Big Chemo Wrap-up & Upcoming Surgery (Click here)

Now that my 6 main chemo sessions are over (hooray!), I thought it would be a good idea to capture some thoughts and reflections on the whole process. This is partly because, as mentioned in an earlier blog entry, my chemo regimen – for Her2/Estrogen/Progesterone positive breast cancer – is one that up to 50% of women in treatment are unable to complete.  I feel so lucky that I was not only able to complete my 6 chemo treatments but that, after my 4^th chemo, my MRI showed that my two main tumors and the stuff in my lymph nodes looks to have disappeared (we won’t know for sure if this is true until we get back the pathology reports from my surgery, but we are crossing fingers that no cancer remains)!

Still bald...

How I survived chemo:

-       Exercised nearly every day (from a ½ hour walk to two hours of yoga (on a few occasions!), I am getting exercise nearly every day – which research shows helps treatment.  Even if I was feeling a bit off, I always felt better after a short walk.

-       Took one, 4 mg pill of Zofran every morning with breakfast and then one with dinner.  My friend David said it was a good idea to take this anti-nausea medication from the beginning (a pre-emptive strike!), before you start to feel sick. I think that this was great advice! I had some nausea and tummy issues, but it was all manageable.

-       Took Chinese herbs to help strengthen immune system, boost appetite and reduce side effects, such as nausea.  

-       Used TheraTears eye drops 6-8 times a day during the week of chemo to reduce eye irritation and complications.  Used eye drops 2-3 times a day rest of time (some people end up with clogged tear ducts due to the chemo working its way out of your body). Thank you Dr. Taguchi for this advice!

Nails post-chemo.

-       Put hands and feet in ice water during the Taxotere infusion to reduce impact on nails (I didn’t loose any nails, or have them turn brown – see photo). I also sucked on ice chips during the Taxotere infusion to reduce appearance of mouth sores. I only had one small mouth sore during my first chemo treatment.  Thank you again to Dr. Taguchi for this advice!

-       Used a baking soda mouth wash 1-3 times a day, again to avoid mouth sores.

-       Therapeutic yoga classes for relaxation – very helpful in settling my mind and keeping my body from getting too stiff! Thank you Cheri Clampett for developing and teaching such nurturing yoga classes at the SB Cancer Center!

-       Went to healing touch sessions at the SB Cancer Center and had a few reiki sessions.  These sessions are energy sessions, to open up chakras/getting your chi flowing. I know, my friends in London are thinking – you crazy Californians! But I have to say that I felt better after every session.

-        Read the book Radical Remission to think about all of the lifestyle tools available to me to get rid of my cancer (this is where the inspiration for my green juice came from)! 

-       Tightened up my diet – VERY low sugar (no cakes, fruit juices, cookies, cereals with high sugar etc.).  I think this has also helped prevent dental decay which can be a problem when you go through chemo.  Read labels, you would be surprised how much sugar is added to many foods!

Lunch!

-       No caffeine (the idea of coffee or green tea would turn my tummy!); I drank organic ginger tea, or three ginger tea almost every morning and for an afternoon treat, sometimes had iced chai masala tea (decaffeinated)
- Stay hydrated! Lots of water (and sometimes water with a bit of pure cranberry juice to take about the metallic taste caused by chemo).

-       No alcohol (took a few unsatisfying sips but that was it!).  I knew that my pancreas and liver were under enough strain trying to cope with my chemo.
-    Tried to eat only organic food, and hormone and antibiotic-free meat.

-       No dairy products! I learned that dairy is an inflammatory so cut it out of my diet. I really think that this helped reduce my tummy issues.

-       Used the Cancer Fighting Cookbook for food ideas, tried to keep a very heavily plant-based diet (including beans, rice, eggs, oatmeal, lots of broccoli and vegetables, salads, nuts and seeds etc.).

-       Green juice 2-3 times a week (kale, cabbage, spinach, carrots, lemon, celery, fresh ginger, apple, parsley).

-       Fruit smoothie 2-3 times a week (banana, strawberries, blueberries etc.)

-       Every night before going to sleep, I would think about all that I was thankful for, do some deep breathing, and try to visualize my cancer disappearing.

-       Trying to laugh and smile as much as possible.

-       Appreciating every message of support and care that I received from friends and family!  Feeling loved and supported really does lift the spirits and help produce feelings of strength.

My surgery is confirmed for August 18^th here in Santa Barbara. I will be having a lumpectomy (they will be taking out roughly a ball of tissue that measures 3 cm in diameter) and they will be doing a level 1 and 2 lymph node dissection.  Send me all of the healing wishes and anti-lymphedema thoughts you can muster up! 

I go in for my first, Herceptin only infusion on Tuesday.   I am also happy to report that Chris is now with me in SB.  He is here for 3 weeks!  It is nice to have him by my side, visiting doctors and making decisions about my treatment.  Skype is great, but it will never beat the real thing! I am also thankful that Chris will be here for my surgery on the 18th.  

So life in my cancer-cation marches on!

I hope that you are all having wonderful summers, and that you are stopping to smell the flowers!

With love,

Jodi