Oh, so I forgot to mention --
At a luncheon at work, the Admin Assistant to the President came up to me -- I hadn't said anything to her...curious -- and she said all sorts of things like, 'You'll get through this, you'll be fine...you're strong' yadda yadda yadda. She then said to me. 'Oh, you should get your chemo on Thursday so that you don't miss too much work'.
I'm sorry...what? Who are you to tell me when to get the treatments? My supervisor knows and has said to do whatever I need to do and they will work around my schedule.
So take that!
About Me
- Duffy
- I am a 40-is-the-new-30 single woman living on my own. I have two cats and an (usually) active performing schedule as well as a 9-5 day job which mostly serves to pay the bills. I share my apartment with two snuggly cats and stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.
One friend of mine liked being able to work, because it gave her something to do other than be a cancer patient. She would schedule her chemo sessions to allow herself to work as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteThat, I think, is worth at least thinking about.
OK, this may be way more info than you want in a comments but so I'll try to be brief and you can ask me for me details if you want.
ReplyDelete1. The hair thing- I won't minimize this fear because I was as freaked out about losing my hair as you are, but now I am adjusting and I think it isn't as bad as I feared.
2. The gaining weight thing- I've lost 15 pounds while on chemo (I had it to lose). I think as long as you don't go crazy and eat everything in sight you'll be ok. The chemo drugs that really make you gain weight/retain water are generally for other cancers (from what I've read).
3. Voice/Mouth sores- I dance so my voice is not a concern but the mouth sores can be controled. If you eat a popsicle or chew ice while you have the infusion the cold causes the cells in your mouth/throat to constrict so the chemo drugs can't access them as easily and you avoid the sores. There is also a very expensive drug that does the same thing but the ice/popsicles are cheaper (tastier) and do the job just as well.
4. Exhaustion- Take care of yourself and you'll be ok. I can count on one hand the days I have felt too tired over the past three months to live my life like normal.
5. Foods- I was not told to avoid soy or green tea. I don't eat soy because it is a migraine trigger for me but I do drink green tea. I believe the soy thing is due to the plant estrogens which are thought to possibly encourage tumor growth in cancers that are PR+, yours isn't so I think this restriction would warrant further investigation. The only restrictions I was given were those related to food safety: no sushi, heat sandwiches made with deli meat to avoid listeria, no raw oysters, that kind of thing.
6- All the rest- Unfortunately just stuff you have to deal with as it comes. I know it's hard but try not to borrow trouble, deal with what you've got and move on.
And of course, you know I am always here to chat or whatever... this sucks but it will be over. I can't believe I am almost halfway done with treatment. At the beginning it seemed like treatment stretched out in front of me forever and it seems more manageable- not that there aren't days when I want to throw things but luckily most days feel pretty darn normal.