Going to the Beach

My Mom started chemo in January. The regimen that she followed called for four treatments of Adriamycin (the red devil) and Cytoxin and then four treatments of Taxol, a total of eight treatments over a 16 week time period. We were told that the Adriamycin and Cytoxin were supposed to make my Mom sick and the Taxol would cause bone pain. After chemotherapy we were told that she will have a month off and then start radiation. Radiation will be for five weeks, Monday through Friday. We have an appointment to meet with the Radiologist the beginning of May to go over her radiation schedule, I will know more about radiation then.

Before my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer she had a growth removed on her jaw bone that was osteomyelitis (bone infection). She got the growth cut out and a small donor bone was put back in last summer but the infection came back with a vengeance. She was on oral antibiotics almost 24/7. Her osteomyelitis was caused from a bad root canal that left bacteria above her tooth. Before she could start chemo she had to get the osteomyelitis taken care of because she would no longer have enough white blood cells to continue to fight the infection. Her oral surgeon decided that he would remove the part of the bone that the infection was in and after chemo put back in more donor bone. My Mom decided to kill two birds with one stone so she had the bone taken out the same day they put her port in for chemotherapy. I was so relieved because I thought we had finally gotten this bone infection taken care of and we can start chemotherapy so my Mom can get better. Long story short... the bone infection has still not gone away!!!! My Mom says that sometimes it is her jaw that is hurting her more than the chemo. She has been on oral antibiotics throughout chemotherapy to keep the osteomyelitis at bay until chemo is over. Once chemo is over we are going to find another oral surgeon and hopefully kick this bone infection in the butt.

About two weeks after her port was put in we started chemo. We were very anxious and nervous for the first day of chemo. None of us knew what to expect. Her very first chemo was on a Friday. My Mom woke up on Friday morning and packed a bag full of meditation CD’s, seashells from the beach, books, and a blanket, becasue of this she calls chemo days, beach days. Every morning as she is packing her bag for chemo she says "I'm going to the beach today!" My Mom and I carpool in the morning so she dropped me off at work (I work at the hospital) and then she was off to work. She came back to get me around 3:00 pm, I dropped her off over at the cancer center (right around the corner from the hospital) and headed back to work to finish up. I got off work around four and immediately drove over to the cancer center. I was preparing myself for what I might see just in case my Mom may have been sick. I walked through the cancer center's door and to the back room to find my Mom hooked up to her chemo and pigging out on cupcakes! I started to laugh, she told me she had the munchies. I was relieved that my Mom was ok and not sick.

The further you go into your treatments the sicker you get. The Adriamycin and Cytoxin would usually hit my mom two days later. She felt extremely worn out. In the mornings before we went to work she sounded fine, I would call her about half way through the day and I could just tell it in her voice how tired she was. I asked her one time what it felt like and she said that it wasn't the kind of tired that made her sleepy but it was the kind of tired felt like she would stop breathing if she didn't think have to think about it. I would say that the worst thing about the Adriamycin and Cytoxin were the mouth sores that my Mom got. They were horrible. She couldn’t eat anything that wasn't soft. She ate a lot of smoothies and oatmeal. My Mom has never been a fan of oatmeal before but she said that it would slide right down her throat. Because of how swollen her tongue was and the mouth sores she would talk funny, like slurring her words.

My Mom has now finished all of her Adriamycin and Cytoxin and is now almost finished with the Taxol. The Taxol has been so much harder for my mom than her first four treatments. They called the Adriamycin the red devil, I call the Taxol the devil in disguise. They didn't tell us just how bad this would be for my Mom. The Taxol has caused her a lot of  bone and nerve pain. She has gotten to the point that it is hard for her to hold onto a pen or to button up her clothes. The Taxol has also made her fingernails turn yellow and start to curl and are beginning to fall off. She had her first treatment of Taxol on a Wednesday by Friday she felt like her feet, hands, and face were on fire, a burning sensation. The burning sensation turned into a tingling sensation, her feet and hands felt like they were asleep. Her legs and feet began to hurt so bad that having a blanket over her hurt. This is the times that I wish so badly I could take away some of the pain. I hate seeing my Mom hurting. We put cold towels around her legs and this seems to help for a little while. This kind of pain usually only lasts about three days and after the three days she feels a little bit better each day. She is now hoping that the neuropathy that she is having right now will go away when she finishes chemo. She is really annoyed because she can’t work with her hands and can’t walk very well.

Tomorrow is my Mom’s last chemo!!! Tonight she is dreading her last treatment but at the same time she is nervous to be finished. She is worried about the cancer returning after chemotherapy. She is going to have to start changing her lifestyle, I told her I will do this with her so it won’t be so hard. We will exercise regularly and start eating healthier. She will also be taking a pill for five years called Tamoxifen. This pill is supposed to stop her body from producing estrogen, her cancer was feeding off of the estrogen. This means my Mom will never be able to take any kind of hormone replacement pills, this could be a hard thing for my Mom, we will see…

If any of you know me well, you know that I am extremely close with my family, especially my Mom. My Mom has always been my best friend and has always been there for me. It is now my turn to be there for her. She has such a strong faith and positive attitude and I know that is what is getting us through this. I thank Heavenly Father every single day for sending me to my Mom. I Love you Mom!!!!!!

"Have Faith. Your creator will never give you a problem or an opportunity without at the same time providing everything you need to handle it."  -Dan Zadra