FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2006
Hello there!
Just in case you were wondering about my current status, I am here to let you know what I've been up to! The answer is: not too much!! I am experiencing some extreme fatigue and, although I feel like I've been a busy little bee, I haven't been able to do too much.
As you may remember, my first chemo treatment was last Thursday-one week from yesterday. The day after chemo, I rode down to the Valley with my Mom and Dad. I felt pretty good then, but was already quite tired. Saturday and Sunday were ok days since I still had alot of my premeds working. I even got to go to church on Sunday!
Monday started a little rough and I battled headaches and nausea. Tuesday was about the same. Nausea meds worked pretty well to get me through those days. Wednesday was the first day that I did not need any of the nausea medication. Yay!!
The one thing that has remained is the fatigue. I am just SO tired all the time!! It is so frustrating to be tired after doing practically nothing! Compounding the issue is the fact that I have not been able to sleep too well at night and I am, by nature, not a nap taker. I have never in my life had a problem sleeping at night but, for some reason, I am up and down several times a night. Each night does get a little better and I know I will figure it out eventually.
I can usually accomplish one "big" activity per day and I have tried to make them a little bigger each day. Monday started with a couple of visitors at the house and on Tuesday evening Mom took me over to a dear friend's house for dinner. On Wednesday we went to one of my favorite lunch places with some great friends and even managed an evening walk! I had forgotten how nice the Valley breeze can be! Yesterday's adventure was a trip to Wal-Mart. I think I had also forgotten how crazy a Valley Wal-Mart trip can be. Ha!
Jared is planning on driving down here tomorrow and, rather than having me bee-bop around Texas going from here to San Angelo and on to Houston, he is going to take a few days off and stay here until Thursday. Yay!! I just love the 4th of July and fireworks, so I am hoping to be able to have a nice 4th with my family and friends here. Also, our three-year anniversary is on Wednesday and I think we will try for a nice dinner or something to celebrate!
The next thing on the schedule will be a trip back to Houston on the 9th of July. I have a couple of appointments on Monday, the 10th and have surgery scheduled for the 11th to have my port implanted. It is a fairly simple outpatient procedure that takes about an hour and I will spend about an hour in recovery. After the port, I will have my second round of chemo on July 13th.
Well, I best wrap this up. I want to thank you all for continuing to email me such supportive and loving words. I really thrive off the sweet thoughts you share with me! I am really touched by you volunteering to be "troops" in my "army."
I love you all!
~Heather~
Friday, June 30, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2006
Hey all!
God is good and I am further down the road to recovery. I know now why he made me so hard-headed and that was to be able to get through all this stuff!!
I made it through my first chemo treatment! It certainly wasn't too fun, but I made it through. We didn't get done until 11:00pm and my chemo appointment was at 1:00pm. Before I tell you my chemo story, I do want to tell you about the first part of the day that I spent at my doctor's office at MD. We met with my doctor and she went over the pathology and all the tests and told us that every test and every biopsy that was done found NO CANCER anywhere else! Yay! Dr. Bodurka did say that, based on all the pathology and all the other medical reports, she would stage my cancer at 2-C. A bit higher than we originally thought, but my doctor is confident and so am I.
On to the chemo part. I was the last person to leave the chemo clinic last night at 11:00pm. We had a few bumps in the road along the way that slowed our process. The IV part was the start of it. I'm sure you've all heard the expression, "Third time's a charm." Well, this does not apply to IV sticks!! I have been deemed as a "hard stick" when it comes to needles. I have deep veins that sometimes roll and are tricky to deal with when trying to get an IV to take. An IV specialist tried and tried three different spots until she finally got a good stick on the side of my right wrist. I was given a valium to take prior to all this and it did help a little bit with the anxiety. This has all pretty much verified that I do need to get a port implanted before the next treatment.
Once the IV was in, I was started on pre-meds. Pre-meds consist of anti-nausea meds, steroids, and even Benedryl. They took about an hour to drip in and then we moved on to the chemo drugs. The two types of chemo I will be on for the next 18 weeks are called Carboplatin and Taxol. It is the Taxol that will cause me to lose all my hair.
