January 22, 2022

Hi y’all – 

Here’s to hoping everyone is having a wonderful Saturday.  It’s crazy cold here in Texas this week with highs in the low 50’s and lows in the ’20s at night and when you are hair challenged like I am now – it’s really super, duper chilly, and a bit challenging for things like taking the dogs out, going for walks, etc.  

I am so just so thankful that someone informed Netflix of the Texas cold front coming through and they were kind enough to drop the first of the final season of Ozark so just Texans have something to do this weekend.  Hopefully, y’all are like Mano and me and you’re enjoying binge-watching the series.  I will say so far, it has not disappointed in the excitement factors.  But that is all I will say – if you haven’t started it yet, please put this one on your list as a “must-see” because it’s so, so, so good! 

I completed my 6th Taxol treatment yesterday – PRAISES!  While heading into chemo on Friday all I could hear in my head was “You’re halfway there” – which of course took me to Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer as the song of the day.  Come on now, I know you are all humming the chorus with me.  You just can’t help yourself, I know, me neither.

Woah, we’re halfway there
Woah, livin’ on a prayer
Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear
Woah, livin’ on a prayer

Starting next week, I will begin counting down on the Chemo treatments.  Hopefully, this won’t confuse anyone but next week will also be Taxol # 6 in the books, then Taxol #5, Taxol #4, and so on and so forth until we get to the end.   As I said in last week’s post, I am beginning to look forward to Chemo Fridays – because I know that with each treatment I am one day closer to the finish line and of course, the steroid shot helps too.  It’s nice to have a couple of days with energy and feeling good until the crash of “no steroid Monday” hits.  That day sucks.  SO TIRED!  But I’ll take it.

This week’s labs still showed good white blood cell counts (PRAISE!), anemia is holding steady – no better, no worse (PRAISE!), clotting factors are good (PRAISE!), neutrophil counts are good (PRAISE!), live and kidney functions are good (PRAISE!).   The bottom line is that my body is still handling the chemotherapy like a champ!  I am so freaking amazed at this body that God gave me and how well it’s rolling with the punches as we go through this journey.  (PRAISES, PRAISES, PRAISES!)

I have not changed a thing that I’ve been doing to keep supporting my body through this process and I believe I have my regime down or at least what works for me.  I will tell you about what I continue to do in the event this will help someone else down the road.   I take the following supplements daily:

• Pure Encapsulations CircumaSorb – I take 2 tabs in the AM and 2 tabs in the PM – link found here
• Lane Innovative Nature’s Lining – I take 2 tabs a day – usually one after breakfast and 1 after dinner – link found here.  This has helped so much with my stomach and mouth issues (no sores and helped with the yuckiness of how your mouth tastes).
• Vitamin D3 – 5000 iu/daily – link found here
• Melatonin – 20 mg – 20 minutes before bedtime – link found here
• Pure Encapsulations L-Glutamine – 500 mg twice a day – I take 1 tab in the am and 1 tab at bedtime.  This helps with the neuropathy and so far I’ve had none (PRAISE!) – link found here

I’m getting ready to add some other supplements to my regime but I will share that once I have started taking them and can tell y’all how they are working for me.  Promise I will circle back on this.

Just so everyone can stay in line with my next steps – here they are:

• 01/25- Eye Check-Up (hoping to see continued progress in my healing)
• 01/28 – Taxol #6 (actually #7 remember we are counting backward now)
• 02/03 – Follow-up with ENT for the fluid in my right
• 02/04 – Taxol #5 (actually #8)
• 02/07 – MD Anderson visit:  Consult with my breast reconstruction doctor, new ultra-sound to check the progress of the tumor (prayers for shrinking and even less mass than before), meeting with my oncologist.
• 02/09 – MD Anderson visit:  Consult with my surgeon – prayers to secure surgery date tentative scheduled for 04/08, consult with Radiation Doctor.  Prayers that these will provide all details for me to make a decision for my surgical path 
• 02/11 – Taxol #4 (Actually #9) – Down to the last 1/4 of the race!!!
• 02/18 – Taxol #3 (Actually #10)
• 02/25 – Taxol #2 (Actually #11)
• 03/04 – Taxol #1 (Actually #12) – LAST DAY OF CHEMO!!!!

The weeks seem to be flying by as we continue to walk this path forward.  I am excited to be heading to MD Anderson again in February and coming closer to a surgical decision, date, and next steps for this process.  I do feel that God has removed a lot of the anxiety from my heart and I’m starting to see clearly what path is the path forward for me.  I will share once my decision is made and the surgery is scheduled (currently we are aiming for April 8th).  

Today I want to call out Praises – 

• Improving bloodwork
• No neuropathy symptoms
• Great medical care for my eye, my ear, and my cancer
• Great supporting care team – my nutritionist and my acupuncturist
• I’m still able to work

I have so much to be thankful for! God is so good!

For prayers – 

• Continued improvement with my bloodwork
• No symptoms of neuropathy
• Safe travels to MD Anderson and back in February
• Productive and informative consults with the doctors at MD Anderson in February
• Keep me and my family clear of COVID so I can complete all chemotherapy treatments on time

I truly appreciate all of you in my village.  You guys are my warriors.  I am blessed to have so many of you checking on me, praying for me, reaching out to me, and providing me with good thoughts, loving messages, texts, memes, etc.  I am truly, truly blessed!  Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough – but Thank you!

xoxo,

Tracy

While writing my blog, I had a phone call come in so I grabbed my AirPods and took my call.  I then came back to my desk removed my AirPods set them on my calendar and continued to blog away.  About  minutes went by and I looked down and I only saw the right AirPods on my calendar and I thought “That is so weird, I just had both of them on while I was on that call, where could the left one be?”  So I started looking all over, in my bag, my purse, the floor, under the table, under the dogs, the bedroom, living room, bathroom, etc.  Finally, Mano came down and I asked him to help and he started looking all over – bedroom, living room, etc.  Then he decides to go look in Noodle’s dog bed and low and behold what does he find?  My left AirPods all chewed up.  I started laughing and laughing and laughing.  I immediately said to Mano, “Well, I know what you can get me for our Anniversary now…. a new set of AirPods.” (Side note – our anniversary is coming up on 02/20 – 12 years! PRAISES that Mano has been able to put up with me that long!)  Anyways – this was a funny, funny moment.  Never a dull moment in this household.