Just FYI – I started this post in the beginning of March and here it is, the middle of April.
What a crazy ride the last few
months have been!!! Between work, taking my sister to/from work in the city,
managing my father's appointments, email, and bills plus dealing my own health
and personal issues, I seem to have very little time to relax & enjoy life.
I'm so thankful that I've been able to get together with friends. This has definitely
been some much needed time for laughter and self-care!!! One of the big
highlights of the past few weeks was spending an afternoon at the Philadelphia
Flower Show with a friend and her Mom. Words cannot express the beautiful and
colorful displays throughout the venue. Another blessing is that due to a
change in my sister's job situation, compounded by some mobility issues, she took
a little bit of early retirement!!! Now, I have an extra 2 hours a day to get
things done and of course, take a nap!!! Hallelujah!!! The last highlight was spending 2 days
with my quilting friends from the Philly Modern Quilt Guild at our Spring
Retreat. I wasn’t too productive, but it was nice to see everyone and their creativity.
2023 Philadelphia Flower Show - The Garden Electric
It's been soooo long since I’ve blogged and with all that’s going on in my life, I’ve developed a bit of writer’s block/lack of inspiration. I’ve heard some great messages, read some great devotions, and seen God working, but nothing, right now, is reaching into my spirit, my soul, and my heart that I feel led to share with you. But just you wait when the Lord shows me what to write!!!
As for my health, I’m doing
pretty good except. Over the past several months, the one chemo drug I’m on
once every 4 weeks is Doxil, causes an extremely annoying side effect
officially called Palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia. More commonly known as
Hand-foot syndrome. The bottom of my feet look like they've got a bad sunburn!!! It is described as “a side effect of some chemotherapy drugs that can cause redness, swelling and blistering on the
palms of the hands and soles of the feet.” The only thing that “helps” me is
putting lotion on my hands & feet in the morning while getting dressed and
at night before I go to bed. The worst thing for me is how itchy my feet are,
sometimes even after I put on the lotion. The funny thing is that it seems like
one night it’s my right foot and the next night it’s my left foot. At times, it
feels like I’m going to scratch my feet so hard that they will start bleeding.
Thankfully, that’s never happened!!!
The other
chemo drug that I’m on basically every other week is Avastin and for me, this
drug causes nosebleeds. Over the past months on a daily basis, they’ve ranged
from very mild to feeling like I’m going to use a whole box of tissues to stop
it. Plus, it’s allergy season so I never know what’s going on with my nose. As
they say ...
Avastin® (bevacizumab) works differently than chemotherapy. Avastin is used with chemotherapy and hits your cancer from another angle. Avastin is a tumor-starving (anti-angiogenic) therapy. The purpose of Avastin is to prevent the growth of new blood vessels. This includes normal blood vessels and blood vessels that feed tumors.
As for my numbers, they
continue to go down, just not fast enough in my opinion.
On February 14, my CA-125 was
136.
On March 21, my CA-125 was 115.
Considering normal range is below
38, I’ve got a looooong way to go!!!
Prayer Requests:
I will find out how much it
goes down after next week's blood draw on Tuesday morning, April 18. Please pray
for lower numbers and good numbers/readings on all the other tests.
My follow-up oncology appointment
is scheduled for Thursday, April 20 @ 10am followed by getting both drugs. The only difference is I’ll be seeing the APN (Advance Practice Nurse)
instead of my regular oncologist. I’ve never seen this APN, so I’m hoping for a
good first meeting.
Then on Thursday, May 4 around
12noon, I just have to have the Avastin pumped into my body. Then later in
the afternoon, I have an appointment with my family doctor for a regular
appointment.
After that, I’ll be scheduled
for another CT scan and another oncology follow-up to see where we go from
there. Most likely, I have several more treatments of just the Avaastin to keep
beating the beast down, but only time will tell.
On personal note: I have again
signed up for the Proverbs 31/First 5 app Bible Study writing challenge that
could be published on the app next year. I have the passage Matthew 26:47-56. The assignment is due at the beginning of May.
I have also signed up to attend
She Speaks 2023 in July.
This song/video has been playing on K-LOVE and I love the lyrics. It reminds me of the verse in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." The song is sung by a group called, Consumed by Fire.
Only by His Strength,
Sandy