After pre-meds were done, Taxol was the first chemo drug they started me on. Taxol usually takes 3 hours to drip through. However, about 15 minutes into the drip I started to have an allergic reaction. It started with a funny feeling in my stomach and then terrible back pain. Then, I could feel it traveling up my body to my neck and my throat closed up. It moved up to my face and down my arms and my skin felt like it was on fire (way worse than any hot flash). I could barely take in a breath at all and my mom called the nurses. They pulled me off the Taxol immediately and put me on oxygen and I was able to breathe a little easier. They put me on a hydrocortizone drip and everything started to get better. We waited for about thirty minutes and then I was put back on the Taxol EXTREMELY slowly this time. Every 15 minutes it was sped up a bit. I finally finished the Taxol drip at 9:45pm.
After the Taxol was the Carboplatin. This one was much shorter and I had no side effects or reactions to it. After it was through they flushed my IV, unhooked the IVs, and let me go. I made it through!!
Because of the steroids, I will feel pretty good today and tomorrow. After that we don't know. My hair will go in the next week to two weeks. I have already bought a wig so I am ready for the hair loss.
Thanks to all of you who have continued to pray for me and to be my support through all this. I really have appreciated all of your comments, emails, messages, letters, and even gifts. You are too kind! A friend of mine recently told me to remember that I have an army behind me through all of this. "Legions, I tell you," he would say! I have come to understand this and to truly believe that I do have an army behind me to fight this cancer with me. All of you who read these updates, who think good thoughts, who say great prayers, who make a special phone call, or write nice things--you are my beautiful army and the reason that I can always envision turning around and seeing all of you behind me when times are hard and I want to cry or give up. Thank you for that.
Well, I had better sign off now. This update is getting lengthy and we are getting ready to pack up and get on the road while I am feeling good. I will be going to the Valley to spend about a week there with my parents. Mom will be able to take care of me if I get sick and monitor any reactions I might have since this was my first time for chemo and we don't know how I'll react. Jared needs to get back to San Angelo to take care of business, our house, bills, plants, and animals. Jared will most likely try to get a flight down to the Valley to drive me back in about a week since my car will be down there. I would like to drive myself back, but sometimes my mind allows me to do more than my body will so it might not be such a good idea!
Thank you all for reading this and keeping up with me and I will keep you posted!
Love,Heather
Hey all!
God is good and I am further down the road to recovery. I know now why he made me so hard-headed and that was to be able to get through all this stuff!!
I made it through my first chemo treatment! It certainly wasn't too fun, but I made it through. We didn't get done until 11:00pm and my chemo appointment was at 1:00pm. Before I tell you my chemo story, I do want to tell you about the first part of the day that I spent at my doctor's office at MD. We met with my doctor and she went over the pathology and all the tests and told us that every test and every biopsy that was done found NO CANCER anywhere else! Yay! Dr. Bodurka did say that, based on all the pathology and all the other medical reports, she would stage my cancer at 2-C. A bit higher than we originally thought, but my doctor is confident and so am I.
On to the chemo part. I was the last person to leave the chemo clinic last night at 11:00pm. We had a few bumps in the road along the way that slowed our process. The IV part was the start of it. I'm sure you've all heard the expression, "Third time's a charm." Well, this does not apply to IV sticks!! I have been deemed as a "hard stick" when it comes to needles. I have deep veins that sometimes roll and are tricky to deal with when trying to get an IV to take. An IV specialist tried and tried three different spots until she finally got a good stick on the side of my right wrist. I was given a valium to take prior to all this and it did help a little bit with the anxiety. This has all pretty much verified that I do need to get a port implanted before the next treatment.
Once the IV was in, I was started on pre-meds. Pre-meds consist of anti-nausea meds, steroids, and even Benedryl. They took about an hour to drip in and then we moved on to the chemo drugs. The two types of chemo I will be on for the next 18 weeks are called Carboplatin and Taxol. It is the Taxol that will cause me to lose all my hair.
After pre-meds were done, Taxol was the first chemo drug they started me on. Taxol usually takes 3 hours to drip through. However, about 15 minutes into the drip I started to have an allergic reaction. It started with a funny feeling in my stomach and then terrible back pain. Then, I could feel it traveling up my body to my neck and my throat closed up. It moved up to my face and down my arms and my skin felt like it was on fire (way worse than any hot flash). I could barely take in a breath at all and my mom called the nurses. They pulled me off the Taxol immediately and put me on oxygen and I was able to breathe a little easier. They put me on a hydrocortizone drip and everything started to get better. We waited for about thirty minutes and then I was put back on the Taxol EXTREMELY slowly this time. Every 15 minutes it was sped up a bit. I finally finished the Taxol drip at 9:45pm.
