The Details

So. Here are the details. written by rebecca

There was a little bit of cancer spread or growth from each place, lung, lymph & liver. It is the first time I did not insist on seeing the CT scan for myself. I did not really need to. It seemed obvious. I was a little surprised that the liver had grown, the rest was not so surprising. So. I had thought through the option of changing chemo’s a bunch before the appointment so I arrived ready. More on that below.



The day of the appointment was week 2 in my 3 week round that included a week off. I had plans to not have chemo next week and I did not want to change. I was supposed to go from the onco doc to chemo. The doc was not overly concerned, which is good, and said that if I wanted to miss this week as well as next week, then start fresh I could. I felt that would be too long without support for my body. I guess the way I view chemo has shifted. I see it as something that is good for me, which I think is good. We all agreed that I could change chemos mid-round and do Navelbine this week, take next week off and start a regular round after that.



The new chemo, navelbine, went amazingly well. I mean REALLY well. go figure. I guess I did them out of order (in terms of side effects) and this one has possibly less harsh side effects. The neuropathy part is something that will grow over time, so we will see how that goes. The nausea was severe, but only lasted a few hours. Knowing that it is not going on for days, makes it easier. There was no fever.


Last night (the day after) I even went out with a friend. Ze'ev had a thing in SF. He did a focus group on video games for ....$75! A friend and I took him in, had dinner, and brought him back. It was really fun. I moved slowly and did not drive, so I am pretty sure I did not over do it.


Because of my bounciness I asked my doc if there were steroids in this round of chemo, but he said no! So this is my energy. Very very exciting, but I am playing it supersafe. I am laying low (except for last night).



I have been going to two acupuncturists that work together. Bob, my main guy, cannot fit in two apts with me a week. I have to share him with the general population. The good news is that he has lots of amazing people in his clinic and one of them, Ann sees me too. It is nice to have a back up person that I am as confident in as my main one.



I am also seeing Bobbie the energy worker up in Napa . No longer every week, but hopefully every two weeks. Dawn is new on my team. She does acupressure and energy work and seems to be psychic. That word bugs me, but she really knows her stuff and is helping a lot. Because of Bobbie & Dawn’s help, this whole shift to a new chemo has not been traumatic, but empowering. I feel like I managed to prevent trauma which is a lot cleaner than having trauma and then recovering from it.

love love you all sooooo much
Rebecca