National Cancer Institute a Wealth of Information

This is a great website for cancer understanding. If you or someone you love and care about has any type of cancer, this is an excellent website to check out. The website is:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/

There are some good videos discussing targeted therapies. Targeted therapies use vaccines, small molecules or antibodies to fight cancer vs chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgical excision. They are generally used in conjunction with the traditional treatments. The following is the page which lists their targeted therapy videos: 

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/targetedtherapies

This is the link to the general targeted therapies video for any cancer. It's a little technical but has pretty good visuals and explanations to make it understandable:

http://www.cancer.gov/flash/targetedtherapies/flex/main.html#app=931b&121b-id=M01-S01-A0

This link directly addresses targeted therapies for breast cancer:

http://www.cancer.gov/flash/targetedtherapies/breast/main.html#app=b2b5&121b-id=M02-S01-A0

An excellent read on how to understanding how estrogen affects breast cancer and the use of the targeted therapy of tamoxifen and raloxifene:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/estrogenreceptors/page1

An excellent video to understand how people post-chemo attempt to deal with rebuilding their lives. It is specific for breast cancer survivors but could apply to anyone with cancer:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/survivorship/beyond-cancer-video

General Health Care Recommendations

Through all of my trials and tribulations along this interesting and unpleasant path, I have talked with many men and women with cancer diagnoses and made a list of general health care recommendations.

