Metallic Turkey anyone??

I will be going for my 4^th treatment next Wednesday.  

 I am so glad that I am half way through my chemo. 

I am doing okay. My newest side effect is dealing with the ICKY METALLIC taste in my mouth. Everything tastes bad, even water. I cannot taste salt or sugar. My tongue is thick, just a yucky yuck mess.

And guess what? 

I depend much more on taste when I am cooking - than I realized....lol.

Over salting, over peppering and over spicing happens often. 

Plus I am cooking quite a few dishes that I am not familiar with, so spicing them just right is a big fat guess. We get either bland and edible or TOO salty or spicy for enjoyment. Poor Tom. He is a trooper though…he never or rarely says anything. 

I guess he appreciates my efforts, as tired as I am. 

So far..... I have not made either one of us sick ! 

We go ahead and eat the food because it is nourishment for our body... despite the lack of taste. Normally I am a fair cook. 

But right now I don't even enjoy cooking ...however.... we have to eat. 

I know ..... this to shall pass. 

 

Hugs to everyone....thank you for the prayers and positive thoughts !!

 

So how much do I care? About my lack of hair?

It’s been weeks now without my hair. And I am doing FINE..... 

The worrying about it was worse… than the actual living it…. at least for me !
When out in public, I find most people are so wrapped up in their own world that they do not look around and see much. 
The few others that do notice, take a second look. Some of them with a sympathetic look as to say” I am a survivor too, or my mother or my sister is a survivor …. I understand your turban or scarf wrapped in a special way”. 
If someone snickers or stares – it is usually a group of young girls. Who have no idea what LIFE is really about (yet). They snicker and stare and make fun of everything different than their reality – usually to boost their fragile teenage egos. 

And the kicker of the whole thing…you find in the end … YOU don’t care. 
I do not mean to say that in a bad way. 
Just that the effects of someone staring – has no bearing on my attitude or self esteem like I thought it would. 
The power I was giving it – is not there!
I am just happy to be ALIVE – to be out and about – and to be beating this cancer. 
My vanity has taken a vacation and I am really good with that.

As long as I am comfortable and happy – I am good!! 
To hell with what others think. 

There are so many lessons to be learned during this journey. 
I am changing......for the better.....I am humbled and grateful.

ELLEN.... one of the Best Medicines!

ELLEN Degeneres makes me laugh. I have spent a lot more time at home the last month and that has given me the opportunity to watch more daytime TV.
ELLEN is the one show I just could not miss. I schedule any cleaning or dishes around her show. It is my emotional high and guaranteed to make me laugh for an hour.

I love to Dance – Ellen loves to Dance. I love to laugh – Ellen loves to laugh! 
We have so much in common! 

Plus I enjoy her giving nature………. It fills my heart with love and gratefulness for the people she helps every day on her show. She is so inspiring. 

Laughter is what we need when going through HARD times. 

Fortunately most of our friends and family – fill me with laughter, with jokes and funny emails, funny pictures, funny life happenings…and more. 

My girlfriend Lynette bought us two little matching pink flamingos to make me smile. They are our chemo buddies, brought along to make us laugh during chemo treatment. 
In fact we gave them names that make us laugh - just when we say their names. 
They are TALULA and LULU our FPFB's   ( funny pink flamingos buddies) 

YES it is silly, but being silly and laughing is a great JOY and stress reliever, and I will take any laughter and silliness that comes my way.
I thank all of you ... for the silliness, the laughter, the love and the friendship. 

  

Feb 13^th, I have completed my 3^rd chemo treatment. WOOHOO 1/2 way through!!

And things are going well. 

In fact other than the nausea, extreme tiredness, and constipation from nausea meds, insomnia and hair loss – it is going better than I imagined. 

Some of the horror stories you read on the internet and hear about from well meaning people- were scary. Of course, from all my reading I knew everyone reacts differently, because of the different chemo meds used and the individual’s state of body.

But I am very grateful – my side effects have been bearable and minimal compared to some. 

I am back at work full time, although Tom lets me leave when I get too tired. I am able to rest a lot at home, Tom and Jace help me. I love and appreciate them so. 

I have kind of wondered about the lack of really bad side effects and decided to ask my Dr. if that could mean I am not getting enough chemo meds? I have heard of much worse reactions to chemo, than I am having. Not that I wanted worse side effects, but I had to ask. How do they know the right dose? My Doctor assured me I was getting the right dose and they monitor different ways. Then she commented that I was doing well through my chemo, mostly because of my attitude and the fact I was in good health before the cancer. That I had a strong heart and body. 

She said that "most of the time she can tell how well a patient will do, just by the first visits."

She has patients who breeze through their treatments and side effects, taking them in stride and who move on.
She has others who progressively get worse and have an awful time of it.

Your initial health and attitude make a huge difference. I am glad God blessed me with a positive attitude. I am grateful that I started exercising on a regular basis in 2012. I think the yoga, treadmill and hand weights helped me go into this battle with a stronger body and mind. I have to say a special thank you to my workout buddy Lynette. Even though we live 2 ½ hours away from each other – we helped motivate each other. Daily we talked, text or IM’d each other about our exercise that day. We inspired, kicked each other’s butt and celebrated our commitment to exercise.
Thank you friend.