After the Taxol was the Carboplatin. This one was much shorter and I had no side effects or reactions to it. After it was through they flushed my IV, unhooked the IVs, and let me go. I made it through!!
Because of the steroids, I will feel pretty good today and tomorrow. After that we don't know. My hair will go in the next week to two weeks. I have already bought a wig so I am ready for the hair loss.
Thanks to all of you who have continued to pray for me and to be my support through all this. I really have appreciated all of your comments, emails, messages, letters, and even gifts. You are too kind! A friend of mine recently told me to remember that I have an army behind me through all of this. "Legions, I tell you," he would say! I have come to understand this and to truly believe that I do have an army behind me to fight this cancer with me. All of you who read these updates, who think good thoughts, who say great prayers, who make a special phone call, or write nice things--you are my beautiful army and the reason that I can always envision turning around and seeing all of you behind me when times are hard and I want to cry or give up. Thank you for that.
Well, I had better sign off now. This update is getting lengthy and we are getting ready to pack up and get on the road while I am feeling good. I will be going to the Valley to spend about a week there with my parents. Mom will be able to take care of me if I get sick and monitor any reactions I might have since this was my first time for chemo and we don't know how I'll react. Jared needs to get back to San Angelo to take care of business, our house, bills, plants, and animals. Jared will most likely try to get a flight down to the Valley to drive me back in about a week since my car will be down there. I would like to drive myself back, but sometimes my mind allows me to do more than my body will so it might not be such a good idea!
Thank you all for reading this and keeping up with me and I will keep you posted!
Love,Heather
Thursday, June 15, 2006
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2006
Well, it has been too long since I have provided an update. I am sorry, but I did have every intention of doing so before now.
I got out of the hospital on Monday, just before lunchtime. In the hospital I had been eating like a bird and I got a weird craving for a happy meal, so my Daddy took me to get one as soon as we left there!! I'm still not able to eat too much, but my appetite is much better than it was.
My Mom and my brother, Jason, and I are now at my Aunt Terry's house in Cypress (outskirts of Houston). My Dad went back to the Valley Monday afternoon and Jared went back to San Angelo this past Sunday to get work done and tend to our neglected homes and pets!
Yesterday I chopped all my hair off. First time I have had short hair since a 5th grade (and I hated that). Over 11 inches was cut off and I cried like a baby. I wanted to cut that much off so that I could donate to Locks of Love. My long hair is currently sitting on the dining room table in a ponytail braid waiting to be mailed off! This organization will be able to use my hair to make a wig for a child that is medically in need of one. Having short hair now will also make it easier to check out some wigs and other options so I will be ready when I am without hair totally.
I am still not moving around too good, but each day gets better and better. I am able to do a little more every day. My last few days in the hospital and the last couple of days here have been met with a challenge that I did not face with the last surgery--hot flashes. Since my hysterectomy last week, we knew that this issue would come up, but we did not think it would come this soon. One of my doctors told us that with a younger person, they can sometimes start within 24 hours of surgery. They are just HORRIBLE! I do think that they are starting to get better, though. On Tuesday, I had no less than one episode every hour and yesterday (Wednesday) there were fewer and the day was much better. I am hoping today is even better!
My next appointment and first day of chemo are next Thursday, June 22. We are waiting now for MD Anderson to call and let us know if I will need to come in earlier in the week to get a port implanted. A port would be placed in my chest and would give easier access for chemo. My doctors have said that this would also help address my needle fear and make it less of a hassle to get me hooked up for chemo every 3 weeks.
I will keep you posted as I continue down this road. I hope to come home to San Angelo and to the Valley as soon as I am able. I will let you know when that will be. As always, thank you so much for your encouragement and I hope to see you all very soon!
Love always,~Heather~
Well, it has been too long since I have provided an update. I am sorry, but I did have every intention of doing so before now.