1. Be aware of your body. If something doesn't feel right get it checked out. DO breast exams monthly. If something feels wrong... even a little bit off... have it checked out. I met a gal that has a small breast lump but hasn't had it checked out because she's afraid of what she might learn. How crazy is that! Better to know and do something about it.
2. Find a doctor with whom you are comfortable. If your doctor poo poos your concerns, find someone else. This is the person that will be making recommendations about your health and well-being. They need to be someone you can talk to and trust... literally with your life. Doctors are like anyone else. They make mistakes. If you have a good relationship with your doctor, it will come to light earlier as you discuss your concerns so it can be corrected quickly. I know a gal that had knee pain for years. Her doctor suspected arthritis but never did xrays to confirm his/her suspicions. Nor did she request them. She assumed the doc knew best. When xrays were eventually done, it turned out she had a rare form of adult onset bone cancer. Luckily for her, they were able to handle it surgically. It could have been addressed much earlier with less pain, discomfort and long term effect.
3. If you have lumpy bumpy dense breasts, discuss with your doctor the value of irradiating your chest every year for mammograms. Women in their 20s and 30s are being diagnosed with breast cancer, yet the AMA isn't recommending mammograms until 40s? I had dense breasts and mammogram couldn't see the >1" diam mass right next to the nipple. Hmmmm. I'm not saying you shouldn't do mammograms but one should consider the radiation factor vs the value of a diagnostic test... any diagnostic test.
4. Understand what the diagnostic test does/is before it's done. What are the negatives and positives? They all have limitations. They all have potential side effects. Accept what your comfortable with. Learn more about what your aren't. Then decide whether or not to undergo that particular test. Obviously, the doctor needs the test to help define what's going on, so either you do the test or find out if there is some other test that they can run that you are more comfortable with. If you completely decline testing, the doctor may not be able to diagnosis your problem in a timely manner, if at all. I didn't decline any diagnostics but also was very comfortable with those recommended.
5. When you have a diagnostic test performed, request a copy of the results... the full written results. Several women have told me that the mammogram radiologist identified a 'benign' mass on their report but in their summary they identified the xrays as 'normal'. Their doctors in their rushed lives passed over the report, reading the summary but not the description. I'm just here to tell you, no radiologist can identify a mass as benign on xray.
6. Once received, sit down with your doctor and ask them to explain the written report to you. This pertains to any diagnostic you have done... including labwork. Take notes. Yes, get a mini medical education. This will be intimidating at first but little by little you'll get it. When you have your next diagnostic test, compare it with the one(s) previously done and discuss the trends seen with your doctor. You can see why a good relationship with your doctor is a must. If they don't want to teach you, insist... or find a different doctor. This is your body and your life, advocate for it. Understanding the histopath on my mass and the breasts submitted convinced me to be aggressive with treatment. It helped make the oncologists recommendations make sense.
7. Be a detective and research your concerns and your doctors' recommendations from reliable websites. That means, don't believe everything you read. Go to sites of Non-Profits, Associations, Med Schools, and other sites your dotors' recommend. Everyone's got an opinion but you need facts to make an informed choice. Use the information to ask your doctor clarifying questions to further your understanding.
8. Be sure you're seeing the right doctor. If your Family Doctor (General Practitioner) identifies blood pressure issues, you should seek the advice of a Cardiologist. If your having weird neural signs, you should see a neurologist. If your skin is flipping out, you should see a Dermatologist. You get the point. Your GP is here to field the symptoms, take care of straight forward issues and refer you to the specialist that can best address your more challenging condition(s). If you've seen your GP a couple of times and the issue isn't resolving or they aren't sure what's going on, ask for a referral.
9. Be aggressive in advocating for your health. Don't just accept whatever your doctor recommends. Don't stick your head in the sand. Research, ask questions, lots of questions, and push for what makes sense to you. I know that can be more than a little challenging when you're flipping out about a scary diagnosis, but if you don't then you will be blindly doing whatever the doctor wants you to do. You may, or may not, regret it later. When it comes to cancer, I felt most comfortable being aggressive in my treatment. I insisted on lumpectomy over wait-and-see or biopsy - that turned out to be a good idea since none of us expected cancer. I insisted on a double mastectomy for wide excision margins - that turned out to be a good idea since I was loaded with pre-cancer not seen on MRI. I accepted chemo treatments in case any cancer bypassed my lymph nodes. People diagnosed with cancer are at risk for cancer elsewhere so... can't be too careful. I haven't had to face the possibility of radiation treatment so I never researched it and have only a vague idea of how I would feel about it.
10. Understand what medications you are taking and why. What is it for? What does it do? How does it do it? How does your body get rid of it? Through your kidneys? Liver? What are its potential side effects? How might it interact with foods or other medications? Be sure you understand all these things so you have a better idea of what is going on in your body as you are taking them. 
11. Make use of support systems. Inform your trusted friends and family what is going on. Talk with others that have gone through similar situations. Support groups are everywhere. Make use of them. The more people that you talk with the better. No matter how private a person you are or how embarrassing the problem is, living in a vacuum isolates you. This increasing your stress level and feelings of loneliness which in turn worsen your health. In times of need, we just have to learn to accept kindness and compassion from others. My CareCalendar has allowed people to sign up for what they are willing and able to do. This has allowed me to feel like I'm not imposing on them but still asking and receiving the help I need. I'm used to giving, not receiving so this has been a really positive learning experience for me. One in which I feel more connected with my friends and family. Loved and cared for. I believe this has made me a better person, in many ways. That wouldn't have happened if I hadn't accepted the help others offered to help me shoulder the load. Physically and emotionally.

Three Quarters DONE!

I just finished my 3rd of 4 chemo deliverys. Another uneventful infusion with another excellent bruise-free catheter placement. Tapwe accompanied me this time. Nice for me and enlightening for him. All in all a good day... though I'm a bit tired and in need of a nap.

I'm grateful this infusion came AFTER Thanksgiving so I could enjoy all the good food yesterday. My sister puts on quite the spread. Starts at 8:30 am and goes to 7-8 pm with a different course meal every 2 hours or so. She's an amazing cook and always comes up with some interesting combinations no one else would think of. This years surprise to me was a Ruby Red Grape Pie. Sounds bland but was absolutely fabulous. It was outdone by the mini Pecan pies... so rich and decadent. Of course the anticipated staples of Raisin Yam Souffle and Mushroom-stuffed Venison Back-strap with Plum Sauce were also fantabulous. All in all, a good feast to celebrate my 3rd chemo. Hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

Four Days and Counting

Four days until chemo 3 of 4. I can't wait! No, not for the chemo exactly, but to finish the 3rd cycle and have only one left. Today and tomorrow are full of prep work for chemo week. 

