Well I haven't posted in quite a while. I have been fighting cancer lately and a friend gave an idea to blog what I am going through to help others in the same situations.
I will say that as far as chemo reactions my heating pad has been an excellent friend. I had back spasms with my first chemo and it helped a ton. However, I have a fabulous doctor who checks my liver with a ct scan every four treatments and he felt that the allergic reaction was making that chemo less effective so he switched me to another one. I will go into much more detail about my chemos later.
Another side effect is throwing up. However, I am so lucky to be with my Dr. Fakih at City of Hope because he gives me a nausea medication and a very small dose of steriods for the first three days after the chemo and it makes it so I don't get sick! If you are on chemo and getting sick I highly recommend asking your doctor about this, getting a new doctor, or best yet, getting to City of Hope.
Another side effect is sleeping. There really isn't much help for this and it is actually good for you. The body heals when it sleeps I've heard and my doctor has no problem with it. Since I get my chemo on Friday and I take the meds Sat, Sun, and Mon, then my body starts shutting down for sleep Tuesday evening and, except for bathroom breaks, I sleep until about Thursday noon. If this is happening to you STAY HYDRATED!!! Very important!!! I drink pedialyte when I am feeling like I haven't drank enough or dehydrated. One of my indicators is that my heart rate will go above 100. It is good to keep a blood pressure/heart monitor near your bed.
Another important thing to have by your bed is a good working thermometer. If my temperature gets to 99 my doctor wants me to come in. It could mean a blood infection or something that your body can't fight on its own. Better to be safe than sorry.
Another side effect of my particular chemo is diarrhea. They give me something for it and I have an ileostomy bag so it is hard for me to tell, especially if I have drank a lot of water, its going to be watery. My doctor wants me to take something for it but I am a little scared because I took Imodium and my heart rate jumped to 236 and I had to run to the emergency room to get them to bring it down. A normal heart rate should be between 50 and 100. So I keep hydrated because that is the biggest fear of diarrhea. Having an stoma and chemo at the same time makes hydration very hard. So that is my biggest fight right now.
Another problem I have been having is a sore throat and mouth sores. It makes it difficult to swallow. I gargle biotene and a mix of Mylanta/viscous lidocaine/diphenhydramine. They call the mixture Radiomix and I don't know why. LOL However it has helped me twice now.
Other important things to take is
Vitamin C- great booster to your immune system.
Selenium- boosts your white blood cell count
Iron- boosts your iron and your hemoglobin
Of course, run everything by your doctor but mine is usually ok with supplements as long as they aren't specifically bad with the chemo- such as one of my chemos I can't have grapefruit, garlic, or ginseng. It is important to be as proactive as possible about your treatment. I look forward to writing more later. HUGS and HOPE to all!!!!
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Friday, November 2, 2012
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
News.... finally
Front row, Wendy, Catherine, Deborah, Esther, Angelena
Wow, Life has been crazy!!! I don't even know if any of my readers are still there. LOL This is a picture of us back in March. For the first time in 5 years we were altogether again. It was because our oldest brother died and we had all come to the funeral. This was afterward at my dad's house. It was a time of enjoying each others company and leaning on each others love. I love them all so much!!!
My oldest brother was a wayward sibling. I personally hadn't seen him in over 10 years. Even though he left us in more ways that one... I have to admit that because of his death, God brought us all back together one more time. I know that my brother is in heaven because he accepted Jesus' death on the cross as my brother's own punishment for his sins. The fact that he continued to sin makes him human. The fact that he was forgiven makes God his father.
So much has happened this year. I know that this is on the internet but my life has taken quite a tumble. I am still wrapped up in my children. But both have definitely shown that they are having struggles in school due to Attention problems. This consumes my time and my heart.
What's more, I just had news that I have cancer in my uterus. Don't worry though because I have found that it isn't some incurable disease like the doctors would have us believe. Dr. Gerson found a cure nearly 50 years ago and that is the route that I am headed on right now. http://www.all-natural-cancer-cures.com/gerson-therapy.html
I do hope that by posting this I get the word out to more people. But also, this is consuming my life as well. So, I haven't much time for my dear blog. But maybe things will calm down in the future and I will be able to, once again, fill it with projects and lovely things in my life. My sisters and I have been working on embroidering each others "sister quilt" and even though it has been real slow going, that will be something to share when I get more time.
Hugs to whoever reads this!!!! Because you can't ever have too many hugs!!!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Joseph's Blanket.
So my latest finished project is Joseph's blanket. It is made up of 8 inch squares. 15 squares high and 10 squares across. It is pretty huge and heavy. Maybe that is why we still haven't gotten a full picture of it. LOL The fabrics are mostly made up of cut up pairs of jeans and averages two pockets a row. He loves the idea of having pockets to put things in. LOL Other fabrics include:flaming motorcycles, cowboys, SpongeBob, sports, Scooby Do, and blue with stars. The back is simply a solid red blanket which makes the quilt even more heavy. Each corner where the fabrics meet I put in a random button and then their are several appliqué that I put on randomly too such as a silver anchor, an American flag, and a gold star. Also, red, blue, and silver stars are set randomly as well. The whole thing was really exciting to make. I was challenged by the "boy" theme and I am so happy with the result. Love you all!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
This was taken on the fourth of July! Yes, that is how busy I have been. Life has become a complete blur of getting things done. LOL And three kids are way more than double two. This is as good a picture as we could get and in it's own way, it is perfect. Jon actually took the picture with his arm that you can't see.
God has been bringing me through a lot lately. I have been struggling with contradicting scriptures and wondering why doesn't God just spell it out for us. Why doesn't He tell us, "In this situation (which is identical to the one you are going through right now) you should do this..."? Then I found the verse, "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." I realized that the reason that He doesn't give us all the answers is because, even though He does want us to go to the Bible to learn about Him, He wants a relationship with us. He wants to give us the answers Himself and on a daily basis. He wants us to long to hear his voice and to understand His love.
Sometimes the answers make no sense. Sometimes they seem wrong. Sometimes they are opposite of everything we feel. I won't say that I am in "His Will" because I hear too many people who fling that term around as if "His Will" is whatever they feel like doing at the time. People use the term "His Will" to neglect and hurt others... to hurt me. But I know that there are things that are God's Will for a fact and these are the things that I am striving to do with all my heart: Forgive, Hope, Pray, Protect, and above all Love if maybe only from a distance.
The crazy thing is that I can't do this without His staying help every moment. Sometimes I just cry and that is what He wants from us. Sometimes I question and He says, "It's ok to question." I learned with my brother that you can't control people, especially ones who are bent on living life selfishly. But this I know, God has given me my husband and my kids. No one can argue that. He obviously wants them to be my main focus. He also has given me some great siblings and friends. These are to be my second focus.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Summer has come!!!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
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