2 down...10 to go! (No, this is not a typo!)

Had a great appointment with Dr. Jim first thing this morning. Lots of good stuff from that meeting...

1.  Dr. Jim says that despite what feels like some upsets this past couple of weeks, I am actually handling treatment well (keep in mind that my tumor and the lump in my armpit are GONE!)

2. My energy levels are up! Yay! I actually even ventured out yesterday to grocery shop with our little crazy monkey (I've been staying home mostly to avoid germs and honestly, because I wasn't 100% sure I could keep up with Austin!) He loooved pushing his own cart and picking out things to buy...'Mom, Austin needs those apples.' We had a lot of fun.

 3. Like I do every appointment, I reminded Dr. Jim that my armpit is still sore. It's something that really bothers me because I had a similar feeling in my breast when I was diagnosed. Now it's gone. I had this feeling in my armpit shortly after I was diagnosed. It's not gone. There are all kinds of worries that flood if I allow myself to worry, so I just try and stop myself from stressing, get to the root of why it's really bothering me. And the only thing I can do to alleviate this stress is to ask the same question to poor Dr. Jim. Over and over. Dr. Jim expects me to ask it every time. And every time he has an answer for me that makes me feel better (at least until the next appointment when my armpit is still sore). haha. He assures me that the aches and pains in my armpit are normal and in response to treatment. I've had a lot of trauma in a very sensitive area (biopsies, port surgery on the same side, cancer cells dying, nodes shrinking, etc.) these things themselves cause discomfort and as the area heals it's constantly 'reconstructing itself' which also causes discomfort. He always tells me that this feeling is going to continue throughout this process and it does not mean that my treatment is not working. So WIN! My armpit is sore because it's reconstructing and rebuilding into a newer and better cancer free armpit :)

4. Reminded me to moisturize. He's hilarious. The actual very first thing he said to me after I told him that I was feeling much better was that my face looked dry. Haha. Then his exact words were to 'keep on top of that.' Taxol has dried my skin out sooo much!! I have been smearing jojoba oil on my face all day long and it just soaks it up. We left my meeting with him sending us off to the infusion room for my 3rd round of Taxol thinking that taking care of my dry skin was the biggest of our worries.

BUT...we were WRONG!

While we were waiting, my chemo nurse came out and with the biggest smile and so sweetly told me that my labs were awful and I wasn't going to get treatment today, but we were still waiting to hear back from Dr. Jim on the plan for the day. My mom and I laughed. We thought she was joking. I was feeling great and Dr. Jim had just sent me to get treatment. He didn't even schedule me for another appointment until 3 weeks later from today because things were looking great! Nope. He hadn't received me blood results from the morning yet. The nurse was right. They came back awful.

My red blood counts (the counts that would indicate energy levels) are up, not back to a normal range, but not low enough to delay treatment. But the whites (the counts that indicate your body's ability to fight infection) are pretty much down to nothing. Not an exaggeration. I basically have nothing in my body that can fight off infection. Nada. Zip. So, although I feel ok, I'm not sitting in a pretty spot if I picked up a bug. My body can't fight off a thing. Remember the word 'Neutropenic?' Yup, me again.

So...I was approved (after 3 hours of waiting!) for a shot similar to the Nuelasta shot I received with A/C treatment to boost my white count, but this shot works much much faster and is not as long acting as that drug. I go back again tomorrow for another dose. I was also prescribed a heavy duty antibiotic to give my body some type of defense against any bacteria that I might be exposed to between now and when my levels come back up.

The game plan is to keep me infection free over the next couple of days. At home. WIN!! If I can stay fever free, I can stay at home. Everyone expects that I should be back up to a safe range later this weekend. Between the timing and the shots, should be good to go! I will go back into the oncologist office on Monday to check my levels. If all comes back ok, I will get my third dose of Taxol then. If not, we will try again for Thursday. I may or may not need more of the Neopterin as we move forward. We will see!

So, is what it is. All things that are expected to happen with the drugs I'm taking. Dr. Jim just called me at home to check in on me and make sure that I wasn't too bummed out about today and also to put my worries to rest that just because I'm delaying treatment a few days does not mean that cancer is going to start growing again (does this guy know me or what??!).

Our little monkey has been (very happily might I add) shipped off to Granny's for the night as today was a school day for him and I can't risk being exposed to any other little kiddos germies that he might have picked up there. He was thrilled to go see Aunt Boog and Paw Paw Gene. Check out the fun they were having today fishing. 

I know that my mom's house looks like a sweet relaxing vacation spot, but I have one word for you:  Rooster. And for you city folk, they really do crow at the crack of dawn.

P.S. Notice Austin is totally obsessed with wearing that funny doggy hat lately. At school this week he didn't want to take it off. Haha.

So, if you made it to the end of this, we are still WINNING over here. A little frustrated, yes. But we have a lot to be grateful for tonight. A whole lot.

Love
Jenn