I met with the oncologist this morning. Evidently, she is 'comfortable' with my hemoglobin dropping to 8.0 before transfusing. Since that doesn't usually happen with this chemo combo, she didn't think it was necessary for me to give blood prior to starting chemo. I'm satisfied with that answer... unless my hemoglobin drops below 8.0. I can't imagine being able to get through the day without being breathless on a hemoglobin much below 10.0 but we'll see how it goes. I trust she knows what she's doing since she does it every day.

Yesterday, I was at a get together with a group of people that only recently learned of my cancer diagnosis and chemo. We were talking about what a wake up call something this life disrupting can be. It's certainly a crappy thing to have happen but it also has some very positive effects. I have found it humbling to learn how many people care about me. The amount of help, large and small, that I have received is inspiring. I have determined that I have an inner femininity that I can tap into even without breasts and hair. There has been a lot of soul searching through this whole process. As silly as it may sound for someone of my age, I have come to the realization that I like me. Not that I don't have room for improvement, but overall I like who I am. 

I am not sure if I'll have the opportunity to post before Thanksgiving so just in case...

HAVE A WONDERFUL TURKEY DAY and thank you all for all your support!

How Estrogen Turns on Genes in Breast Cancer

To activate the genes in breast cancer cells, a protein recognizes when a common chemical process called methylation occurs in chromatin and then binds to the signal. "It’s like when you’re in your car and come to a red light," says study author Michael Stallcup. "The light doesn’t make you stop, but it is a signal that you have to interpret and then decide to stop." (Credit / Artist's rendering of breast cancer cell: MichaelTaylor / Shutterstock)

USC (US) — New research has determined the key process by which estrogen, the female sex hormone, activates genes in breast cancer cells, a finding that could eventually lead to new treatments for the disease.

Researchers found that a protein, TIP60, recognizes when a common chemical process called methylation occurs in chromatin, the material that enfolds all genes.

Methylation controls how genes are folded in the complex structure of chromatin, which determines whether the genes are active or inactive.

After recognizing the methylation signal, researchers discovered TIP60 then binds to the signal, connecting TIP60 to the chromatin and changing the chromatin’s structure—which helps to activate the gene. The methylation that TIP60 recognizes is generated by another protein, MLL1.

“It’s like when you’re in your car and come to a red light,” says Michael Stallcup, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at University of Southern California.

“The light doesn’t make you stop, but it is a signal that you have to interpret and then decide to stop. In this case, the methylation modification that TIP60 recognizes is one of those signals, and then TIP60 acts on that signal.”

Published online in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, the findings build upon previous work of Stallcup’s lab that revealed that the methylation of chromatin and other proteins plays several important roles in controlling the activities of genes.

While the recent findings are significant, Stallcup stressed that there is much more to be discovered.
“We want to understand more about other steps in the process of gene activation,” Stallcup says. “In particular, we’re interested in the function of the MLL1 protein because we think it plays a key role in controlling chromatin structure and folding, which we think is critical for activation of genes by estrogen.”

While estrogen regulates just a few hundred of the tens of thousands of genes in every human cell, the research has broader implications, Stallcup says.

“While the process we’re studying is the regulation of gene activity by estrogen, the findings have potentially global significance,because the methylation modification of chromatin that TIP60 recognizes is found in all active and potentially active genes in human cells.”

Kwang Won Jeong, a postdoctoral student in Stallcup’s lab, is the paper’s first author.

More news from USC: http://uscnews.usc.edu/

DNA U-turn Gives Cancer a Second Chance

The DNA repair mechanism called recombination may have something to do with why some cancer cells become resistant to radiation and chemotherapy treatments that work by inducing DNA damage. (Credit: Sebastian Kaulitzki / Shutterstock)

UC DAVIS (US) — DNA repair in cancer cells is not a one-way street, according to a new study that clarifies how cancer cells can become resistance to damage-inducing treatments.

“What we discovered is that the DNA repair pathway called recombination is able to reverse itself,” says Wolf-Dietrich Heyer, professor of microbiology and of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis.

