Zenobia Update!!!

Dear Friends and Family,

On Tuesday 1/25/11, I had my 4th and final chemo!  Yea!!!

After 5.5 hours of chemo, I was rolled in a wheelchair to meet with my surgical oncologist Dr. Radford who will do my surgery.  I was pretty drowsy on benadryl, so I don't have a clear recollection of this ride, but I do remember wondering if my tubes connected from the pole to my port were gonna rip out bc it was such a challenge to roll me from place to place!  I had an ultrasound done and the technician said she didn't see a tumor! The only reason she knew where i had a tumor was because I have a very tiny clip where the tumor was located.  This does not mean, however that there are no more cancer cells, but if anything it tells me that the treatment I have had thus far has been working!

After the appointments, my sister Alice (who is lovingly here from Fort Worth TX helping me) took me home and I crashed for a couple of hours.  Thankfully, this treatment has been much better than the first two.  Today is Saturday and i was able to still eat earlier today.  The metal taste has not taken over my mouth, but the indigestion is still pretty bad.  I've only been taking Aleve twice a day and the pain is tolerable.  I told one friend that it feels like fat snails are crawling thru my bones, and when i want to nap, they want to keep a movin'.  Can they not just take a break?

My surgery is scheduled for Thurs, Feb 17th at 7a.  I will have 2 incisions - one in my armpit for the sentinel nodes test (this is a test to see if any of the lymph nodes have cancer) and then another incision where the tumor was to make sure that all cells have been removed and that the area around is clear.  Recovery will be at least 3 days.  Supposedly I won't be able to raise my right arm - at the moment I can't think of any reason to raise it except to check for arm pit odor, so I think I'll be ok.

It is so hard to believe that 3.5 months has passed since I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I was looking through my box of cards the other day, so thankful that this chemo ride is almost done, thankful that the treatment has been working, but more than anything that I have had people like you who were willing to ride with me. 

Radiation and herceptin, meds, or whatever the heck is ahead will be a piece of cake compared to the chemo.  I'm so glad it's almost done!  NO MO' CHEMO!

In the meantime, I gotta figure out when to let my hair start growing out bc I've had this stubble growing out of my head that is driving me crazy.  My hair isn't supposed to be growing yet - so what the heck is coming out of my head? 

Thank you for all your prayers, your support, your unending kindness.  It was an honor having you on board on my roller coaster ride!

Love, Zenobia