I spent Valentine's Day on my last date with Carboplatin and Paclitaxel, with my doting Mom as chaperone. Unfortunately the date didn't end well. I had a VasoVagal reaction: my blood pressure crashed to 60/30, my arms and legs went numb, I couldn't talk, my GI track went ballistic, and I had tunnel vision and spots. My body said enough! and we had to stop my carbo infusion early. It was scary and I can't say it loudly or often enough -- nurses are the true heroes. Thank you, Betsy, Colleen, and Amanda, for taking care of me. Most patients don't make it through two full 6-infusion cycles of Carbo/Taxol, and I did much better than most. So I have to be happy I lasted as long as I did and just hope it was enough to get me into remission. From here on out I have Avastin-only infusions every 3 weeks, which is classified as immunotherapy, not chemotherapy, and should have more manageable side effects.
A huge thank you to my visitors these past few weeks, it perked me up to have company when I was mentally and physically worn down. Thanks, Juliann, Thanks, Nicole, Thanks, Donna for traveling to SB to spend time with me. Thank you, Jonelle, for managing my cold cap for 4 sessions. And thank you, Mom, for all the love and support.
Looking forward -- I feel encouraged! Just a few more weeks and I will start bouncing back and I have so much to look forward to: a 10th anniversary party and many travels this summer. In the coming weeks I will focus on being more active, getting out for longer walks, building my strength and loosing those 10 lbs I gained since recurrence. Why is the best relief for metal mouth caloric chocolate milk??
Hugs to all and I hope we can meet up this summer: Europe, Japan and Australia are on the Itinerary!
Michelle
PS- wine glass is a prop only, no alcohol was consumed!