CANCER: Whiny Baby....Intense Pain!


I really hate being a whiny baby (not really a whiny baby....but you get my meaning), but the pain in my feet and hands… Especially in my feet… Have just been so intense today. Between the burning of my feet and the swelling, I have not been able to go to church for the last three Sundays. 

Today has just been extremely painful and when I put my house-shoes on to walk, I virtually have to unstick my feet from my house-shoes to get my feet out of them because my feet have so much heat. Today I rode to Irondale with Ashleigh, Michael, and Norah Jane and it was just a disaster. I wanted to get out of the house for a few minutes and I wanted to go to some thrift stores to look at old jewelry. I like to disassemble old jewelry to re-purpose it with jewelry I make, but all I could do was drag my feet across the floor with intense pain. I’m not sure if it was the pain or just the chemo, but I also got really nauseated. I ended up shedding just a few tears because it has been one of those tough days… But I know this too shall pass and I will overcome. God is my strength, my Comfort, and my Healer.

Chemo compiles… In other words you don’t just take it for a round and it disappears and then you go to your next round. It continues to work and build to the next round, to the next round....and so on. Since I am nearing the end of my six months of this oral chemo, I am really not getting a break in between my rounds. Therefore, it just continues to get worse. I will finish this round, then I have a week break and then going to my last round which should put me getting through around mid December. Praise God! Praise God! What a day of rejoicing that will be… 

Although, the chemo will remain with me for a while after I stop taking it. Which means, it will be after the first of the year at some point before it really completely clears out. The main thing is, we pray that it is doing what it is supposed to do and will give me that extra 5% of lessening the chance of the cancer returning. Every percentage counts!


Also, what a lot of people do not realize about Hand-Foot Syndrome is that it is directly in connection with your nervous system. Therefore, it can cause severe nerve pain and neuropathy as well. I have experienced horrific throbbing and pain in my nerves as well as some neuropathy. However, so for the neuropathy has not been permanent. 


I would really appreciate your prayers that my pain will decrease and I will be able to stay on the dose that I am currently on. My Oncologist has already had to cut it twice and I don’t need to have to have it lessened again. It’s also more than what you see on the outside because it can start having affect on my blood, infection… etc. 

#HopeWhileYouCope
#SufferStrong
#PrayerHeals


“The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.” Psalm 23:1

When we are going through struggles, often experiencing what we don't have can remind us of what we do have. Experiencing what we can't do, can also remind us of what we can do. And for all of us, the question becomes, now, here is your real life....not the one you used to have or the one you longed for.....and what will you do with it? And the answer is, everything you possibly can, with your whole heart and open hands....until the end. Never stop, never give up....keep looking up and keep moving forward! Amen!

I thank you all for your continued prayers. I pray for all of you as well and thank God for all of you. Love y'all!


If you feel led to make a "love offering," all 
assistance is appreciated. 












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Update: Liver Biopsy - PET Scan - Treatment Changes

Image
  As most of you already know, I had a Liver Biopsy, a PET Scan, and a Bloodwork Profile and I have waited to get all results prior to writing a blog post update. I also had a lengthy consultation with my Oncologist, Dr. Bondly, yesterday.  First, I want to start off with a Super Praise God moment! My Liver Biopsy confirmed that my cancer has not changed to Her2-. It remains ER+ Her2+. That means we have been on the right treatment path. There is a strong possibility, however, that the Femara, Letrozole, that I took for 18 months did not work. It is a hormone based chemotherapy taken orally. It was to help lower my hormone and estrogen levels which in-turn was to help fight my cancer. We will find out more about that from the genetic portion of the Liver Biopsy when the results come back in about 3 weeks. The Liver Biopsy did show, according to Dr. Martin, that some of my cancerous lesions had got larger.   Because of the tremendous set-back that I had with my last treatment on May 28t
Read more

CANCER: A New Complication.....My Heart

Image
I met today with the Cardiologist, Dr. Monica Hunter, at the Southview Cardiology, that I was referred to by my Medical Oncologist....Dr. Bondly. About three weeks ago, I did not feel well all day. I started to feel pressure on my chest and then had pain in my left arm. I took an aspirin, but never got to feeling better. I felt nauseated most of the day. I went to bed a bit earlier than usual and around 4:00 I woke up throwing up profusely. I threw-up a few times and then it stopped. I thought that maybe it was a virus, but also knew that it could be a heart issue.  When I met with Dr. Bondly last week, I told her what had occurred and she suggested that I see a Cardiologist. Since chemo and radiation can potentially cause heart issues, she did not want me to let it go unchecked. She put me on a low-grade adult aspirin until we know more.  Today, Dr. Hunter asked a lot of questions and I basically brought her up to current about my last 17 month journey with cancer. I shar
Read more

CANCER: Dark Days with the "Demon" Cancer....BUT God Shines Through! Amen!

Yesterday was a day filled with so many different emotions, senses, and information over-load....yet, so many unknowns. I had a scheduled appointment with my Oncologist, Dr. Cara Bondly for my follow-up since my last chemo treatment on January 23rd. She gave me a brief check-up and did lab work. Since I was only one week out from my bilateral mastectomy, there wasn't much for her to check physically. She did go over the pathology report from my surgery with me.  I was very disappointed to learn that following chemotherapy treatments there were still "live/active" cancer cells in one of the five lymph nodes that were removed during surgery. They were only 2 mm; however, they were active and the report could not definitively tell me if I have a live cell/cells that could have moved outside of the lymph node. At this point, we know that IF that has happened it would be very small and might not show up or be detectable for some time.  I further learned that I had a second
Read more