Hello everyone,
Not much of an update for you all this time. The same old same old with round 4. Nausea, headaches, very tired (and perhaps more tired than usual this time, I’ve been doing A LOT of sleeping the past several days), taste changes, and the worst of it this time – the hiccups. I hiccuped all day long on Friday. I’m not kidding! They never stopped except for sleep. Now my throat feels the aftermath of it.
Luyang thinks my hiccups are hilarious. Just wait till I cast the hiccup spell on her!
Last time I wrote, I noted that I was doing pretty good. Well, I think I jinxed myself. The next day (I think would have been a Sunday), the nausea hit me really hard.
There are several types of nausea. Notably, there are “anticipatory” and “delayed” nausea. With round 3, I definitely had “delayed” nausea, where it took more than 24 hours to set in. With round 4, I definitely experienced “anticipatory” nausea. I was already feeling quite nauseous the morning of treatment, and especially sitting in the hospital waiting for the drugs. Just the smells of the hospital, just the thought of having to feel like crap again, triggers the nausea. Awful!
Speaking of smells, Luyang thinks that she can smell the chemo drugs “on” me after I’ve had treatment. I know Bella sniffs me like “Where’ve you been?” once I get home from treatment. I’m sure my “scent” does change from these awful drugs. Something interesting to think about.
Well, some (hopefully) good news. I will get a PET scan later this week to check on how things are going. By some sort of miracle, if the cancer is all gone, I could be done with chemo. I have high hopes! But if we must continue with treatments for awhile more, so be it. I’ve been noticing my voice getting stronger again. I’ve been playing a lot of Masses lately as I’ve been able to, and singing is definitely getting easier. As painful as this process has been so far, I know it is working.
Once I have test results, I’ll write again. Good news or not!
I better go eat something and count my blessings!
Thanks for reading and may God and all the Saints bless you on this All Saints Day!