One week after chemo

Good morning!! Well I seem to be getting passed the side effects of round 2. I did get the fat, white tongue thing again. Now that it has happened twice I am sure that the first time wasn't an infection after all. It is getting better now. Rinsing with club soda has helped. Other side effects are that I am losing my eyebrows and eyelashes. Losing your eyelashes really hurts. I don't know why that is. I am constantly rubbing my eyes and getting eyelashes in them. That doesn't feel good either. And the last thing is my fingers and finger nails hurt. The tips of my fingers feel like they have been burned. My finger nails just hurt when they are touched. But everything is a little better each day.

My hair is starting to fall out but slowly. It is not as tramatic as the first time it happened. I am still disappointed though. I am just about at the stage where I could go without my bandana. But I keep wearing it to keep the hair that is falling out from getting everywhere.

Wednesday I started the week of no white blood cells. This makes it very easy for me to get sick. Other than going to the gym I am sticking pretty close to home.

Next Tuesday we leave to LA to meet with Dr. West. It will be good to hear his opinion on my medical situation and see if he offers any other treatment opinions for keeping the cancer away.

I am meeting with a physiotherapist today. I don't have my full range of motion back on my arm from surgery. I best get working on that so that there is no permanent damage done.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Love Carolin

Sucking up the Chemo 

I thought she was flirting with me

I thought she was flirting but it was just her eyelashes falling out that was causing all the eye fluttering. Her hair seems to be hanging in there still. We're past the peach-fuzz stage. It's about a half inch long. Of course the color isn't what she wants but then that's no different from when it was long. Health-wise she's doing just fine. Still gets tired at the end of the day and the ends of her fingers hurt a little.

Last weekend we went to Carolin's dad's 70th birthday party in Edmonton. We dodged germs, listened to conversations in Austrian or maybe German, and saw a lot of friends up there that we hadn't seen in awhile. We timed the trip to be before Carolin's white blood cell drop (due to her last chemo). Immunity-wise, this week is suppose to be the low point, and then our trip to LA next week is suppose to coincide with the rise again. If I could just get her to hold her breath when she's outdoors we could stop worrying about stray germs.

Jan 19 Chemo #2

Hi everyone. Well I had chemo #2 yesterday at 10:30 am. Sandy was out of town so my girlfriend Karen took me to the Tom Baker. Everything went fine. Only one I. V. this time which was a nice change . So far no side effects. The doctor suggested that I take anti thrush medicine starting right now in order to ward off any nasty infections this time. I will do it but it tastes aweful. That is all there is to report for now.

On Tuesday I started my training walks and have done 2 so far. Hopefully I can keep them up if bad side effects kick in.

Love Carolin

The Weekend to End Breast Cancer

On August 12-14, 2005 I'll be joining a very special group of people united in their commitment in the fight against breast cancer. We will help to save lives, it is as simple as that. That is also the weekend of my one year anniversary of being diagnosed.

The Weekend to End Breast Cancer is a two-day, 60-kilometer walk through the neighbourhoods of Calgary.

Why am I participating? I am participating in this amazing weekend with hope that the contributions collected will lead to a cure. Specifically, I hope that my Jessica, you or one of your loved ones does not have to endure the pain of living through this disease.

What can I do or anyone do? I can do this. I can walk and I can raise money. You can help me by donating.

If you would like to make a donation or read more aobut this incredible event please go to www.endcancer.ca. To make a donation click on "Calgary", go to "Sponsor a Participant" written along the top, and enter Carolin Cameron or my perosnal ID# 51245-1. Please keep in mind how far I am walking and how hard I'll have to train. Please take the time to support me.

Thank you so much. Together we will make a difference!!

With love and hope,

Carolin

Another day to appreciate your hair

Well my hair started to fall out last night. It has grown in about 3/4 of an inch. So far it is straight but an awful color. It is a dark grey/charcoal color. But even as bad as the color is, I am still grateful that it is there. Some web sites say that the chemo I am on now will make my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes fall out and other sites say that it will only make my hair thin. So I am going to take my chances, not shave it off and see how much falls out. I could just have a lot of vacuuming in the next few weeks. I must say that my eyelashes are looking particularly nice today! Tee hee!!

