September 1st... exactly a month since my diagnosis. It seems like forever ago and it feels like just yesterday. So much has happened and yet now everything has taken on a new "normal".
Day 4 has been better than day 3, which was better than day 2, which is a trend I can live with! I've always heard (from other cancer patients, from the doctors and even the chemo nurses) that you usually feel pretty good the first couple of days and then you will feel like you have the flu by day 3 or 4. I think, at least for this round, that chemo knocked me down & out the first few days but now I'm rebounding. I like that - get it over with rather than wait for the other shoe to drop, you know?
The hard part is trying not to do too much even though I'm feeling better, because even this "better" is nowhere near my 100%! I see things around the house that need doing and I just go about doing them, even though I should probably just be resting. But seriously, how much resting can one woman do??
Things I've discovered on this chemo journey - two of my favorite drinks (water and Diet Coke) taste horrible, and Sprite and lemonade taste better. Mashed potatoes and Lipton chicken noodle soup have become my new favorite foods. I am not a fan of mouthwash, but due to the chemo "yuck mouth", I'm having to brush constantly and rinse with Biotene. Ugh. All in all, though, considering there is poison running through my body killing cancer, I can't complain about how I'm feeling! DIE CANCER, DIE!!!!!!!!
My shout out today has to go to my mom and dad. I know it is so, so difficult for them to be so far away and not really able to do anything tangible to help me. The other day I received a card with a check from each of them, to cover one of my expenses and also to pay for my housekeeper for a month. How awesome is that?!?!?!?
Ahh... let me backtrack to my housekeeper. As a stay-at-home mom (ok, part-time worker), I never really felt the need to have someone clean my house. Did I WANT that? Of course. What sane woman looking after a house, two kids, a cat and a job wants to scrub toilets or mop floors? However, it wasn't anything I ever couldn't handle. Since D-day (a.k.a diagnosis day), my OCD cleaning tendencies have gone out the window and I haven't been able or willing to focus on anything aside from keeping up with the necessities. Enter Elaine... housekeeper to the stars. Ok, not really stars, but she does clean several of my friends' houses and comes highly recommended. She came the day before my chemo infusion and let me tell you what perfect timing that is! Knowing that I will come home and feel yuck for a few days but have a sparkly clean house?? Priceless!
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