chemo 4: luck o’ the irish

i’m going to keep this brief because i haven’t had much by way of nap the past few days and need to get a little siesta in before Gilda’s but so far all signs point to feeling MUCH better this week than i did after infusion #3. i do tend to post an update and then a few hours later think to myself “well that was true at the time”… so hopefully i don’t jinx it but i am prepared for the worst and will take it as it comes.

yesterday was a milestone in chemo: i have completed the first cycle of chemo, the red devil, and unless there are surprises on my chest MRI on friday, will be able to continue with the second cycle of chemo and a new, less intense drug. there are new possible side effects with it, primarily peripheral neuropathy (tingling and numbness in fingers/hands, toes/feet which gets progressively worse and more persistent). a few people have even told me the second cycle drug (Taxol) is so different from the first (“AC”) that some patient’s hair starts growing back with it. i’m thinking of going to a barber to experience a proper shave since i’m down to just a little peach fuzz and then maybe getting a henna crown for the hell of it, too.

i asked if i could ring the “finished a treatment” bell and they said i could, because every milestone should be celebrated but also informed me there is some controversy over ringing the bell, because many patients know they will never get the chance and it kind of salts their wounds. since we theme-o’d with some St. Patrick’s swag, i opted for a few Irish leprechaun heel clicks down the hallway and some high fives from Meg and Gruver instead.

we met with Joy, from Genetics, who had some info on the testing we did of my bone growth genes (multiple hereditary osteochondroma) and she will be reaching out to see if they would like a blood test of mine for more info, as there is enough information available now to potentially warrant more study to see if there is a link between the growth gene mutation and the breast cancer gene mutation. the field and study is SO mind blowing and fascinating to me…. “if you walk 817 steps into the EXT2 gene, you see here the letter C indicates…” uh, what? 817 steps into a gene? HUMAN LIFE AND SCIENCE IS SO COOL!

 here’s my recap for today:

☀️ sun is shining

🍕 appetite strong + cravings even

🧠 motivated to take care of some business  

📺 comedy specials #humorkillsthetumor

👭 Ali was here for company  

👍🏽 so far so good post-infusion  

 🙏🏽 🎼 🧢 3️⃣ praises going up, blessings coming down