Getting ready...

We had a busy day yesterday, with the presentation by a nurse at the oncologist's office in the morning, the meeting with a lady who sells wigs next, and finally the heart scan at the radiology office. Kemi went with me and on the way she read through the information on the drugs I'd be taking in case we'd have questions. I have four to take at home: (1) Dexamethasone, to decrease the body's natural defensive responses, such as swelling and allergic reactions (taken this 24 hrs before, day of, and day after chemo), (2) Emend, to prevent nausea (taken the 2 days after chemo), and (3) Compazine and (4) Ativan, which I should use only as needed if I feel nausea at other times. The chemotherapy presentation went over lots of information but most of it I may not have to refer to unless I have symptoms - then I can see if they suggest something that will help, or if I should call them immediately. We learned that I should avoid soy products cos my cancer is estrogen positive, and that I'll be especially susceptible to infection between days 7 and 14 after each infusion. I made up a list of things to have on hand, and I went with Bianca later in the evening to pick them up from Walgreens.

The visit to the wig shop was good, but the lady was late arriving so we had only about a half hour to go over what she had. Lots of options and turns out the better ones have an medi-strip that adhers to the head, and a scalp-like cap. We found a good one, but left without it - ust didn't feel ready I guess. The thing is I don't know if I will lose my hair... it's a bit of a dilemma cos if I wait and see, I won't be ready if it does happen, and that could be difficult. I will have scarves on hand but since I will still be working, as I am able, I have decided that I want to use with a wig some of the time. So the plan is to go back on Tuesday if I am up for it, and try a few more wigs, and get one then. The other option is for Kemi to go there on Tuesday and just pick up the one that we chose yesterday. Was surprised to learn that they give our prescriptions for wigs...

Late yesterday was the MUGA (heart) scan. It's done before and periodically during chemo treatment to check that the Adriamycin doesn't hurt the heart muscle. I had to be injected with a radioactive fluid for it, and just before the technician did that, it occurred to me that I was having surgery the next day and wanted the surgeon to be aware of it. So we had to wait about 20 minutes for his nurse to make calls and get back to me to say that it would be OK.

Today I went in to have the mediport inserted and that went fine, just took most of the day. It's a bit sore but after a while you get accustomed to recovering from surgery. This time, I remembered to wash my hair the day before. I actually decided to cut some off (about 3 or 4 inches). I saved some in a bag cos I hear that your hair sometimes comes back with different texture and colour - will be fun to compare it later IF that's where this whole process takes me...

I'm planning to rest for this evening and all that's bothering me is that I feel like a cold is coming on (slight sore throat) and I don't know what to do about that. Normally I would take garlic tabs or some zinc, but not sure what to do. I'll drink lots of fluids and trust God that it won't get any worse.

I've been enjoying my devotion using Mary Heart in Martha World (I think I mentioned it in a previous post). I find that more important than focusing on present needs in prayer is simply spending time growing closer to God. Between Sat and Mon, I got an incredible amount of work done at the office in much less time than I imagined I could - I had ideas on how to do tasks I've done before so much quicker - and each day I resisted the temptation to skip devotion and just dive into my work, and instead took the time to put Him first. I find that I use my work at times as a way to feel I have control over an aspect of my life - and letting go and trusting that it will be taken care of even when I also take care of other priorities is something I need to work on. I took the kids with me when I worked at times they were home (took each separately) since I think that they need me around even more these days, and that was something I will continue to do if I need to work on weekends or evenings.

I thank God for another day!!