Skipping Town

Feeling okay the day after chemo, and I was able to get through the workday. But now I am just very very tired and ready for bed at 8pm. I'm in my pj's and ready to watch Gilmore Girls until it's a decent time to just turn the lights off and call it a day. Otherwise, no other side effects. I was able to drive Greta to piano, and I've had a regular good appetite all day. 

Chemo #3 is done. I'm halfway through my frontline (standard, first) treatment. The good news is that my CA-125 is down again as I'd prayed, 18 points lower this time! The downward trend continues. Now I can relax a little bit until the days before my next treatment. The long day started off with an appointment with the PA and clinical study coordinator. I had a list of questions as usual. I asked if a steady decrease in the CA-125 means the chemo is having an effect, and she said that's what they like to think. I hope this is true and that the chemo is doing good, poisonous work. We rescheduled my March CT scan to more easily accommodate a hoped-for Spring Break trip, location TBD. We talked about my fear of an intestinal blockage, which I fear every time I have any sort of stomach discomfort at all, and she said if I had one I'd be vomiting, nauseaus, completely constipated, and not eating, and would be doubled over in pain. So. Obviously I have had none of that. This...

The hardest day of the chemo cycle is the day before chemo. So much uncertainty. I went in early this morning for pre-chemo blood work, and, as expected, got all the results except the CA-125. Most of the numbers are in normal range, with a few outliers that I'll ask about tomorrow. Are they alarming? Normal? Expected? Surprising? This is where having an English degree instead of a medical degree is really detrimental. The test results are all numbers, no narrative. (The only narrative lies in a Google search, which I know by now is the last place I should be looking if I want to have any hope of managing my anxiety.) Greta went to crew tonight and then worked on an essay about apple snails. Lucia had musical rehearsal and then worked on memorizing a passage from Macbeth. Andrew made a roast chicken for dinner. I cleaned out and organized the spice cabinet to avoid thinking about test results. It was a busy day, and now it's over, and tomorrow I'll see the CA-125 and mark t...

We stayed in Connellsville until lunchtime today. Andrew and I did some work, the kids baked cookies with Mom, Greta practiced piano with Mom, and the girls and Mom and Dad played gin. Then we loaded up the car and headed home. It was an excellent weekend. Now we prepare for the week ahead. Tomorrow is my bloodwork, followed by anxiety over the results, followed by chemo on Wednesday and more anxiety in the morning and, at some point hopefully early in the day, the results of the CA-125 test. These days right before chemo are the most psychologically difficult of the entire chemo cycle. I have a very busy work day on campus tomorrow, which is for the best. It will keep me occupied. 

It was a snowy day today, a perfect day to just stay home. Mom and I reviewed some crochet technique; Andrew and Lucia went for a run on the bike trail; both girls had math tutorials with Dad; Lucia practiced piano with Mom. Andrew and I helped Mom make the crepes for scrippelles, and the girls helped fill them. The girls and Mom and Dad had a gin tournament, which I subbed in for when Andrew and Dad ran to Tractor Supply to pick up my order of pelletized horse bedding (this is what we use for Nutmeg's litter box; whenever we're in Connellsville I order a few bags to bring home). We had the scrippelles for dinner, always a much-anticipated event. After dinner, Andrew and I took Farrah for a walk, and then we all watched The Bourne Identity. Lucia ate a ham sandwich as a snack, along with a bunch of other things.  Tomorrow we'll head back home. When we lived in New Jersey, we'd always come to Connellsville for President's Day weekend. This was a nice return to that t...

We left this morning and drove to Connellsville to stay with Mom and Dad for the long weekend. Farrah and Nutmeg came too, of course. Andrew was annoyed that the car was as overpacked as it would be if we were going away for a week, bragging that he'd brought only one duffel bag and his work bag. We all got to laugh later on when Andrew realized he hadn't packed any pajamas. Overpackers for the win. Mom and I went for a wonderful and long-awaited visit with old friends (hello, A. family) while the kids hung out with Dad at home. Later, we went to Gabe's and Goodwill, with very little success. Mom, Dad, and I reminisced about the Gabe's of yesteryear and recalled our favorite finds. I can remember things I got at Gabe's going all the way back to the Gabe's on Pittsburgh Street. Those bargains are some of my core memories.  I quietly snickered while writing that last line. But it's true. Maybe I'll write a post about them. We got home and discovered Farrah...