17 October 2023
It’s hard to believe but I walked out of the cancer center at 1 pm. It’s a new record for the time. It was still four hours but it seemed much quicker than normal. Pat also indicated it was a slow day and she had more time to pay attention to me. That she did. She brought me a third warm blanket (actually it was two blankets each time). She’s so funny. She walked up and asked “Are you ready to get out of here?”
As she was unhooking me, she asked if I wanted to ring the bell to signify the end of the Taxol treatment. She then said I probably wanted to wait until it was the end of all the treatments and I said yes, I’d wait until I totally through with the Herceptin treatments.
I quizzed her about the Herceptin. She confirmed that I would no longer be given Benadryl nor Dexamethasone. I still would be given Pepsid (to line my stomach) and Zofran (for nausea). I need to talk to Dr. Velez about adding weaning doses of prednisone because of the long term effects of Dexamethasone.
Joel picked me up a little after one and we went the back way to my house in order to avoid I-95. I was home by 1:30 and I climbed into bed and slept for 1 hour and 45 minutes. I was bone tired. I still am.
Speaking of bones, on Sunday’s phone call with Jimmie, she suggested an ointment/cream/gel to use for the aching joints in my hands. She couldn’t remember the name but later texted me Diclofenac Sodium Topical Gel. Duh! I’ve been using that for several years for (wait for it) arthritis in the hands. I actually had been using the 3% solution but I ran out of that and have the 1% at the house. I started using it last Sunday night. It takes a while for it to be effective but it certainly helped with joint pain – especially the 3%. I’ll probably call Dr. Fingado (hand doctor) and see if he’ll re-write the prescription for 3%. If Jimmie hadn’t mentioned it, I’d still be casting about for something to relieve the pain. And it is very painful.
Tonight is left over meatloaf. For some reason, the idea of meatloaf appealed to me and when I made my list for Whole Foods, I included items I would need to make it on Monday night. I hopped online to find a recipe (easier than thumbing through recipe books) and found one I could use and modified it. I always like to add bell pepper to any recipe for meatloaf. I didn’t add celery but Mom always did when she made hers. I had a serving yesterday and it was pretty tasty. The recipe called for sweet chili sauce (1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup ketchup and 2 tbsp of brown sugar for the sauce that goes on top after 45 minutes of cooking the meat loaf. You add the sauce to the top and then cook for 15 more minutes. Mama Mia! That’s some spicy sweet chili sauce! Tonight I’ll cut a bigger slice for dinner.
I feel like I’ve turned a page with my last Taxol treatment. Never say botanists don’t do anything for you. It was the discovery of the drug in the bark of Taxus brevifolia in Washington state that led to effective breast cancer treatments. It’s a nasty drug but it does the job.
Stay tuned!
