4/25/14 - Medical Oncologist Follow Up

I'm slowly getting back my strength from treatment. I think everything just hit me all at once. My upper respiratory infection knocked the stuffing out of me along with my RA flare. At the same time I was trying to recover from radiation. I'm so envious of the women that can just breeze through these treatments. Let me tell you, there are many of them. Such strong woman in my view - I feel like such a wimp.

I had an appointment with my MO this past week. He said my cognitive issues are caused by chemo brain. He said it can take up to two years to get better. He also said older women sometimes don't recover fully from chemo brain. He said reading can help restore some of the problems. Unfortunately, after my bout with Necrotizing Fasciitis, the multiple pain killers I was on really messed up my concentration, and I haven't been able to read. Staying focused has really been a problem. I'm going to give it a try though and see if it helps.

My MUGA scan results turned out well. All my blood work was good except for my lymphocytes which were low. I haven't received any panicked calls, so I'm guessing they weren't too concerned. My cough is still with me, and keeping me awake at night. I am also experiencing swollen glands. He put me on an antibiotic, so I'm hoping it finally kicks the URI to the curb. He also ordered a chest x-ray. I haven't gotten the results of that yet. Of course every new symptom I experience, I think it's progression of my cancer. I guess that's normal from what I'm told.

My hair is growing, SLOWLY. I've got full coverage, but it doesn't seem to get any longer. I stopped wearing my wig, but I typically wear a baseball hat. I had it colored for the first time last week. Unfortunately it pulled a ton of red, so I look ridiculous. I should get a pretty good indication of how quickly my hair is growing. Before treatment my gray would start to show within four weeks of having it colored.

I think my depression is improving. I've decided not to put too much pressure on myself to return to my daily activities. I'm just taking it one day at a time. I haven't posted much because I feel like my attitude has been crappy. That's another reason why I haven't been too social. I guess that's normal from what I've read. I was offered anti depressants, but I feel like I should give it a little more time. I don't really want to add to my daily drug intake. It's odd that I didn't experience depression when I was recovering from NF. I had so many obstacles to overcome during that time - especially with all of the surgeries. I guess they kept me drugged up most of the time, so I didn't know the difference. My MO said depression is common due to all the chemical changes to your body - I guess that makes sense. I feel guilty about being depressed when there are so many more women facing worse obstacles with awesome attitudes.

That's about all. I have nothing fun to report because I really haven't left the house. Once I'm feeling better, I will work on all the weight I've gained from treatment. That's another reason I haven't left the house - none of my clothes fit. The only thing that fits me are sweats - I refuse to buy bigger clothes. Hope you are all doing well. Thanks for checking on me. I'm sure I will be back to my old self before you know it.

Cheers,

Beppy