November 2, 2008: What Do I do Now?

So....what now?

I finished chemo.  Yay!  Now I'm two weeks into radiation with only 4 weeks to go and......then what?

Right now I travel 45 minutes away every day for about 5 minutes of radiation. (That's every day- 5 days a week for six weeks total!)   It makes me tired, but not like chemo tired.  Chemo knocked my ass out.  Rads makes me feel sleepy tired and lazy, that I can deal with.  Still have to deal with the frequent bone pain, hot flashes, dizziness and nausea.  But what can I do?  Somedays I can barely make it out of bed.  Missed a lot of work.  Hope I won't get fired!

Friend on the Rad Squad

Radiation Room

For the past 5 months I've been scheduling my life around the cancer. I put my life on hold because I wasn't well enough to do the things I usually did.  It changed everything I was used to.  I can't work my three jobs and I miss all my friends so much!

Cancer changed the way I felt about life.  It took away the parts of me that made me feel feminine.  My long hair is gone, part of my breast.....and my perception of myself has changed too.  When I look at myself I can see the toll this illness has taken on my poor little body.  Then I think....fuck you cancer!  Look what you did!  Now I gotta get myself back, take it back from that hell.

Rad Squad Buddy

When I'm done with this shit I'll know it took me 6 months to fight it.  Six months of my life that I can never get back!  Six months!!!  My life will never be the same.  But....one thing's for sure, I'll be alive to enjoy what life has in store for me next.  I feel like since I beat this I might be kinda invincible....you know like how the guys in the elevator felt after taking a potion? (Big Trouble in Little China)

Well, whatever....I still got a ways to go.  But the weird thing about it is when this is over, when there are no treatments to go to, no appointments......what do I do?  Actually, I probably mean....what do I do first?  When every hour of my life for the past 6 months was about cancer and the treatments and the suffering...

What do I do first?

September 29, 2008: Last Round

Last Chemo Round!

Current mood:fermented

That last round of chemo laid me out.  Seriously I was in sooo much pain, my hips, my back, my legs....I had to roll out of bed, fall to the ground and frickin crawl to the bathroom!  No shit, that is the truth.  I got sick and threw up that very night and every night after.  I even threw up the pills that were supposed to keep me from throwing up!  I couldn't take my pain pills because they were upsetting my tummy and making me....throw up!  What a mess.  

Then I got a rash from the top of my bald ass coconut filipino head down to the soles of my monkey feet....owwy, itchy!  Bitch ass chemo!  It took me 2 weeks to rebound.

I started feeling better after Bob Marley visited me in a dream...or was it?  Anyways, I wasn't nauseous when I woke up so I was able to take my pills and get out of bed.... then the Chargers beat the Jets...and I felt like getting out of bed and going to work.  

I even got the energy to celebrate my friend Gary's birthday.  

Funny....everyone always say that it's too quiet when I'm not around.  Hmmm....interesting.  Well I didn't drink of course, I really didn't feel like it.  It was funny watching JR, he makes me laugh when he drinks.  They all do.  Hey wait...what?  

Anyways....now that I'm feeling better, I gotta get all pyched up to do this shit all over again.  The difference is.....this chemo cocktail...will be my last!

How do I feel....scared, nervous, hesitant....because I know it's gonna hurt like hell. I know I'm gonna get sick...I know my bones will hurt.  


 Each treatment seemed to get progressively worse and took me longer to recouperate so I'm anticipating this one's gonna be like the grand finale on the fourth of July.  


I can't even say tomorrow's the last day cuz I still gotta go in for the three consecutive days of shots in my tummy til it's all over......oh....dread...I'm eriously shaking right now thinking about it.   Whatever, I'm tough right.  Can tough girls cry though?  Cuz  I sooo want to be tough, but finding it hard to right now.

September 7, 2008: Second Round of Chemo

I hate you cancer

Current mood:depressed

The last round of chemo kicked my ass.  And it was only my second one!  Damn.  I thought I was a warrior.  I thought I was gonna stand up to this thing, put up my dukes and beat the shit out of it.  Ha!  Guess I'm not as tough as I thought.

First of all, I had to go back to the doctor the day after chemo and for two days after that, to get shots to boost my white blood cells.  So, that along with the chemo, took it's toll on this little body of mine.  The doctor keeps checking my kidneys and is concerned about the creatinine level being so high.  I keep getting bone pains, rashes, insomnia, fatigue, dizzy spells, loss of appetite, my nails are turning purple......oh yeah...loss of my beautiful hair....waaahh... Damn you!  I hate you cancer!

I just want to feel normal again.  I want to feel strong.  But now I worry what's gonna happen next?  My next round is tomorrow!!!!  And I just started feeling better yesterday!  Damn.  I know this is the hard part and I'm gonna be a survivor, but.....this is really hard. Now I got to look forward to 5 hours of poison in my veins..... I would never, ever want any of my friends or family to have to experience this chemo shit.  It's really, really hard.  I'm so gonna do massive shots when I'm done with this drama.

I hate you cancer!  You suck!

August 14, 2008: Is This Going to Work?

Cancer Sucks

Current mood:scared

My next chemo is on Monday and I'm nervous about it.  I went through so much with this first treatment, being in the hospital...quarantined and isolated from my friends and family, I just don't know how I'll do this time around.  I've already lost my appetite (and10 lbs), almost all of my hair, and most nights I can't even sleep........this is really hard. 

I think the worse part is that most of the time I feel fine, then the fatigue hits me and I have to stop and rest.  Just imagine checking the mail or even doing the dishes and all of a sudden you get dizzy and have to sit down and catch your breath.  Imagine not being able to stay awake or get out of bed.  It's so unpredictable.

I'm really not looking forward to getting that needle stuck in my arm and sitting there for 4 hours or whatever feeling the burn in my veins to my brain.  What if I get sick again and end up in the hospital?  I'm really scared this time. 

Anyways....I'm also wondering if this is going to work.  What if I go through all this and the cancer comes back?  I'm putting my body through so much ....is all this worth it?   Cancer sucks..