I got out of the hospital on Monday, just before lunchtime. In the hospital I had been eating like a bird and I got a weird craving for a happy meal, so my Daddy took me to get one as soon as we left there!! I'm still not able to eat too much, but my appetite is much better than it was.
My Mom and my brother, Jason, and I are now at my Aunt Terry's house in Cypress (outskirts of Houston). My Dad went back to the Valley Monday afternoon and Jared went back to San Angelo this past Sunday to get work done and tend to our neglected homes and pets!
Yesterday I chopped all my hair off. First time I have had short hair since a 5th grade (and I hated that). Over 11 inches was cut off and I cried like a baby. I wanted to cut that much off so that I could donate to Locks of Love. My long hair is currently sitting on the dining room table in a ponytail braid waiting to be mailed off! This organization will be able to use my hair to make a wig for a child that is medically in need of one. Having short hair now will also make it easier to check out some wigs and other options so I will be ready when I am without hair totally.
I am still not moving around too good, but each day gets better and better. I am able to do a little more every day. My last few days in the hospital and the last couple of days here have been met with a challenge that I did not face with the last surgery--hot flashes. Since my hysterectomy last week, we knew that this issue would come up, but we did not think it would come this soon. One of my doctors told us that with a younger person, they can sometimes start within 24 hours of surgery. They are just HORRIBLE! I do think that they are starting to get better, though. On Tuesday, I had no less than one episode every hour and yesterday (Wednesday) there were fewer and the day was much better. I am hoping today is even better!
My next appointment and first day of chemo are next Thursday, June 22. We are waiting now for MD Anderson to call and let us know if I will need to come in earlier in the week to get a port implanted. A port would be placed in my chest and would give easier access for chemo. My doctors have said that this would also help address my needle fear and make it less of a hassle to get me hooked up for chemo every 3 weeks.
I will keep you posted as I continue down this road. I hope to come home to San Angelo and to the Valley as soon as I am able. I will let you know when that will be. As always, thank you so much for your encouragement and I hope to see you all very soon!
Love always,~Heather~
Saturday, June 10, 2006
SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 2006
I am continuing down the road to recovery. Today has been the first day that I have felt very good since my surgery. Thursday was rough and Friday was rougher. I was put on some nausea medicine yesterday morning that made me absolutely miserable for a good part of the day.
Today was much better. I ate some real food, watched some movies and had some great visitors. I also went on several walks. The staff here is all about taking walks and they get really excited and proud when they see you out and about.
My nurse for the night just came in and unhooked me from my IV. It will be nice to not be attached to all those cords! We are waiting on dinner to get here and we might watch another movie after. The food here is a little different--you order it whenever you feel like eating and they have a really large selection. Today was the first day I have been able to eat solid food and I'm taking it pretty slow so far.
I should get out of here either tomorrow or Monday, probably Monday though. My doctors should let me know when it will be okay to travel and we will figure out where to go from there. As always, thank you for your encouragement and support. I will keep you posted as we learn more!
Love,~Heather~
I am continuing down the road to recovery. Today has been the first day that I have felt very good since my surgery. Thursday was rough and Friday was rougher. I was put on some nausea medicine yesterday morning that made me absolutely miserable for a good part of the day.
Today was much better. I ate some real food, watched some movies and had some great visitors. I also went on several walks. The staff here is all about taking walks and they get really excited and proud when they see you out and about.
My nurse for the night just came in and unhooked me from my IV. It will be nice to not be attached to all those cords! We are waiting on dinner to get here and we might watch another movie after. The food here is a little different--you order it whenever you feel like eating and they have a really large selection. Today was the first day I have been able to eat solid food and I'm taking it pretty slow so far.
I should get out of here either tomorrow or Monday, probably Monday though. My doctors should let me know when it will be okay to travel and we will figure out where to go from there. As always, thank you for your encouragement and support. I will keep you posted as we learn more!
Love,~Heather~
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 07, 2006
Well, today's the day...
I am going to the hospital at MD Anderson to check in at 11:00am and my surgery will be about 1:00pm. It should take 2-3 hours.
I met with my doctor and anesthesiologists yesterday. The anesthesiologist prescribed me some pills to take before having to get an IV put in. They are supposed to calm me down and keep me from having the panic attacks with the needle sticks. We'll see.
I will be in the hospital until Sunday or Monday. My brother will post a blog later today with info on the outcome of the surgery. As always, I appreciate your prayers and support as I go through all this.