“That makes it a very robust process, allowing cancer cells to deal with DNA damage in many different ways. This repair mechanism may have something to do with why some cancer cells become resistant to radiation and chemotherapy treatments that work by inducing DNA damage.”

The self-correcting ability of the DNA repair system is like driving in a modern city, Heyer says, where U-turns and two-way streets make it easy to correct a wrong turn. “How much harder would it be to re-trace your path if you were in a medieval Italian city with only one-way streets?”

For the current study published online in Nature, Heyer and colleagues used yeast as a model system to clarify the mechanisms of DNA repair. They expect their findings, like most that come out of work on yeast, will be confirmed in humans. “Whether in yeast or humans, the pathways that repair DNA are the same,” he says.

The research team used electron microscopy to observe repair proteins in action on strands of DNA. They saw a presynaptic filament called Rad51 regulating the balance between one enzyme (Rad55-Rad57) that favors recombination repair and another (Srs2) that inhibits recombination repair.

By controlling the balance between the two enzymes, Rad51 can initiate genetic repair—or the U-turn—as needed. “It is a tug-of-war that has important implications for the cell because, if recombination occurs at the wrong time in the wrong place, the cell may die as a consequence,” Heyer says.

The ability of the repair system to abort ill-fated repair attempts, gives the cell a second shot, improving cellular survival after its DNA is damaged—exactly what is dreaded in cancer treatment.

“There are a lot of hints in the scientific literature suggesting that DNA repair contributes to resistance to treatments that are based on inducing DNA damage such as radiation or certain types of chemotherapy,” Heyer says.

“The ability of cancer cells to withstand DNA damage directly affects treatment outcome, and understanding the fundamental mechanisms of the DNA repair systems will enable new approaches to overcome treatment resistance.”

The team’s next step is to look at the enzyme system in humans and see whether they find the same principles at work. One application of this work will be to target the self-correcting mechanism in cancer cells as a way of sensitizing them to radiation and/or chemotherapy treatments.

“If we can confirm that these types of mechanisms exist in human cells, then we will have an approach for making cancer cells more sensitive to DNA damage-inducing treatments.”

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, the European Community, the French National Centre for Scientific Research, the French Atomic Energy Commission and SystemsX.ch (The Swiss Initiative in Systems Biology).

More news from UC Davis: http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/

Blood Count Numbers Up... Again

My blood count on Friday came back good with a 4500 neutrophil count. Right where we wanted it. The additional two bone marrow stimulant injections brought it up to 36,000 today. Sigh. I truly am an over-achiever. The good news regarding this is that we will decrease the bone marrow stimulant injections by one with the next chemo. One day less of self injection is a Godsend. I HATE injecting myself. I don't mind being on the needle end of the syringe. I just don't like doing it to myself.

So the downside of all this is my progressing anemia. The white cells get hit the hardest initially because they don't live that long but the red cells eventually get hit, too. I started out with 38% of my total blood volume in red cells (RBCs) which is pretty normal (36-45%). Over the last five weeks or so it has dropped to 32%. Not terrible but notable - 9% below "normal". The more important number is the hemoglobin since that is what carries the oxygen in the RBC and delivers it to the tissues. I started with 12.0 gm/dl (12-16 gm/dl normal). This has declined to 10.4 gm/dl. A small number difference but a huge oxygen carrying capacity difference. After all, it is a 16.6% drop from the low end of normal. I knew something was up when I swam this am and could only do eight sloooowww lengths before I got dizzy. So... no more swimming. I'll have to walk... and eat RBC production food items. Evidently, they don't do red cell stimulant injections because they found an increase in mortality for chemo patients that were given these injections. Well, that's a good reason to avoid them. I'm still not interested in a transfusion, if it came to that.

I got sick of looking at my moth-eaten stubbly head appearance so I shaved it all off this morning. Wow, that was a huge improvement!

