Chemo/Weekend Update

My reader friends will probably love this post. My non-reader friends will probably just skim the shortest bullet points.

To each their own are words I live by.

So, without further ado:

• Chemo went well today. I arrived at 9:00am and left at 2:15pm. Long day...they were running behind, but it all worked out fine. Given that it took so dang long though, I'm glad I went alone to this one.
  

• I ran a few errands afterward, came home and ate, then napped for 2 hours.

• As for the big 'it's been one year and 18 treatments on these drugs, what are we going to do now' decision, Dr. Doane has decreased my Taxotere dosage which is one of the options she and I previously discussed. Avastin (the clinical trial drug) remains the same. It'll be interesting to see if I notice any changes in my energy levels, blood counts, and other side effects.
  

• Dr. Doane also announced that she will be leaving at the end of this year. That's a long time away, so I'm not worrying about it yet. There are a lot of good doctors in KC, so that's another reason I'm not stressing about it.
  

• She recommended two doctors that she thought might be a good fit for me, one of whom is my friend Debby's doctor. He is at KCCC's South location, but it's still close to work and home...just in the opposite direction. The other doctor she mentioned is also at the South location (and he went to SMSU). I plan on asking Dr. Jew her opinion to see what she thinks. It's important to me that my personality meshes well with whatever doctor I choose.
  

• I got to visit with one of my chemo buddies that I hadn't seen in awhile. Remember me mentioning Janie? We got to sit next to each other and talk until she got too tired and had to take a nap.
  

• I also met someone new, her name is Linda. She likes to watch Young & Restless at a really loud volume on the chemo room tv though...so, that's sorta annoying and makes it difficult to chat with people around you. But I still like her. She was taking a nap when I left too, so I didn't get to say goodbye.

• Ummmm...it's looking like I seem to have a knack for putting people around me to sleep. You still awake?
  

• I don't like having the tv's in the chemo room on period. Tyra, The View, Y&R (or any soap), and the ever-depressing news just are not my cup of beer (no offense Tyra, View, Y&R, soaps, and news fans).

• If there's going to be background noise, I typically prefer music over tv. But honestly, I don't want music in there either, unless it's through headphones. Everyone has different preferences and I would go insane if I had to listen to country for 4 hours straight (no offense country fans).

• Janie and Linda kept trying to feed me...handing me Whoppers (the candy, not the BK burgers...which I ate cuz I love them but rarely eat them. I would've eaten a BK burger too though, for the same reason), and crackers (which I ate two of to be nice. They took away my favorite cheese and peanut butter crackers from the chemo room pantry...grrrr).
  

• They're both moms, and I think that once you're a mother to someone you're sort of a mother to everyone. When you're not, you don't have that instinct to such a depth. Me? I'd be sitting there eating something going, 'Oh, how rude of me, would you like a cracker? Or a Whopper?' or 'Oh man, I should've asked if you wanted something while I was up.' way after the fact. Duh.
  

Aaannnyywaaay..........

• My next CT scan is scheduled for July 6. I scheduled my annual mammogram for that same day so that I'll just have to take time off on that one day. It'll be a yucky day for sure, but I'd rather just get it all done at once and move on. I might take Thursday, 7/5 off as a vacation/fun/non-doctor day since we've got the 4th off anyway.
  

• It was a very nice weekend. I got all of my laundry done, my errands run, got to talk to Michelle, and got my house semi-cleaned up. All good things. Especially Michelle.
  

• The family got together at Mom & Dad's yesterday for Father's Day (minus Tracy, Tony and the girls...they had other plans). I made kabobs and Mom & I grilled them while Dad & Kori watched golf. It was a fun day just hanging out with everyone and watching Izabella being her cute self walking around swinging her little arms.
  

• Back to work tomorrow. It feels like I haven't been there in forever (Wednesday was my last day there because of carpet day and then picnic day), and I'm looking forward to going back.

• And here's a question for you: how a) ballsy, b) inconsiderate, c) unaware, d) stupid, e) addicted, f) defiant, or g) all of the above would you have to be to stand right outside of the entry/exit way of a CANCER CENTER smoking a CIGARETTE? But on the other hand, this was a much older gentleman and he's probably like, 'Screw it, I've been smoking for 60 years, I'm not stopping now. And furthermore I'll smoke wherever I damn well please. Most of the people coming through these doors already HAVE cancer." You go, Grandpa!
  

Yes, I AM on steroids!!!!! And I've got a couple more doses to go!!!!! Lucky me, and lucky lucky you and everyone around me.