We are off to the Tom Baker this afternoon for a seminar on a cancer fundraiser that I may take part in. More to follow on that a little later.

I am feeling really good. I even went to work for a few hours yesterday!!

Well hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Love Carolin

Back to normal

Hi there!!! Well things here are good. I woke up on Monday feeling 10/10. I went to the gym to do my weight class and that felt good. I ran Tuesday (last nice day before the cold weather) and did weights again on Wednesday. I am on an upswing in the white blood count area. I will enjoy the weekend before we start chemo again on the 19th.

I went to a class at the Tom Baker called Breast Cancer and Nutrition. I left totally frustrated and confused. The books that I read say eat flaxseed and drink soy rather than dairy. Then at this seminar they say don't eat flaxseed or drink soy because they contain plant estrogen. So now what do I do. I hate to intentionally add something to my diet that will in the long run hurt my chances of staying cancer free. I guess when they don't know what causes breast cancer it is hard to determine what is good and what is bad. However that doesn't help me. I suppose I will stop taking flaxseed until I talk to my oncologist.

Not much else new other than trying to stay warm.

Things are OK

As posted we are not currently in LA. It was disappointing to have to cancel the trip but it would have been way worse to get sick and miss my next chemo. Sometimes it is choosing between the lessor of 2 evils. I talked to the chemo nurse this morning. She was not surprised by my low levels based on the type/quantity of chemo I am on. However, she did agree that I should not have flown to another country with my low numbers. She stated that my numbers came down quicker than they were supposed to. My levels should be the lowest 10-14 days after chemo. Today is day 9.

So today we have re-worked the schedule. We are now going to LA Feb 1, seeing doctors Feb 2 and 3, and flying home on the 4th. Between now and then we will continue with another round of chemo on the 19th of January.

I am on some very powerful antibiotics that will help heal my tongue infection and hopefully keep me from picking anything else up until my white counts rebound.

I'm feeling fine other than my tongue hurting. I just need to stay away from big groups of people - Superstore, Jessica's classroom and doctor offices. I hope that Sandy will let me get back to the gym in a few days. He would be very happy to have me live in a big plastic bubble for the next little while.

With love,

Carolin

Grounded

Carolin had a blood test when they were working on why her tongue was misbehaving. Tonight at 8PM the same group called and said they wanted to see her immediately. Unless you're talking to a lottery sales agent, such haste is not a good thing. We hustled on over.

The doctor said that Carolin's white blood count level was "one". It is suppose to be between 4 and 11. Another number on the doctor's blood test sheet(neutrophils) was suppose to be between 2 and 3.5. Carolin's value was 0.1 - or one twentieth of the minimum. If she travelled, she could easily get sick. If she got sick she would likely get very sick. After talking to the first doctor, we called an oncologist for his opinion. It was more definite. Don't fly.

So 8 hours before we are suppose to leave, we had to cancel. It's a big disappointment.

Side effect are kicking in hard...

Let's just say that nausea is looking pretty good right now. December 28, 29 and 30 were pretty good days. Ran the 29th and did cardio/weights the 30th. On the 31st I started to get sick. Terrible muscle aches and pains. It hurt to lay on the couch. I think I started to get thrush (oral yeast infection) in my mouth. On the 31st I went to the pharmacy to get medicine. Things just keep getting worse. My tongue is swollen and completely white (infection???). I am on antibiotics, oral antifugal and pain medicine. The doctor on call at the Tom Baker Cancer Center says that sometimes chemo will make your tongue peel. Yuck!! So we will see how the antibiotics works tonight. I plan on seeing my own oncologist tomorrow. Making a trip to the LA won't be as nice if I am feeling as bad as I am right now.

Jessica goes to school tomorrow and a normal routine resumes. I will try to go to the gym in the morning and work some of the toxins out of my body. It seems like we keep adding medicine to counteract the side effects of other medicine. I feel like have a pharmacy flowing through my veins.

I hope everyone had a nice New Year. I plan to get healthy and go on a nice trip somewhere warm.

Love Carolin