Chemotherapy: Round Two :Day One

10:30 AM-3:30 pm ...What a day! My first day of treatment of this cycle. I got my nausea meds, then my "liquid gold" ,received my push of 5-FU and got some "to go " in a take home pump. Not so bad today, but I can feel the tiredness coming on . So I'm still going to continue my "green machine" (chlorelle/spirlina drink) which can help with anemia ( I'm not anemic and don't want to) also can help with side effects of chemo. Remember my Rebounder post a while back...going to try to start that too. This can build you while blood cells and that's mega important during this time when these cell counts drop. I serve a God who doesn't hold onto statistics...I pray that I beat theses side effect stats and that all goes well and leave the Dr's picking their jaws off the floor:-) Today I had a nurse who was training along a head nurse today. She was talking to me and said, I just can't believe you are going through chemo, you could be my daughter, I'm old enough to be your mother...and your are attitude is so positive. I told her you have to just stay positive to get through it, if you don't it brings you down and your hope tends to fade. Again I was the youngest chemo patient in the room today. An elder man sat near us today and while I was in the bathroom asked chad "does she have cancer" (umm I would be sittin the chair if I didn't:-) anyway he told him that I had colon cancer. " shes too young to have cancer" the man said. Chad said yeah more and more young people are getting cancer these days it seems.

Me watching a movie .Chad doing his work and keeping me company...Love this guy!

Chemo " to go" pump.

LIVESTRONG...as a Christian.

The Easter message today at our church was quite powerful. It also hit close to home. It was titled Tragedy to Triumph. The main character in the presentation was diagnosed with cancer and only had 3-4 months to live. But came to grips with it and knew he rather die being a christian then one hating , and being mad at God for allowing the cancer . Hmmm Im human and I admit having feelings of "not fair", "why me", and "what did I not do for you Lord, that this had to happen to me" I serve an amazing God who forgave me when I ask him to for all that I was feeling when I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I'm choosing now to live strong. LIVESTRONG takes on a whole new meaning when your faced with cancer and battling it to stay away. Living strong as a christian through the toughest thing you had to go through in your life means letting go and letting Christ shine through you, praising God for the good and bad, using the circumstance to show how Christ is your shelter, your rock and strength. This week I will indeed call on my God to get me through my 1st chemo treatment after my surgery. Trusting God that he'll " never let go". Which by the way is an awesome song by David Crowder Band on the album Remedy (#5) God is awesome! My Lord has risen today! Happy Easter!

Rollie-Pollie

I know, you're thinkin',"rollie-pollie"...she comes up with some weird titles...
Well, I have felt like a rollie-pollie for the past 26 days! Sleeping at night is challenging in way...it's either lay on your back or lay on your back! UMMM I'm a tummy sleeper!!! So just recently I've been able to lay on my left side!!! Progress for someone who just had abdominal surgery. With the help of my body pillow it's comfortable. My right side is not so much. that's the side where my ileostomy is. This is where I feel like a rollie-pollie, side to back to side again... Well this early this morning I tried it...I slept on my TUMMY! AHHH...SO NICE... for awhile that is. So a small victory in my life and I'm praying for more to come and praising God for the good and bad. I start my chemo on Mon. march,24 @ 10:30 am. Let's hope it goes well...it may be a good thing that I have my ileostomy...one of the side effects of FOLFOX is diarrhea...I guess I'll be emptying my bag often if that the case(sorry if that's too much information but that's my reality)I'll keep ya posted.

My very own "Colondar"...

Here in Virginia we have a monthly magazine that goes out to southwest/central Virginia. It's a free magazine for women and usually found around town in places like the mall, food places, and Dr's offices. My younger sister told me to find one because they had an article on Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Each month the magazine has prizes you can email for to see if they pick you. One of the prizes was a 2008 Colondar. It's a calender of men and women living with colorectal cancer and they tell their stories.


So I entered and told them about me and that I just had surgery and will undergo chemotherapy at the end of the month. Also that I had applied for the Colondar but already had 2009 models. But I'm on the "list" for applicants for the 2010 Colondar. We'll see what happens, first things first.

So today I get an Email from BELLA magazine informing that I had won the prize, the 2008 Colondar! I never win anything ! Seeing their scars is pretty powerful I think... to me a scar usually means you've been through something tough and a story to go along with it.

Read about them a www.colonclub.com ...amazing stories indeed!

I'm Becoming a "REGULAR" at the OR and still have 2 procedures to go!

So I feel like I'm one of the regulars at the local hospital! It's funny how you can remember what happened on the dates (without looking) that are on the reverse side of these hospital arm bands.
11-09-07 Blood band(I had to GET blood :Very anemic!
11-13-07 Found Cancer
11-20-07 Implanted PORT( for chemo)
1-31-08 Colonoscopy
2-26-08 Colon resection- Removed CANCER
2-26-08 Blood Band for Transfusion if needed.
TBA Ileostomy reversal
TBA PORT removal !
I know I'm wierd...I save stuff like this ...it's better than seeing a picture of my scar I will have ;-)

From a MASS to a PEANUT...

You're wondering What? Well when cancer was found in my lower colon it was the size of an average fist and staged at T4 and didn't look good. Just look at that scan...it's a monster! I would say my response to chemo/radiation were very good along with my alternative methods. At the time of my colonoscopy it was the size of a golfball. At that point in my treatment, it had reached the maxium potential for it's use. Sooo between then and the time I had my recent surgery is when I guzzled my green machine drink twice a day and a protien shake w/Zeolite and my usual intake of vitamins. Well it may...I believe it did help shrink it more! When they took the cancer out it was the size of PEANUT!!! AND my lymphnodes were CLEAR of cancer! (Just found out yesterday on the pathology report) . I serve an amazing GOD who still keep working on my body after what researchers tell us that the chemo and rad. work to it maxium for 6 weeks and then proceed to surgery. I give PRAISE and THANKS to Him because I KNOW it was Him. Even though it didn't change the course of surgery , he still has his plan for me . Thanks to ALL who have been praying for me and thinking of me...I truely feel it.