My Breast Cancer Journal
July 2-7
Monday, July 3, 2000
Didn't sleep in the car. In fact, I sat up the whole way. Then I sat up to play games when we got there. Then the bones in my pelvis began complaining - LOUDLY. Sunday it felt like they were on fire. I could not get comfortable no matter what position I got myself into. Taking Aleve did nothing for it. Late Sunday night my mom talked me into taking a hot bath. I had been wanting to do that but the thought of sitting in a hard tub had kept me from doing it. I thought she was nuts, but she gave me a little pillow to sit on. The bath felt good. It at least helped calm the muscles around the pelvis, which were starting to get angry at me, too. Still I could not fall asleep last night, so I took a pain pill. It took an hour and a half before it had enough effect for me to get comfortable enough in bed to fall asleep. My pelvis feels better this morning. I think I may have been in a cycle of pain where resting flat wasn't enough. I started it on Thursday by making myself sit up at my desk for a few hours. I thought that I was feeling well enough that it wouldn't hurt to start acting like normal. I guess not, because Thursday night I was awake in the night with the pelvis feeling like it was on fire. I was significantly more sore on Friday than I had been earlier in the week, so I spent most of the day reclined in the La-Z-Boy. Then came Stupid Saturday. So I need to remember that just because the bone pain doesn't seem bad, it will get bad if I push it.Dad gave me a lesson in painting with watercolors yesterday. We did it standing up, which was one of the few positions I was tolerating. I don't believe we'll be exhibiting my work any time in the near future, but it was fun doing it. He's put together a kit of brushes, paints, and papers for me to take home, along with some books that will help me learn more about painting. I'm excited about doing it. The nice thing about watercolor is that you don't have to sit and work on it for long periods of time. You have to let things dry, so you can do it even if you are very tired.
posted by Karen Weber Monday, July 3, 2000
Tuesday, July 4, 2000
Woke up this morning with a 100.8 degree fever. It's been normal most of the day, but it went back up to 99.8 tonight. I'm not sure why it's doing that. I've also had a cancre sore since Friday, and today it got a friend. I was hoping this wouldn't happen with the Neupogen. I'm feeling pretty good, other than a lot of temperature shifts/hot flashes and the sores. So I guess it is much better than last time.
posted by Karen Weber Tuesday, July 4, 2000
Wednesday, July 5, 2000
Well, my temp seems to be hanging out in the normal range today. My only complaint is a new sore on the very tip of my tongue. Doesn't seem to be a cancre sore. Not really sure what kind it is, just know that it hurts. I didn't let that stop me though. I went to band rehearsal tonight and had a great time. It's been almost a month since I've gone. I was worried that they would be doing a lot of new music I didn't know, but they weren't. It was great. Paul even let me lay in the recliner instead of sitting in one of the uncomfortable straight-back chairs. I took my last shot of Neupogen today, so I'm hoping that tomorrow I won't have to be so careful about how long I sit up, but for tonight I still had to be careful. I'm so glad I have the extra week this time again--it's a real blessing.
posted by Karen Weber Wednesday, July 5, 2000
Thursday, July 6, 2000
I thought that the bone pain would be a thing of the past today, but sitting at my desk for an hour this morning changed my mind. I did update the archives and add some new things in the inspirational section of the site before I decided that I'd spend the rest of the day reclining.Anti-CEA imaging useful complementary follow-up to mammography - good news on a way to distinguish who needs immediate biopsies.
posted by Karen Weber Thursday, July 6, 2000
Friday, July 7, 2000
Tamoxifen increases the risk of cataracts - women using tamoxifen are urged to be diligent about receiving regular eye exams.Researchers decipher structure of cancer molecule - a new way to kill cancer cells that leaves normal cells alone. This is still at the research stage, but it's a very exciting discovery opening up many possibilities.
posted by Karen Weber Friday, July 7, 2000