hipgrandma's Cancer Blog

October 23, 2006

day 7 dawns a bit better

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OH MY GOD! Really, that was SO much worse than I was expecting. Do I have to do that again? Five more times?? Well, then, that’s going to be . . . challenging.

I last wrote on Friday and said I was feeling better. What I know now, though, is that the days start off kind of OK (after a night’s sleep) and then deteriorate as the day wears on. Friday’s declination was truly beyond belief as by that evening the numbness in my feet had progressed to screaming pain, first with every step and then even while lying still. That night was the peak of the foot pain but I continued to limp and hobble throughout the weekend.

At radiation on Friday the tech suggested to me (as I tottered along like a woman with bound feet) that I use a wheelchair after chemo. I thought about and processed this idea all weekend. I could go to the store, for example, if I didn’t have to walk. I started looking at wheelchair access and remembered how truly magnificent it is NOT. I thought about the emotional difficulty of renting a wheelchair and keeping it in the car (no room due to my stroller!). Wow, this chemo stuff is not for wimps.

This problem I’m having is called peripheral neuropathy. Chemo damages the fastest growing cells throughout the body. This means the cancer cells, of course, but also the hair follicles, intestinal lining, and sometimes, the peripheral nerve sheaths (amongst others). This can cause symptoms from simple numbness to PAIN. Right now my 10 fingertips are numb and also the bottom of my feet. I’ve had a lot of numbness (and pain)in my mouth (jaw, gums, lips) and across the back of my neck.

For some people this neuropathy is either permanent or long-term. Dare I hope that this will not be the case for me? This week I will see the oncologist and discuss the problem with him. Sometimes they lower the dose of taxol, the offending ingredient, so I’m hoping adjustments can be made. I, of course, am getting all kinds of CAM treatments for the neuropathy. It gets noticeably better after acupuncture, and Dan has this herbal foot paste that provides amazing relief. When he put that stuff on my feet I could feel instant abatement of the pain level. I’m also taking the amino acid carnitine for the neuropathies.

GOOD NEWS DEPARTMENT:
I am eating normally again, thank goddess. Dan has made me some incredible soups that would make you all SO jealous. Last night, for example, he made grouper stew. I hope he won’t mind if I share the “recipe” with you. First of all, you have to go to your favorite fish market and buy some grouper that was just caught that morning (I told you there are some real advantages to living in Miami). Then you go to the organic produce market and load up on things like rainbow chard, celery, carrots, and fresh ginger. Next, I hope you have a real nice juicer, because you take most of the vegies and juice them up, saving some to chop for the soup. This soup is a lot of work but it doesn’t take long since the juice is the broth and then you barely cook it, adding the pre-cooked chopped vegies. In the last five minutes (ONLY), according to Dan, you add the whole grouper fillet, which breaks apart into small pieces and cooks up real fast. Then you eat it and rave on and on and on about how something could be so healthy and delicious at the same time. Have two bowls full!

I believe that these healthy soups and the herbs I’m taking have helped to get my digestive system pretty much back on track already (knock on wood).

Through all this, believe it or not, I haven’t missed a sunrise. Every morning I walk (or hobble) down to the bay with Dan and Ruby and the sunrises have been glorious. We’ve had quite a show of animals lately, from wading birds like the great blue heron, swooping pelicans, large fish (even a pretty big shark!) preying on small, and, best of all, our local top predator, the DOLPHIN. We have had sunrise dolphins sightings several times in the last couple weeks. Hey, I know I already mentioned this, but I’m working on my gratitude here!

This week I must organize the headwear as my hair is clearly on the way out. I’d like to buy a couple of new and very pretty scarves (since I deserve it!). I’m going to get some cotton knit turbans and I have a couple of cotton knit scarves that wrap around the head real nicely. Hats are a bit difficult since I have the world’s largest head (for a woman), but I’m getting lots of advice for great hat websites. In the next few days (as my feet permit!) I’ll be doing some chapeaux shopping with my ever-lovin’ fashion consultant, Ariella. she is so helpful in this rather difficult arena.

Nope, I’m not planning to wear a wig—it’s just not for me.