Halfway!

I waited to write tonight because I wanted to be able to talk about how this chemotherapy session went. Short version: It went GREAT!!

I had an appointment with my oncologist prior to the chemo session, so we left the house at noon. We had a bit of a wait because she was backed up, but she always gives you all the attention you need. I like that about her.

I told her I was feeling really good today, but I had two concerns. First, for some strange reason, Monday evening, after being released from the hospital that afternoon, I began to feel my toes itching. At bedtime I finally looked at them. YIKES! How could I have contracted Athlete's Foot? I had worn the hospital booties, fresh out of their sealed plastic bag, the entire time I was in the hospital. My feet never touched any surface other than the inside of those socks. I haven't been in a public gym or locker room since August. So, I ask again, how could I have gotten Athlete's Foot? Well, no one knows; it's one of the great mysteries of life. So I told her that because my two toes are cracked, red, raw, open skin I am concerned that if the anti-fungal cream does not work in a few days then I could end up with another massive infection on Tuesday when my cell count goes down. The doctor agreed it was a concern.

The second concern is a new cyst-like lump that has formed on my genital area yet again. I actually found it in the hospital on Saturday. Both the infectious disease doctor and the oncologist nurse practitioner said it should be looked at by my gynecologist. Yesterday I had an appointment with the GYN doctor. I have been going to him for over 12 years, maybe longer, and I trust his opinion. He said it was a cyst and nothing to be concerned about. He told me to buy Domeboro astringent powder packets to use as a hot soaking bath for three or four nights. If I soak 15 to 20 minutes for three or four nights, he felt it would come to a head and drain. OK, I did it last night. It was hard because I have real trouble getting in and out of the tub because of my knees, but I did it anyway. My concern with this is the same as for the toes. If it doesn't drain and heal by Tuesday when the cell counts start plummeting, it could blossom into a massive infection, and I will end up in the hospital for Thanksgiving. The doctor agreed that it was also a concern and a possibility.

So she decided to reduce my dose of chemo drugs to 75% of the full dose I had been getting. Hopefully, this reduction will kill the cancer and reduce the chances that my cells will plummet as far or as soon. Possibly the other two issues will resolve themselves in time. If she's wrong, I could very well be spending Thanksgiving in the hospital. Sigh. If it happens, it happens, and I'll deal with it. Let's all pray and cross our fingers and hope and wish upon a star and whatever other tricks you may think of that this DOES NOT HAPPEN!!

I have to share one amusing story from yesterday's visit to the GYN doctor. I told him I had been in the hospital for a Barthilyn cyst. I showed him where the new lump was and where the previous cyst had been. He said I did NOT have a Barthilyn cyst, and he proceeded to touch the areas that include the Barthilyn gland. Ha Ha! They are nowhere near where I had the other abscess. He said I had either an infected hair follicle or an infected sebaceous cyst. This new one is an infected sebaceous cyst, only in a totally new location. I found it amusing that the ER doctor, who actually looked at and touched the previous abscess, diagnosed it as a Barthilyn cyst. All the other doctors, who also looked at and touched it, agreed with her. The infectious disease doctor was the one who was explaining to me what the Barhitlyn gland does and how it gets infected. Ha ha! And yet it was nowhere near the actual gland. Hm...I guess they know a lot of things, but female GYN anatomy is NOT ONE OF THEM. Ha Ha! The upshot is that the treatment would have been the same anyway and it was cured, so in the long run it did not matter that it was misdiagnosed. I just find it amusing anyway.

So I have finished my four treatments of Adriamycin (the Red Devil) and Cytoxan. I am halway through the tunnel and starting to see the light at the other side. In two weeks, I will have my first Taxol infusion, which brings all new side effects and problems.

Because I felt so good when we left the chemo center at 4 p.m., I was ready to go shopping. Mark and I had planned to go to the new Seven Mile Market. The old one was a great store. For a completely kosher grocery store, it was huge with a gigantic selection. Well, now that old store looks like a 7-11 in size compared to the new one. Seven Mile Market has moved a block or two down the road from its old location. It took over a gigantic super-sized Safeway store's location. WOW!! That is all I can say. We walked slowly up and down each aisle. We really only needed some kosher meat for tomorrow night's dinner, but I couldn't resisit looking at everything. There are so many choices of everything!! The aisles are wide! There is a coffee/latte bar, a salad bar, a bakery, a huge deli, a pharmacy, a florist, everything you'd see in any really big, gourmet supermarket. For all of you who keep kosher and don't mind driving to Pikesville, I highly recommend a nice trip up to the new Seven Mile Market. You won't come out with NOTHING; I guarantee it!