Roast Chicken Barbarism

Yesterday my good friend, Diana, brought us dinner. Roast chicken and brussel sprouts in cream... she's a brave soul bringing my most hated veggie. Tapwe and I never left the kitchen, we stood at the counter and devoured half of that bird and several scoops of sprouts... all as finger food. I swear we must have looked like a couple of cats squabbling over a carcass. I grabbed the wings before he could. He grabbed and tore off a leg thigh combination. Face stuffing ensued. Between mouthfuls a sprout would be popped in. It was fabulous but most impolite. I think we were done in about eight minutes. No words, just sounds. An objection sound when it looked like Tapwe was going to take one of my wings. Yummy enjoyment sounds with a bite that had a most delectable piece of skin. You know the drill.

It reminded me of a time some 25 years ago when I was living and studying in Mexico. I had been very ill with Montezuma's revenge and had acquired a protozoal parasite, giardia. I was dating this fabulous guy and he took me out to eat once I was in good enough shape to enjoy the experience. We went to a restaurant where I had baked ham enchiladas and a chicken. The similarity is, that I devoured that chicken... or was it half a chicken. Anyway, I ate the meat, the cartilage, and even broke some of the bones and ate the marrow. It was fabulous... the food and the company. Such a nice memory to relive during a cruddy chemo time.

It made we think about weight gain-loss during chemo, etc. I haven't lost any weight... so far... and how could I with such excellent cooks getting me by the hardest part of chemo? There is no way I would cook this well for myself during my sick and crappy week. Yet, it is such and important week. The whole GI tract is trashed. All the cells must be rebuilt. Normal peristaltic action moving ingesta from the mouth to the poop shoot slows to a creep. Absorption, too, must be dramatically impacted This is why constipation ensues and nothing just slides on out but damnable fecal balls are produced. To complicate matters, the bone marrow hit takes out the white and red cells so anemia is involved... to a varying extent. This is critical because every cell in the body needs that oxygen carried by the red cells to recoup, recover and regenerate. From a  physiological view, it's an even more daunting task than when I think of my 'plain 'ole' physical task. Let me explain how incredibly important these meals are for ones recovery... mine in this case. I have literally billions of cells to replace after each chemo - the gut and bone marrow being of primary importance to get things 'normalized' to accomplish the rest of my body's cells. I have to successfully digest food to get the needed building blocks to all the cells that need to regenerate. At the same time they cannot regenerate without the all important oxygen carried by the red cells. All those cells regenerating are made, predominantly, by fats for cell membranes and proteins for all the enzymes, and cell structures. I suspect this is why when someone brings in a high fat high protein meal, my body starts singing and we DIG IN fast and furious. It's also why I believe chicken or turkey soup is the critical 'first' meal on the worst of worst days. It's full of chicken fat and proteins in the broth which is very readily absorbed with minimal digestion. I also think my friends are incredibly talented chefs, cooks, food handlers or whatever else you like to call yourselves. I don't want to disrespect the veggie sides because their phytochemicals are critically important also. I'm just grateful that a small amount goes a long way.

All this talk about anemia reminded me of a discussion I had with my oncologist... a truly lovely and compassionate lady. Evidently, the current trend to handle anemia is to give blood transfusions rather than bone marrow stimulants. I don't recall the reasoning, but will delve into that some more. The reason I bring this up is that it doesn't make sense to me... from a logical point of view. First of all, why didn't they have me give blood prior to chemo so if I needed a transfusion we could use my own blood? I'm a little rusty on my transfusion medicine but it could be that it wouldn't have lasted long enough in cold storage. When I think this through, I can't imagine wanting to dump blood from someone else with all its associated foreign proteins into my body. It just seems like my body is already reeling from massive doses of toxins and that a hit with another invasion of 'substances unknown' wouldn't make my body happy about it. I'll find out more. It's not that I'm face with the necessity of a transfusion... so far... but I think it's good to think of these things in advance. Don't you?

Ghostly Transparent

It's been a long day today, so I'll keep things short and relatively simple. I had several people ask me how things went this time around compared to last time. I must say it was easier in that it was less painful since we started the bone marrow stimulants sooner and I took more drugs preemptively, but it was also harder knowing what was coming and dreading it. This is a process that takes a lot out of you, perhaps more emotionally than physically. The oncologist might disagree with me.

