by Jennifer | May 13, 2020 | Blog |
Tom and I just go off the phone with the Dr. and it looks like we are going to change chemo pills. Even at the half dose, my body just can’t seem to tolerate it without huge side effects, making life much harder that it would be than if I was just dealing with the cancer and no chemo.
The new pill is called Xeloda. It has many of the same side effects since it is a chemo pill, but the added ones to this are hand/foot syndrome (rash and/or severe dryness on the hands and feet), tingling in the fingers and hair thinning. Everyone responds different, so we’ll see how I do. I’m going to take a week off and then start the new pill. I will continue to get the bone strengthening infusion each month, as well as the hormone blocking shots.
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by Jennifer | May 18, 2020 | Blog |
Today is the third day my back is hurting really bad. On a scale of 1 to 10 it’s about a 7 and that’s after the pain medicine I’m on. Something is definitely wrong and I am really struggling.
I tried all day to get some extra pain medicine or find out if I could take more of what I have, but was unsuccessful. I just called the Dr. on call and got another prescription for tonight and found out how much more of the morphine I currently have thag I can take tonight. He also told me to add in two ibuprofen every 8 hours.
Please pray that this will relieve the pain enough so that I can sleep. I slept really horrible last night because I was in so much pain. I meet with my palliative care nurse during my infusion tomorrow, so I’m thankful to be able to discuss it more with her. I was also people to get an orthopedic doctor appointment on Wednesday to talk to him about strengthening my back somehow.
Please also pray for our girls and Tom as they see me like this. This isn’t something I can hide and I wish I could. Thanks friends.
by Jennifer | May 19, 2020 | Blog |
I was able to sleep some last night since the pain was under control. I can stay on these pain meds for a while until we figure out what is going on with my back.
My blood pressure was low so they are giving me some fluids as my infusion appointment this morning.
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by Jennifer | May 20, 2020 | Blog |
My appointment with the Orthopedic Dr. went well today. We are going to do an MRI of both the upper and lower spine to determine the best treatment. He’s thinking it will be a Vertebroplasty which is basically like putting cement in the middle of the bone that is fractured.
He didn’t see any new visible fractures on the X-Ray he did today. He said an MRI will confirm that and show us exactly which vertebrae(s) would benefit from the procedure.
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by Jennifer | May 25, 2020 | Blog |
On Friday when my prescription arrived, Tom called throughout the house, “Your new poison is here.”
Nice.
I take two pills in the morning and two at night. We’ll see how it goes!
I’m still waiting to schedule my MRI to find out what is going on and why I am in more pain.
by Jennifer | Jun 1, 2020 | Blog |
Apparently the MRI department in Covington decided to close at noon today because of possible riots and neglected to notify me….so no MRI for me this afternoon. Not a big deal, except that it’s annoying to drive to an appointment and find the building locked. It’s rescheduled for Thursday. On Friday the 12th I have an appointment with the surgeon to see if we can strengthen my back. I’m on a waiting list to see if I can get an appointment with him sooner. I’d love to be off some of this pain medicine.
by Jennifer | Jun 4, 2020 | Blog |
My MRI went well today. I will find out the results of it next Friday when I meet with the surgeon. Please pray that there is something they can do to help with my back pain so I can get off some of this pain medication.
I’ve taken the new chemo pill for about a week and a half and so far the main side effects are fatigue and very dry peeling lips.
by Jennifer | Jun 5, 2020 | Blog |
I spent part of the morning on the phone with the orthopedic surgeon and his office. I didn’t think I would know any results from the MRI to my appointment a week from today. I was so happy to get his phone call this morning.
The MRI shows the one big compression fracture that I know is causing pain, but no other fractures. It also shows cancer in other vertebrae, but we already knew about those.
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by Jennifer | Jun 6, 2020 | Blog |
I’ve said before that radiation is the gift that keeps on giving…it works for a long time in your body after you are done going in for treatment. The radiation I had done in early February, made me loose some of the hair on the back of my head. It’s easier to show it with pictures.
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by Jennifer | Jun 8, 2020 | Blog |
I am scheduled to have surgery on Friday at 1 pm, with an 11 am check-in time. Praise God that the insurance approved it and that I got on the surgeon’s calendar so quickly!
In preparation for that, I have the privilege of getting a COIV-19 test tomorrow. That should be fun. I also have a nurse pre-op call on Wednesday to go over medications for the anesthesiologist. (I will be all the way put to sleep for surgery, which I am thankful for.
Please pray that the week will go smoothly and for Tom and the girls as this affects them as well. Please also pray that the surgery will strengthen my back and that some if not all the pain will be alleviated.
