Jacqueline's Cancer Journey

I love finding a card in the mail or a cute emoji or meme in a text or email. Thank you. I have saved them all and look back on them in moments of overwhelm or sadness. If I have not thanked you personally, know from my heart that I am. Sitting in the backyard drinking my tea, listening to birds, looking at our big pumpkin helps me to feel present and grounded. I love the cooler weather especially since my body temperature fluctuates a lot.  I had an echo cardiogram before my treatment to check on my heart, and my blood flow has increased since starting treatment. My cholesterol has also dropped 70 points.  My 3rd treatment went well and was somewhat faster than the last 2. Only one more treatment with these magic potions. My friend Marga assisted me and took me around to stores I never get to on my own. She also brought me this magical oil from the Earth's Cauldron on Etsy. While it's good for my body, it feels like it works on a soul level. It's really good for my spirit ...

Well I guess I was a little too real in my last post. I received a number of texts, calls etc about how I was. I have 4-5 very low energy days directly after treatment, then I start to feel better. The key in week two is to not overdo things because I am feeling good and didn't get anything done during week one except to focus on healing, eating and resting. I felt almost normal this week and was able to get many things done. I am grateful to all of you holding me-energetically, spiritually, and physically through your prayers, candles, cards, gifts, food, cash for juice, etc. I truly feel this is why this process has not overwhelmed me. My hair is almost gone and I have to pay attention to how I use my energy and to stay away from germs. I'm excited for the cooler weather and looking forward to wearing my hand-knitted hat from Susan B.

 Phew! This was a rough one. Treatment went as planned. I taught yoga Saturday morning. Then my Neulasta shot and then...listen for JAWS music, it hits. The extreme fatigue and being completely uncomfortable in my body. The only things I can do is eat, drink, and sleep. Conversation is challenging, coming up with words-uhh, reading next to impossible, even watching TV is not easy. I don't want to complain, and it really sucked. I messaged the dr because it was so much more intense than the first time, I thought maybe something was wrong. Nurse Jen, whom I really like, responded fairly quickly and let me know that was expected. Most people have intense fatigue for a full week so I'm doing well with only 5 days of it. When Thursday rolled around, I was able to do most things-like pickle ball, cooking, laundry and responding to email. On days when I move my body enough to sweat, I feel better even though it takes its energetic toll. Friday, I feel human once more--almost like I am...

 9/9/2022 I was a little nervous preparing for Chemo #2. Would it be harder, would my symptoms be better or worse? After my blood draw, I met with my oncologist. my blood work looked great and we discussed changing my chemo plan. Now we will do 4 rounds of AC every two weeks (2 of which are complete), take 2 weeks off, and then 4 rounds of T every two weeks. The potency of the 2nd 4 will be greater, yet 4 treatments sound much better to me than 12. So yay!  What's exciting and interesting to me is the willingness and flexibility of the doctor to meet my needs according to how my body/mind/spirit are dealing with the treatment. They (dr and nurse) were happy with how I moved my body (yoga, teaching, pickle ball and biking) and how few symptoms I had. The fatigue was incredibly debilitating, the brain fog was unsettling and my fluctuating body temperature was uncomfortable. I went into my treatment prepared and calm especially after receiving my awesome news of fewer treatments....

 9/2-8/2022 The second week after chemo was much gentler on me than the first. My digestion is back to normal and I am still tired often. Rest is definitely the best healing tool. I was able to do all that I set out to do as long as I allowed the rest needed in between activities including pickle ball, short bike rides, in person visits. Pacing: Eat/rest, teach/rest, move my body/rest. My schedule is limited-I allow myself 2 activities per day. During the second week I was able to add in a few more things-cooking, cleaning, and communicating. I was able to drive after the first 4 days including my car and scooter. I do wear my mask any time in public and as friends and family to mask up if they have been around others. If feeling at all sick, please don't come near me. I didn't need any of the extra prescriptions I was given. Though I did use my newly garnered Utah Marijuana License. I found the pharmacist there very helpful in choosing products useful for chemo symptoms withou...

  8/27-9/1/2022 The week after chemo treatment was challenging and yet I felt better than I expected to. I woke up Saturday, 8/27 after treatment. My head was cloudy and yet I felt okay. I taught yoga though I did not feel safe to drive so Cheney drove me to the college where I teach. My main symptoms: burning scalp, cloudy head, extreme fatigue, hot flashes (which I never experienced during menopause), a metallic taste in my mouth and a headache, which includes a lot of pressure at the base of my occiput. Around 3:30 pm my Neulasta shot went off (I talked about this in the last post). This is an immuno-boosting miracle really. The most common side effect for this shot is bone pain. I was told to take Claritin if it occurred. I chose to take the Claritin before the shot went off as a preventative. I was able to eat regularly and find that eating smaller meals more often to be helpful. It is imperative to drink a minimum of 80 oz of liquid to flush out the toxic part of my magic pot...

 8/26/2022 Treatment begins I arrive at the SugarHouse location of Huntsman, which is beautiful and clean at 8:20 am.  8:30 am It starts with vitals: height/weight/BP. I usually refuse to be weighed, but they won't do treatment without it.  Treatment begins with accessing my port, cleansing it and drawing blood to test to make sure my baselines are good before we begin. The results are back quickly and mine look good--blood cell counts, protein, liver function, etc. Now they can order my magic potions. The infusion room is 12 areas separated by curtains. There is privacy and you can hear everything going on in the room. 9:30 am Nurse Betty, begins giving me saline, a steroid and some other potions for anti-nausea. 10 am My first chemo potion is infused. It comes in 3 large syringes. The liquid is red-this drug is nicknamed the "red devil;" it's real name is Adriamycin. From the beginning of the infusion, I have a funny taste/smell-kind of metallic, kind of odd. Nurse ...