Yesterday when I drove to pick up Tapwe, I realized I felt not fully in this universe. I know that sounds weird, 'cause how can you not be here? It's not that I felt mentally out of touch, it just felt like I was somehow semi-transparent. I know I'm not doing this justice. I imagine perhaps this is how people feel when they are checking out. Not quite all here... but in a very physical, not a mental sense. I felt here mentally - very alert and with it - just not so much physically. Almost, ghostly. I know it seems bizarre. I can't really explain it well. It's not scary or even freaky when it happens, I just feel like I've lost touch with reality... the physical reality of the world. Perhaps that's why those calls on Tues after chemo are so important. They bring me back into focus... literally. It must be chemo brain. I'll let you mull that idea over for awhile.

Days 4 & 5

As anticipated, Days 4 & 5 were challenging. Better than last time, but still exhausting and painful from the bone marrow stimulants. Nonetheless, I feel much better this evening than I did even this morning. Thanks to everyone that made these two hellish days manageable!

I've done a reasonable amount of reading on diet so I'll try to start posting information regarding that all-important subject. I think we'll start with some basics and work up from there. You all will have to give me some input on how you like the organization of the data or if you have info you'd like me to look into. This could be both educational and a lot of fun. Certainly more fun than we telling you I had a bad or good day.

Nighty night.

Day 3 - So Far So Good

Getting tired... my sternum's sore from the bone marrow stimulant but otherwise things aren't too bad. Lots of little head hairs are abandoning ship. After only one day of constipation I had a BM, to which I am most grateful. Amazing how normal bodily functions become so heavenly when you're not totally well... when the abnormal becomes normal. I was looking back and thinking about how odd it is that not four months ago I was totally healthy and my life was 'normal'. Or so I thought. True, I had found a lump in my breast but I felt fine. I didn't feel like I was 'sick'. I didn't know what it felt like to have cancer. Unless cancer has compromised a major organ system it doesn't feel like anything. You aren't really sick at all... that you know of. You feel fine. It's not until you go down that path of cutting out the tumor(s) and filling your body with toxins that you actually feel 'sick'. All in such a whirlwind. Odd. It's such a head trip... don't let it trip you up.

Today I was reminded of how lucky I am... again. My neighbor came by today after dinner to drop off a plate of turkey and all the fixin's. No reason. She just thought of us. How kind is that? Truly, I am blessed.

So Far So Good

Not a bad day. I'm trying to listen to my body carefully so I rested a lot today in preparation for the next 3 days. A lot of burping and gassing... not that you wanted to hear that, but it is important. The burping told me I wasn't moving all the gas in a posterior direction so I took a metaclopromide to move thing is the correct direction. Although it has stopped the burping, no production yet from the other end. I am hopeful that stepping up the stool softeners and laxatives will produce... soon.

I remembered that when talking with the nurse practitioner yesterday, I expressed how I couldn't see how anyone worked full time through chemo. She agreed that working part time was the smart choice as it allowed for a faster, better recovery time both between chemo treatments and also in the long run. Chemo takes a big hit on your body and your body needs you to pay attention to help it heal. I also remembered ice chips to suck on this time around. So far my tongue has fared better. We'll see if that continues.

Half Way Done!

Round 2 complete! Feels wondrous. Docetaxal anaphylaxic reactions will occur on the first or second time. I cruised through with no problems. Well, almost no problems. All my checks and balances in meds failed but only because I didn't use them. So embarrassing. I only took half my doses of steroid yesterday and today which is to help avoid the anaphylaxis on chemo day and fluid retention. That meant we had to stop everything to give me the steroid IV, then flush it through with saline and give it time to take effect. Ultimately, it added two hours to the whole thing. Blast! Of course, in the end all was well. We will start the bone marrow stimulant tomorrow instead of Sun or Mon to avoid the bone marrow dump I had last time. We're also changing up the stool softeners to double doses twice daily and adding the laxative twice daily rather than once daily. Just in case, I've got metaclopramide (a bowel stimulant) to push things along if they aren't performing to specifications. Perhaps more information than you'd like to know... but not if you have to go through something like this some day.

