One of the "Joys" being a cancer patient

Happy Sunday All,

I know it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything, but I have been dealing with one of the joys of being a cancer patient; Shingles!

Around the 18th or so of May, I started having pain in the right side of my head and face.  By Friday, I was in a lot of pain. I called my doctor and she wrote prescriptions for pain medicine and for a medicine for neuropathic pain and I came home for the afternoon.  I finally got the pain under control and was able to enjoy an evening out with my BFF dancing.  Saturday, we picked blueberries and made blueberry jam and went dancing again.  I made it thru the lesson before the dance, but the pain was bad enough I just couldn't enjoy my night.  I came home and took my pain meds and managed to sleep a little bit, but by Sunday morning, I was hurting so bad, I called the oncology doctor on call, told him my symptoms and he said it sounded like shingles to him, but since he couldn't see me over the phone, he would meet me in the emergency room and take a look at me.  So, I called my Mom and she came and got me and off we went to the ED.  Sure enough, I had a pretty bad case of shingles.

I was admitted last Sunday for IV anti-viral medication and IV pain control.  By Monday morining, I was feeling better, but was still requiring a fairly stout dose of IV Morphine to control the pain, along with an oral medication for neuropathic pain.  I told my mom and my BFF that I don't know how people with chronic pain deal with it day in and day out.  I have a new found respect for those with chronic pain.

Now, I am off work for at least another week and a half to make sure I am clear of the virus! 

On top of all of that, I caught a cold while I was in the hospital on the oncology floor!  Only this could happen to me! 

I hope all of you have a great Memorial Day and thanks to all of our service men and women for protecting us!

Remember to FEEL YOUR BOOBIES!!!!!!
Denys

Happy Spring

Hi everyone,

I know it's been a while, but there have been a few problems lately.  One of those is the fact that over the first weekend of April, I had a series of pretty severe migraine headaches along with some changes in my vision. 

When I saw the oncologist, she was concerned enough to send me to see an opthomologist, to have a cat scan of my head and to see a neurologist. 

The CT scan of my head was normal, or as normal as MY brain could be, the opthomologist said the changes in vision were probably just the aura of my headaches and the neurologist said the increased frequency of the headaches were probably from the sudden decrease in estrogen and progesterone levels in my body due to the chemically induced menopause that the chemo has put in.  So, with all of that said, I got a 3 week break from chemotherapy and was actually giving my body a chance to rest and heal for most of the month.

I restarted chemo on the first Monday of May and have done very well with it.  I have enough energy to go dancing and hang out with my friends a little more and am doing well with work.

I still am pretty tired when I get home and I usually just veg out!

I know a lot of you have been asking how I am.  I am doing very well.  I am missing spending time with all of you.  We definately need to get together sometime soon!

Love to all and REMEMBER TO FEEL YOUR BOOBIES!!!!!

Denys