Chemo Cycle #5

Chemo #5.  Knocking these babies out!

We are getting so close to being done with the hard stuff!  We are on cycle #5 of 6 with the chemo.  I will have infusions through November, but those shouldn't bring on the sick days like the chemo does.

It's been a tough few days.  I can work myself up into a frenzy over anything!  I recently found out that a breast cancer buddy cancer had metastasized to her brain.  She's in her mid-30's and has 2 kids. It scared the shit out me.  If it could happen to her, then it could happen to me.  I shared this with Richard and we both got online and read some really scary stuff about HER2+ patients having an increased risk of their cancer metastasizing to other areas.  I felt like we could both handle this, but once we started thinking about how that sort of thing would impact Mason, it was a tough pill to swallow.  We cried.  We prayed.  And we vowed to do whatever we needed to do to reduce our risks as much as possible.

Well, our freak out came just in the nick of time, since we were meeting with the oncologist at today's appointment.  We discussed our fears and he did an amazing job at putting our fears at ease.  I am so grateful that Richard was there to have his fears put at ease, too.  Yes, it could happen, but there are also some factors that are in our favor, reducing our risk that it will happen.

Also, we were able to talk with our oncologist about my weight gain.  He assured me it was because of the chemo meds and steroids.  He attributed a lot of it to water retention and to the steroids and drugs making me hungry.  Now, I know that isn't all of the reason for my weight gain, but it was good to hear that the drugs are a contributing factor.  He assured me that it will fall off... I'm not sure I 100% believe him, but it was comforting to hear.  On a side note, he also said he would be upping my chemo dose because of my weight gain.  Yikes!  I guess that just means that I'll be getting more medicine, right?  So that's not an entirely bad thing, assuming I can handle it.

He also shared that drinking could raise my risk, like even 1 glass of wine a week can increase a chance of reoccurrence. I'm not a huge drinker anymore, so you would think this wouldn't bother me much, but all of a sudden I'm craving beer and hot wings like crazy. Apparently, I don't like being told I can't do something even if I wouldn't do it in the first place.

I'll post another update of cycle #5 soon.  Thanks for all the words of encouragement, thoughts and prayers everyone!  WE are doing this!  And I absolutely know I am not alone in this journey.  Humbled by all your thoughts and prayers for me and my family.

UPDATE: Cycle #5 has been rough.  I'm not sure if my body has just had enough, if I'm less mentally strong than before or if it is the additional chemo, but this round, I've been extremely tired.  Oh, and I caught Mason's cold.  But, I'm looking forward to a much better week next week!  One more cycle.  I can do this!