gloria. We also had a really great time. Finally, I spent last weekend in Park City again. My cousin Sarah had a big celebration for her 40th birthday! My cousins Jeff, Barry and Lindsey were also there to help celebrate. We had such a great time! I went as hard as my body would let me and I have spent the last week trying to catch back up on my sleep!
So, I will try to keep everyone updated on my progress on this chemotherapy.
Thank you so much for reading my ramblings!
Love and joy!
Tara