I talked with the nurse practitioner before chemo and she was in tears when I told her about the awesome support group I had. Seriously, she was crying... and so was I. She told me how incredibly lucky I was. She has NEVER heard of anyone with such a large and supportive group. That just made me cry more. Really, all the little and big things you all do for me - cards, gifts, email, bringing meals, vacuuming, helping me cook, calling to chat - are so very very important. I can't say that enough. We'll have to have a little, or big, appreciation potluck some day when this is all in the rear view mirror.

I'm not truly bald yet so our plan for a henna party is still pending. I'd like to find out how many of you are interested in attending. I'm going to have Barbra henna my head but you all can henna your hands or feet. So who's interested in coming? You don't have to henna anything if you don't wan to. Just come hang out.

Ready for Round 2

Tomorrow is Round 2. I think I'm about as ready as I can be... food-wise, thanks to Julie Grossen, Ruth, Diana and everyone that's signed up to bring food... physically, thanks to many naps and early bedtimes... mentally, thanks to all the research I've been doing... and most importantly, emotionally, thanks to all the fabulous support you all are giving me. I'm actually looking forward to the chemo because it means I'm half way done. It's totally going to mess up Thanksgiving and Christmas but I should have a decent New Years. It really can't be done soon enough but one must be patient... dang it!

I've seen some blog comments requesting responses from me but there is no email address to which I can respond. SO keep making comments for all to see but either use your email address in the comments box OR you can email me directly at: ywikander@yahoo.com. Yes, I'm talking about you, Amanda. I don't want to publicize the CareCalendar information because the blog is visible to all of creation. That said, if you'd like to take part email me and I'd be more than happy to send you the link.

I must put in an early night. We'll chat soon...

Day 2 of Prep

Today was another big day of prep for my post chemo week but before I talk about that... the coolest thing happened to me yesterday. I went to pay my rent and the management informed me that a Good Samaritan had already paid it. Management wouldn't tell me who since the individual(s) wanted to remain anonymous. Since I cannot personally thank them, I feel a public thank you is in order. I don't know who you are but I thank you from the depths of my soul. Your generosity brought tears not just to my eyes but to the managers eyes as well. So before I get all gooey...

That chemo eating cookbook is amazing. I have yet to produce a yucky dish. To boot, they are not time consuming nor challenging to follow. Today I made:

• Hummus - I think it needs red peppers... next time I'll add that
• Southwest Bean Dip for constipation
• Creamy Mac and Cheese - this is Tapwe's favorite so I gave him a quarter of it
• Spicy Cream of Broccoli Soup

All of the recipes are made from scratch... pretty much. I've had to crack a can of chickpeas for the hummus as well as a can of white beans for the bean dip but the rest all comes from basic ingredients. As I learn more about nutrition, I will begin substituting better ingredients but for now I've just tried to buy all organic and leave it at that.

I don't believe I've told you about the naturopath yet. He gave me three sets of supplements and recommendations. First was nutritional supplements including Vit D, Vit B12 and Cod Liver Oil for the Omega 3 fatty acid content. Along with this he recommended high protein and fat for cellular rebuilding. This included a protein shake daily which I've found very challenging to incorporate into my day. Anytime I eat a carb he wants me to add a protein with it... not a new concept. He also recommended a powdered veggie supplement called Greens First. It's not really a substitute but until I'm into the groove of actually eating veggies it'll do. Second was immune stimulation with melatonin before bed. Up to 20 mg as long as the vivid dreams don't disturb my sleep. I've worked up to 9 mg so far and love the dreams I get. Third was a group of mucous membrane health items including L-glutamine, slippery elm bark, and HMF powder which is a human micro flora acidophilus supplement. The goal being at least four different micro flora strains and 10+ billion live cultures. To this all I added acytl L-carnitine for neural health in hopes of reducing the peripheral neuropathy that often comes with docetaxel. Between all these supplements and the medications I have to take from my oncologist I developed a sheet to keep me on track. Between my medication binder, all the bottles of "stuff", and my pill tray I take up half the dining room table!