day 17

My hair started to come loose today. My scalp has hurt all day and tonight my little absent-minded tug-test came up with two, three, twelve hairs per tug. It’s weird how I have a scalp-ache…not a headache, just my scalp, all over. I had a tender scalp during the first week after chemo too, for […]

beyond allopathic

Things I’m doing besides standard Western medicine’s slash, poison, and burn: Learning to meditate, getting in touch with the more emotional parts of me Acupuncture to lessen chemotherapy side effects (nausea) Drinking nettle infusion to support my liver through chemotherapy Taking milk thistle supplements, ditto Taking mushroom tonic and extracts and eating more shiitake mushrooms […]

genetic testing, part 1

Last Friday Eric and I had the initial genetic-testing appointment at the oncologist’s practice. It was with their genetic-testing person, who is an oncologist rather than a trained certified genetic counselor. We found the appointment less than we had hoped: first we watched a very basic 30-minute video on genetic testing for breast cancer, then […]

no news is good news

I have felt good for the last week and have been often pretending the world of the sick has nothing to do with me. Except for some web research in an attempt to figure out how better to manage the queasiness next round. I haven’t been thinking much about the larger issues of getting rid […]

Neulasta

That’s the name of the medicine I’m getting the day after each chemo to boost my white blood cell count. It is a brief shot in the arm that I have to drive to Albany and back in order to get. Dr. C. the oncologist says that it is basically prophylactic–it eliminates the risk of […]

saturday through wednesday (more than you wanted to know)

Saturday I went to Pennsylvania for the CABC board meeting, which was all day Sunday. Spee drove and spent Sunday visiting Lucas at Westtown. I felt okay if queasy on Saturday, but by Saturday night I felt bad and went to bed early in the hotel room I was sharing with another board member (who […]

end of another day

Still queasy, no worse, no better, no effect from the Zofran. I wasn’t worried about it getting worse today, though, so that was nice. Still feeling flu-ish in my head. Ran out of energy at 3 PM today and went home to bed instead of continuing to help Paul tile the backsplash in the farmhouse […]

end of day 3

Today I was queasy, pretty much all day, but never so much that I was worried about throwing up. A Zofran at 9 AM had no effect, acupuncture at 1 PM didn’t seem to do much noticeable right away anyway, ginger beer and popcorn to fill my empty stomach helped a bit, the remedy from […]

me

Yesterday morning. My hair has been cut much shorter than usual (1/2″ in front, at its longest) but you really can’t tell much difference! I’ll have to buzz it to 1/4″ next week, so as to really look startling.