The 3rd week after chemo, which is the week I get it again is the week that I feel the absolute best, white blood counts are up, I can be social again and is also typically my busiest week as well.
This week being 'that week' has been busy, fun, frustrating and informative. Here it goes:
Monday: This was my fun day! I was able to particpate in the Look Good Feel Better Program offered to women cancer patients (Surrey Hospital). Here is where I received a box full of free cosmetic products, which carried such brands as Covergirl, Mary Kay, MAC, Clinique, Lancome, Dove, etc. When going through chemo your skin changes a fair bit (gets very dry) so its all about moisturizing, moisturizing, moisturizing. At this class they taught us how to apply make up but the part I was most interested in were my eyes so I learned how to pencil in eyebrows (since I have none) and what to do about no eyelashes (can't use fake ones due to high bacterial issues). As well we learned all about head gear such as wigs, scarves, hats.....it almost made me want to buy a wig but.....no I'm sticking to the head gear I have. It was a fun 2 hours and it was nice to sit in a room of bald women without feeling so self conscious!
Tuesday: I didn't have any doctor appointments but I did have a Church meeting with the Primary Presidency. Summer was hectic with most gone for a lot of it so it's been a while since we've gotten together. It was a longer meeting than what we usually have often getting off topic but very enjoyable. It was great to socialize with these fabulous women and find out what they've been up to and what they're going through with kids in school, etc.
Wednesay: This was my early Oncologist appointment. A friend kindly drove me (Les had been out of town since Monday) while a neighbour kindly took the kids before school. This is where lower mainland traffic is not fun and my road rage can come out! In order to get to an 8:40 am appointment at the Fraser Valley Cancer Clinic (Surrey Hospital) we left by 7:25 and we were still a couple minutes late (really that was really good timing for that time of day). I pride myself on punctuality and apologized for being late only to be informed that my Oncologist hadn't even arrived yet! So imagine this.....first appointment of the day at 8:40 am I didn't actually see her until 9:30 am, yup you read that correctly she was almost an hour late. So can you imagine what time her 3:00 pm appointment got to see her, which is usually when I see her. No wonder I never get in until 45 minutes to our hour after my scheduled time!! I have to admit she was very apologetic and I was forgiving. However, she forgot about me!! We went over a few things and than she went out to get a prescription and find a nurse to go over a couple things and she said she'd come back. Well the nurse came and went and my Oncologist never came back! Luckily I only waited about 10 minutes and luckily she was going to the room next to mine so I flagged her down, do you think maybe she wasn't having a very good day? I was frustrated....we didn't leave the clinic until 10:10 am and I figured I'd be home by then (minus the running around I did with my friend mind you). Anyway, thankfully that day came to an end!
Thursday: Remember my frustrating day yesterday? Well I found out that yesterday they gave me the wrong time for my chemo appointment tomorrow....uugh. Today I saw the Radiologist (Surrey Hospital) for the first time. A very nice doctor and she was fairly on time to schedule (we were in and out within an hour). Les got back late yesterday afternoon so he was my companion today. We learned a lot such as radiation will be a 5 1/2 week process, she's decided to lower the daily dosage just because I'm planning to have reconstructive surgery in the future and so the daily dosage won't be so high. This is easier on my skin which in turn helps with reconstruction. It also looks like we can aim for radiation to start around the 29th of October give or take a week. We'll learn more once I have my first visit, which will be setting up the machine, etc. One exciting thing is that we were able to ask for a particular time frame that would work best for us, not saying we'll get it but apparently the scheduling department is pretty accomodating to those that travel distances and have issues such as children's school schedules etc. Needless to say not near as frustrating as yesterday and to top it off my hsuband took me out for lunch!!
Friday: This hasn't happened yet but this is chemo day (Surrey Hospital). Chemo is scheduled for 9:45 am the earliest I've had yet, which also means we've got to be there between 8:45 am and 9:00 am to have blood work done. Again, a neighbour has kindly agreed to watch my kids before school as we've got to head out no later then 8:00 am (remember the traffic). We're anticipating some issues with my port as there was some last time but they were able to do what they needed to do then. We'll probably have to have the port line cleaned which means an extra hour (minimum) to get that all fixed up before chemo can even start, which is generally about an hour and a half from start to finish. Longer day for chemo then normal but I also know Les's parent will have arrived so I don't need to worry about kids, etc.
This week has included a few drop by visiters, I think my door was a revolving door. A neighbour asked me yesterday how I ever expected to rest and get better with all this company, he was getting tired just watching the traffic come and go! It's my week I CAN enjoy the company!!
So as I say my week has been a mix of different emotions and many visits out to Surrey Hospital but all in all good and I'm ready for tomorrow!
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