A  Morning at Pathfinder~Chemo #10~ and a list of all my drugs! 

Yesterday we were scheduled for chemo #10 for 11:15 am.   There are pros and cons to having chemo scheduled in the middle or late in the day; CONS~ all the appointments are usually running a little late, we typically get out of there at evening rush hour, I’m just pooped that late in the day and am literally good for nothing (ok, I was hungry and was good for stuffing my face with chicken and potatoes, and I was good for watching part 1 of the SNL 40 year special…I was a freshman in college when SNL started and I remember watching it in Erica Berman’s room. She was from upstate New York and was one of the rare  girls with a TV and she was my friend!). I digressed…Pros~ you get a morning to do with as you please, after my blood draw there is plenty of time for the results to make  it upstairs to Dr. Kaplan so he can see the most current info (though my blood work has been pretty stable). I prefer an earlier appointment, missing rush hour and getting home with a little time to adjust. Oh well, it doesn’t always work out that way.

The upside of yesterday was the morning. Maggie works on Saturday mornings with a little boy from “my” classroom and since she is on spring break and Pathfinder is not, she planned to spend a little time with the Salmon Clan during Writer’s Workshop. Did I want to join her…well, yes! WW is my favorite part of the day. I would call it magical but it is not…We have had a good deal of professional development and support from Teacher’s College at Columbia University. There has been lots and lots of focused hard work by our staff and kids and administrators. The results sometimes seem magical. Prior to WW I had such low expectations for the writing of a kindergartener. From the first year we implemented the program we all saw amazing results. Again, I digress, but being a part of a 5 or 6 year old as they are discovering writing feels very magical. So I had to go along with Maggie. I waited for Jessica to finish her mini-lesson (do not need to freak out or intimidate a great 1st year teacher) and hung out in the Turtle Clan for a while. I love the Turtle Clan! Jennifer is one of my best friends and she is such an amazing teacher. Her teaching and transitions are amazing. And our friend Conor is in her class so I get to be a special part of his day! I got to chat with the kids about what they are writing these days…These are 1st graders and they are writing reviews. There are reviews of movies and books and restaurants. They are leaning the terms positive and negative and could tell me about their review using those terms…delightful. Other’s reviewed their pets, our school but my favorite was someone reviewed Teacher Jennifer! She assured me it was a positive review~so adorable!

By the time I got back to the Salmon Clan they were transitioning to the tables for writing workshop. I got to do the dream job. I went from table to table checking in with as many kids as I could…I was able to finally meet some kids I’d never met. I got to check in with kids i already know and love. I got to ask the important question: What are you working on as a writer? I asked them to read their stories to me and commented on how many sight words were spelled correctly and how their writing matched their pictures and how that helps friends to read their stories! I was able to coach a few kids on what to say or how to stretch out their words to hear the individual letters. Oh, my! I was so happy…do you think I miss teaching…yes I do!! I had a particularly lovely session with a little boy I really did not know. He had a round face, a buzz cut and sweet, sweet blue eyes! He was quite capable, just needed some strategies, help with focus and some encouragement. Oh I fell in love with him! I am making plans to go back and visit classrooms towards the end of my three week chemo cycles. The nurse said my immune system is good enough to be around people but I will avoid classes where there has been an especially juicy, germy out break. But that time with the kids made me so happy and I know that has to be an immune booster.

I missed the Bat Clan, each time I went by they were in large group and I’m just not going to interrupt! I found the Seal Clan in transition and was able to hang out at recess for a while with all the Kindergarteners and their teachers. What fun!

Ok, enough with the I miss teaching babble…on to my job this year.

Our meeting with Dr. Kaplan went well. There are a couple things he checked on…one of my infusion chemos, epirubicin, potentially causes heart problems. They keep good track of the data and what it says about how much one can/should be given. I’m at 5000 somethings (and this is after 9 sessions) and things start looking bad at 9000, so I’m not that close, but he says he does not want to take me much further along that track. After talking about how I am handling Xeloda:ok (just extra weird feelings and many extra precautions) and getting close to the limit with my the epirubicin, he is calling for an early scan and an echocardiogram. So March 5th, three weeks sooner than  expected I get to get another CT scan and an echocardiogram. We are delighted to get a scan sooner than expected. It is difficult to wait 9 weeks to know how things are/are not working.

Yesterday I had the typical cocktail, here are the details if you are interested:

D5W IV solution 500ml

dexamethasone 12mg (steroid)

epirubicin 84.5mg given as a push through a syringe for 10 minutes (this is the time Mike plugs into his iPhone or my iPad and I get to better know the daily nurse) (chemotherapy)

fosaprepitant (aka EMEND) 150mg in NS IV solution 250ml (to prevent nausea)

oxaliplatin 219.7 mg in D5W IV solution 150 ml a 2 hoiur drip (chemotherapy)

palonosetron HCI (aka ALOXI) 0.25 mg (to prevent nausea)

pegfilgrastim (aka NEULASTA) injection 6 mg (to boost my white blood cells)

injection is in my belly…not my favorite part!

Then starting today I take capecitabine (aka XELODA) 500 mg 2 tabs 2x a day for 5 days. (oral chemo)

For chemo day and 3 days after I take dexamethasone (aka DECADRON) 4mg (steroid)

The neulastad shot can cause muscle ache, like you have the flu as the white blood cells are literally pushing through the big bones (back, pelvis, femur) so for 5 days I take one claritan a day, they randomly found that this helps alleviate some of the muscle ache.

Also at home, every day I take:

 2x a day pantoprazole (aka protonix) everyday (for the stomach lining)...I like to pronounce pantoprazole with an Italian accent, just for fun!

Glutamine (mixed with hot water and a little juice) (2 x a day for neuropathy)

iron

b6

b12

when needed:

lorazepam (aka ativan) for anxiety and nausea

Ambien for sleep

melatonin for sleep

I have various other meds for nausea but the ativan and keeping a little bit of food in my belly when I feel it coming on has worked well. I’ve tried medical marijuana and it is not what I prefer. The ativan is much better for me! And every doctor and nurse has said to take it liberally. I don’t know if I do that, but I don’t hesitate if I think I need it.

That was a long blog post! wow! I got on a tangent and I dd not get to tell you about our 2 nights on orcas with Mike, Betty, Mike, Gillian and Conor  (loved it...such a great get away).

Or my museum day with Bridget and Shannon...always a treat!

Or my time babysitting little June bug on Friday. What a treat to pretend to be a grandma and move in 16 month old time with this very bright and mellow baby! She is a treat!

Maybe next time...but right now it is nap o'clock after all this writing.

love to you all

Janet