Cathy has been feeling pretty good the last few days.  Digestion is working pretty much like normal with the exception of a little bit of heartburn.  She has gained back some of the weight she lost by eating regular foods like rice, chicken, vegetables, fruits, yogurt, and such.  She is also able to eat them in almost normal quantities.

Her hair is not as cooperative as her digestive system.  It's beginning to fall out more now.  Cathy reached the point that she was ready for a really short haircut yesterday.  She's wearing hats now and maybe a wig when it's not so hot.  Her hair is not gone, but it's thinning and thinning pretty evenly all over her head.  She doesn't have any patches gone, just lots of exposed scalp.  She says she looks like a boy, but I think she's beautiful.

Ups and downs.  Yesterday Cathy didn't feel quite as good as Tuesday, but still better than last week.  She had a little fever all day, low 99s, and was a little achy.  I think she's ok with attributing the achiness to the neulasta, since that is a common side effect.  Cathy's diet was still conservative, but a little more expansive than yesterday.  She had some chicken and some applesauce cake in addition to her staples of broth, eggs, toast, and yogurt.


Last night Cathy told me that her scalp was sore.  She said it felt like a sunburn.  From what we've read this means that hair follicles are dying and hair loss is on the way.  Cathy is ready, though.  She's prepared to shave her head when the clumps start falling out. She's also been practicing with scarves to cover her head.  I like the phrase "urban turban".


Ups and downs.  It seems like every Monday during football season Marvin Lewis says the same thing in his Bengals press conferences.  Regardless of a win or loss he almost always says something along the lines of, "We have to keep an even keel.  We can't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows."  In the past it has kind of irritated me when he says that because it seems like a stock statement.  I think it's real and genuine, now, though.  No matter how great or difficult the day may be, there are sure to be days in the future that will be better and worse.  We can savor the little victories and hurt on the days of pain, but we can acknowledge that regardless God is with us always to temper the ups and downs.

Today Cathy told me, "Next chemo treatment tell me to remember Tuesday."  She told me that because today was the first day she felt good.  Yesterday Cathy had an appointment with Andy, the oncology nurse practitioner.  Her blood counts were all low, but not unexpectedly low.  Here is a before treatment and after treatment assessment of some values:


White blood cells   5.1 K/uL before   2.3 K/uL after
Hematocrit   41.4% before   35.7% after
Granulocytes   3.5 K/uL before   2.3 K/uL after
Platelets   207 K/uL before   108 K/uL after


After the appointment she got an IV bag of fluids.  That bag, along with a dose of Imodium, hydrated Cathy and halted her diarrhea.  She felt good today!  Today Cathy was able to eat an egg, toast, yogurt, crackers, apple juice, and lots of Chicken Mineral Magic Broth.  I made this broth for her with a chicken carcass, carrots, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, celery, kombu, garlic, leeks, peppercorns, juniper berries, allspice, bay leaves, and parsley.  It was a recipe from the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen book and she said it was magic, making her feel full and nourished.


I think for the next treatment, if we can get the good bacteria back in her gut, prepare her body properly, and prepare better with stuff we know agrees with her digestion and tastebuds, then maybe we can knock one day off the feeling bad part.  Maybe then she won't want to remember Tuesday, but she'll say, "Just one week" or "Tell me to remember Monday."

Cathy didn't have a nap today!  That's really encouraging because it (a) means she's feeling much better and (b) means that she will hopefully have a good night's sleep from being awake all day.  Her energy is much better and her personality is shining through.  Her digestive system is still not cooperating fully, but she is nearly nausea-free.  Her appetite is kind of back, at least to the point that it's getting her in a bit of trouble.  She was really hungry for spinach tonight, so my mom steamed some.  It didn't agree, but she enjoyed eating it.  That seems to be positive, I think.  Cathy has told me that even though she feels like eating more she understands the need to be a little more conservative.  Now that we know a little more of what to expect I think I can be better prepared to offer her more options that will be appealing and nourishing.


Tomorrow Cathy has an appointment with the oncology nurse practitioner.  They will do bloodwork to make sure everything is ok with counts and we will have a chance to ask more questions now that she's been through a cycle.  It was great to see Cathy back today.

Just a short update for today.  Cathy is still really tired.  Nausea is still under control also.  She has used up her Zofran for this cycle and is still taking the Compazine as needed, but so far so good.  Cathy's eyes were open for more hours today than yesterday.  I don't know if it was sheer will power or not.  She said she felt the same even though Marty and I both thought she looked like she had better energy.  She made it to the wig shop and got a wig that looks almost exactly like her short hair now - really cute.  That was a tough trip, though, exhausting for her.  I hope that tomorrow brings better feelings for her.

"Going to the hospital took a lot out of me."  That's what Cathy just told me.  This morning Cathy had an echocardiogram at Bethesda North.  This procedure was basically an ultrasound of her heart with some evaluations of the rhythms as measured by some kind of wavelength measurement device.  She has already received word that her heart is normal, which is what we expected.  After chemo they will do this again to gauge if there has been any damage inflicted by the drugs, and the adriamycin in particular, which is a possibility.


"I don't know if I want to do this five more times."  That's the first thing Cathy said to me this morning.  Of course, she will, and she will be tough and poised as she always is.  Those words are the closest to complaining she has come this whole time.  I take that back.  A few days after diagnosis she said, "This stinks."  Cathy is like that, she's amazing. 


If you didn't know, Jonah and Aaron were both naturally birthed.  Right there we have a testament to Cathy's toughness.  This is something men could not do.  There was some yelling when Aaron was born.  When Jonah was born, though, her only complaint was at one point during contractions, "That's a little bit ow-ee."  During delivery there was only grunting.  When Clara was born Cathy had an epidural to see what it was like.  She made it through all the contractions talking like nothing was happening.  When the nurse told her it was time to call in the doctor and start pushing she said, "Already?"  I don't write this to make any other mothers out there feel bad that childbirth was hard.  I know it was hard.  I couldn't do it.  I just use those stories as examples of how I'm always awed by Cathy's toughness and determination.


Today was hard for Cathy.  She didn't tell me it was hard, but I could see it.  Her nausea has been completely under control, not non-existent, but under control (thank you for your prayers).  Cathy has, however, slept most of the day, or at least been resting with her eyes closed.  She's had a low-grade fever all day, about 99.5.  The doctors aren't concerned unless it goes up or doesn't go away in a couple of days.  She has very little stamina.  A few minutes of walking around or conversation wear her out.  Her eyes indicate that she's on the upswing, though.


Other bright spots: Cathy ate toast, chicken, and banana bread today.  We also learned that chemotherapy clears up psoriasis.  

Chemo hit today.  Yesterday was pretty normal, but today was different.  Cathy woke up at a regular time and then took a morning nap.  She was conversational in the morning and then took another morning nap.  This afternoon was mostly naps with occasional interaction.  The evening has been almost all sleep.  She says it's not like any other fatigue she's ever had.  She feels exhausted, but after sleeping she doesn't feel rested.  


Thankfully, the nausea has been mild so far.  She says it feels like the "bluhs" when she's pregnant - uncomfortable, but not anything she can't manage.  We're staying on top of her nausea meds - compazine and zofran, and she's had a little ginger ale.  She hasn't eaten much today, but the nurse said that would be normal.  She's had a couple of graham crackers, a little cereal, and a bit of Bolthouse Farms smoothie.  Nothing is appealing to her.  Her mouth is extremely dry, as well, also normal.


Cathy's spirit is definitely there, though.  She peeked a smile at me from the sofa during dinner, she told me to make sure Clara had a big bottle tonight, and she let me know that my vehicle registration expired today.