Five Infusions In

I've done 5/12 of my Taxol infusions, and am praying that my numbers are good for my sixth one on Thursday.  If I can go ahead and get my chemo on Thursday, I'll be halfway through my Taxol infusions!

I spoke with someone from my MedOnc's office yesterday.  The steroid I've been given with each infusion has made me woozy and nauseous each time.  They've cut the dose in half and tried giving it in a bag instead of pushing it, but it's been rough no matter how it's administered.  Dr. Saleem is going to get back to me on whether she'll try a different steroid on Thursday (assuming I get chemo), or get rid of the steroid altogether.  

In the same phone call, I was told that my WBC were actually looking good.  The number was 3.1 two weeks ago, but had come back up to 3.6 last week (though still lower than "standard"), which means that my body may be figuring out how to recover a bit on its own.  My neutrophils were still trending downward, but the WBC number was a good sign.  Keep praying that things look good on my bloodwork on Thursday.  Uninterrupted chemo is chemo that is still killing the cancer!

I've been a lot more tired with this 5th cycle than I had been before.  It doesn't help that tree pollen is insanely high right now, and I'm allergic to it all.  I'm extra tired and headachy, and it's impossible to know how much is due to chemo and how much is due to allergies.

In happier news, my sisters and my parents have all come to stay and help out at different times, and the abundance of awesome guests, with the promise of more to come, finally prompted me to spruce up the guest room.  I was able to buy a new bedspread at Target, and cheerful curtains and a sunny yellow nightstand are on their way.  And my favorite part was coming up with some easy wall art.  I combined my love of stitching/needlework - wooden hoops - and pretty fabrics and Brandi and I put together this display while she was here:

It makes me smile.  And I hope the sunny yellows and calm greys make our guests smile, too!