Love,~Heather~
Well, today's the day...
I am going to the hospital at MD Anderson to check in at 11:00am and my surgery will be about 1:00pm. It should take 2-3 hours.
I met with my doctor and anesthesiologists yesterday. The anesthesiologist prescribed me some pills to take before having to get an IV put in. They are supposed to calm me down and keep me from having the panic attacks with the needle sticks. We'll see.
I will be in the hospital until Sunday or Monday. My brother will post a blog later today with info on the outcome of the surgery. As always, I appreciate your prayers and support as I go through all this.
Love,~Heather~
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 07, 2006
This is Heather's brother Jason.
God has heard all of the prayers and has blessed us with good news. The doctor did not find any evidence of cancer other than in the ovaries. Dr. Bodurka informed us that Heather is awake and talking. She told us that Heather is doing well and we will be able to see her in a couple of hours.
Thank you for all of your prayers!!! We will keep you updated during the recovery.
I know my updates are not as detailed as Heather's but I will do my best to update this blog until Heather is able to take over.
Jason Broughton
This is Heather's brother Jason.
God has heard all of the prayers and has blessed us with good news. The doctor did not find any evidence of cancer other than in the ovaries. Dr. Bodurka informed us that Heather is awake and talking. She told us that Heather is doing well and we will be able to see her in a couple of hours.
Thank you for all of your prayers!!! We will keep you updated during the recovery.
I know my updates are not as detailed as Heather's but I will do my best to update this blog until Heather is able to take over.
Jason Broughton
Friday, June 2, 2006
FRIDAY, JUNE 02, 2006
I talked with the doctor just a bit ago. She has scheduled my surgery for Wednesday afternoon (June 7). I will go in to meet with my anesthesiologist and my doctor on Tuesday morning for pre-op stuff. I should be in the hospital for about 4 or 5 days. I will start chemo 2 weeks after my surgery. I just want to get it all over with!!
Although I have sort of implied it, we have decided to stay at MD Anderson. For the aggressive treatment route that I want to pursue, MD Anderson is clearly my best choice. I feel completely confident in the staff here at MD. Every person we have encountered so far (from my doctor, to every nurse, volunteer, etc.) has been wonderful and has helped me to feel as comfortable as possible. So, Houston it is...
As always, thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!Love,~Heather~
I talked with the doctor just a bit ago. She has scheduled my surgery for Wednesday afternoon (June 7). I will go in to meet with my anesthesiologist and my doctor on Tuesday morning for pre-op stuff. I should be in the hospital for about 4 or 5 days. I will start chemo 2 weeks after my surgery. I just want to get it all over with!!
Although I have sort of implied it, we have decided to stay at MD Anderson. For the aggressive treatment route that I want to pursue, MD Anderson is clearly my best choice. I feel completely confident in the staff here at MD. Every person we have encountered so far (from my doctor, to every nurse, volunteer, etc.) has been wonderful and has helped me to feel as comfortable as possible. So, Houston it is...
As always, thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!Love,~Heather~
Thursday, June 1, 2006
THURSDAY, JUNE 01, 2006
I had my "game plan" appointment with the doctor today. There's not a whole lot of news other than that there were no surprises in the test results, which is nice. The doctor is supposed to call me by noon tomorrow to let me know when she can get me into the O.R. for surgery. She said that it would be within the next 2 weeks (could be early next week, could be mid-June). She will have to do a vertical cut to be able to do what she needs to do and see what she needs to see. She did present my case to the MD Anderson team during their conference, because it is considered a rare case for someone my age. It's good to know that several brains are working on this!
Will let you all know as I find out more about my surgery, etc.
~Heather~
I had my "game plan" appointment with the doctor today. There's not a whole lot of news other than that there were no surprises in the test results, which is nice. The doctor is supposed to call me by noon tomorrow to let me know when she can get me into the O.R. for surgery. She said that it would be within the next 2 weeks (could be early next week, could be mid-June). She will have to do a vertical cut to be able to do what she needs to do and see what she needs to see. She did present my case to the MD Anderson team during their conference, because it is considered a rare case for someone my age. It's good to know that several brains are working on this!
Will let you all know as I find out more about my surgery, etc.
~Heather~
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