Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Good news and more good news











Good news and more good news!

August 3, 2010 - I have been getting more heartburn lately. Now I definitely have to stay on a strictly bland diet – and eat 6 mini-meals a day. I know what my diabetic husband means when he says, “I am hungry all the time but I can’t eat till my blood sugar goes down.” I feel that way and when I do eat/drink, it’s bread aAdd Imagend water – but when that’s all you can have, the bread tastes like a gourmet meal in a 5 star restaurant, and the water tastes like the finest French wine!

Oh, well, there are 2 advantages to this diet; I guess my chemotherapy diet is making sure I stay on my radiation diet of no antioxidants – so the free radicals are free to roam around in my body, killing the cancer cells!
The second advantage: I lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks!

Enugh of that; let’s get to the good news!!! The first bit of good news I have to report is a visit with my radiation oncologist. I saw both my hematology oncologist and my radiation oncologist today (July 29). I had nothing new to report but the heartburn and over-the-counter Prevacid as a new medicine. Dr Dragun said my heartburn/esophagitis was from the radiation and chemo drugs combined and that I should also expect to have a little trouble swallowing. Otherwise, I had no complaints. I guess people who are this far into chemo and radiation have many more complaints about side effects than I do, because Dr. Dragun then said to me and Al, “The treatments for cancer have come such a long way since you 1st had breast cancer* that you probably survived due to your outlook despite the treatments, and that is what will get you through this bout of cancer, too.” I gave the thumbs up sign and said, “ I keep a positive attitude.” Then she shook my hand on the way out and said, “You’re an inspiration.” Wow, I never had a doctor tell me that I was an inspiration before. After she left the room, I said to Al, “Did she just say I’m an inspiration?” “Yes, she did,” he replied. “Isn’t that great?” Yeah, that is great!

*People used to refer to cancer treatment as “slash, burn, and poison” – for surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy

Second bit of good news came the next day, Friday, July 30 when I went for my 4th chemotherapy treatment. I had a new nurse. Now, they always check your blood levels before starting the chemo; if your blood levels are too low, they won’t do the treatment, they will send you home and say come back next week; your body needs to rebuild itself. This nurse said to me, “Your blood levels are amazing! I have never seen blood levels this high after the 3rd chemo treatment. Whatever you’re doing, keep on doing it!” Then I told her about my healing garden and prayer and she said, “Well I guess it works! You’re proof!” I told her about my new blog and she said, you definitely want to put your blood levels on the Internet. Medical science should study you!

So for the sake of any medical people out there, like my sister in Orlando who is a medical technologist, here are my blood levels:
White blood cells, NE minimum reuired is 1.5, mine was 3.0
Red blood cells, HGB (hemoglobin) minimum required is 10, mine was 12.8
Platelets, PLT minimum required is 100, mine was 201

2 of my blood levels were twice the minimum – platelet counts and white blood cells! Praise God and thank you for all your prayers! They are working!!!!!!!!!


Here’s a picture of me getting chemo therapy, looking at my garden pictures on my computer while listening to soothing music and healing scriptures. The day I found out how high my blood levels were, I was listening to lively music and literally dancing in the chair – tapping my feet in the air and swaying my head side to side! I was on a chemotherapy high all weekend!!!!

Here are updated pictures of my 4 o’clock plants. See how high they are still growing! That means that God is growing new lung cells in my body, too. The second picture shows an area in the backyard that I call “Greenscape.” I have 4 o’clock plants growing there, too, and getting bigger everyday! Most of the plants don’t bloom, that’s why I call it Greenscape. Besides, I love the color green, it signifies life to me, and especially new life in the springtime. The little cactus is literally growing before my eyes! Each day I see the buds get longer!!

1 comment:

  1. Love the picture you have from you getting chemo Mom!

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