Saturday, May 21, 2016

1 Down 7 to Go! 

1 down, 7 to go!
So I finished my first cycle of Xeloda and I am now enjoying my week off. Woo-hoo! As a reminder I do 2 weeks on and 1 week off for 8 cycles. I have decided to just stick with focusing on them as cycles because 6 months seems way worse than 8 cycles to me...don't you think so?

The good news is that the 2 weeks went fine! No body parts fell off, my head didn't spin around and I obviously still have my sense of humor! ;o) I really haven't felt any real symptoms, maybe a little extra tired but I just don't give in to that. You know me, the ever ready bunny that likes to keep busy! I am working about 3 days a week and hanging in there. I love being there spending time with the girls (they really keep my spirits up) and with my wonderful clients that are so much more than clients...they are friends. My neuropathy from my other chemo is still giving me some trouble. It's only my arms and hands but I am learning to accept it as a part of life. Oh well! ;o) My big toe nails are also slowly trying to leave me...gross! The new ones are growing in underneath and I hope they win the race before the others come off...polish seems to help...a lot! (sorry for the TMI) I have decided that it is important to keep going to the gym and stay in shape. They released new evidence that our "killer cells" are more productive in someone that works out so that is another benefit to it all. Those cells go out in the body to hunt down and destroy cancer cells. I only do the upright bike for my cardio since I need to be good to my feet but also do the different seated type machines there too. GO WORK OUT EVERYONE!

I will start cycle 2 this Monday and we will be increasing the dosage since I tolerated it so well. I love that I have to wear gloves and not touch the pills! Really? Don't touch them to your skin, just get them inside your body! Oh yeah, I filed for a tier exemption with my pharmacy provider and got my copay reduced from $200 to $10 a month! I had never heard of it before but I am glad I have now. That was SO worth it! Now with the extra dosage the pills cost about $7000 a month! Yowza! Thankful for my insurance.

Blessings

Speaking of being thankful...you may find it strange that I have never felt so full of thankfulness. I wake up every single morning feeling so full of gratitude and count my many blessings. It is like I have put on a pair of magical glasses and see everything that I am blessed with so much more clearly. It's like going from black and white to technicolor! With the fear of this coming back I could be focusing on the "why me" or letting the fear over shadow my joy. Fear can be completely debilitating and blind you to everything good. Instead my eyes see past the fear, which I hand over to God every day, and feel my heart fill with gratitude. Why let tomorrow's fear ruin today's joy!!

Hitting milestones in my life are also so much more special. Joe and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary on May 18th and had a lovely dinner out at Roy's last night. Speaking of marriages, our house is becoming wedding central. Kendall and Christian's wedding is quickly approaching and it is such a wonderful distraction to everything for me. They are such a strong and faith-filled couple and have such a great life ahead of them! 



A couple of other really super cool things happened last week. My wonderful kiddos at church made their confirmation after 2 years of preparation. I am so proud of them! Watching them grow in their faith and as humans has been an incredible gift that I will always treasure. They have truly touched my heart. What is this gold pin you ask? (even if you didn't ask you get to hear about it!). One of my former students who is now heading off to college achieved his Eagle Scout Award and honored me with this pin. He was allowed to give one pin to whom he felt impacted him in his life. I am blown away from this and touched beyond words. Thank you so much for this honor Eric Bermudo!

Prayers

I humbly ask for your prayers that I will continue to tolerate my chemo well with no side effects. It is a long road ahead and I need my body to stay strong and heathy through this. I also ask that you pray that if there are any rogue cancer cells in my body that this chemo and my awesome killer cells are out there destroying and annihilating them! Thank you my sweet friends and family, I pray for all of you as well! 

Spend your day seeing all the things you have to be thankful for!  






4 comments:

  1. Always positive! Love you Beth!
    Priscilla

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    1. Thank you Priscilla, you are always so wonderful to read this and touch base with you. XOXO

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  2. I love your spirit and positive way of thinking! You look amazing and so happy BETH! God is so with you on this journey! I pray for you always!

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    1. Thank you Lillian! It was so great spending time with you at the shower. You and I have plenty to hang around for...there are some gorgeous grandchildren in our future! Thank you for your prayers. XOXO

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