1 MORE LEFT...

Save time. That was what I was trying to do when scheduling to have my blood work done the day before chemo. Save time is what I didn't do lol!!! Thursday, the day before chemo I arrived at 12:40, 5 minutes before my appointment to have my blood drawn. I thought for sure I would go in on time since a blood draw was all I was having done. Forty-five minutes passed and there I was, still waiting. I had just had a coffee and really had to go to the bathroom but I knew that as soon as I went they would call my name. Then I thought, "who am I kidding? I've been waiting 45 min, I might as well just go because they obviously aren't calling my name anytime soon." So, I get up and head into the bathroom. I took my time and went ahead and wiped the numbing lotion off of my port so that was one less thing we had to do when I went back. I washed my hands and walked out and what do you know, as soon as I opened the bathroom door I heard "Holly Pennywitt". I thought to myself, "maybe I should have gone to the bathroom sooner." Anyway, I went back and as I sat down the Phlebotomist asked, "Are we accessing your port today?" and I said "Oh yes!" I'm not about to be poked 100 times because my veins want to be difficult when I can easily have my blood drawn from my port. I know it is a much bigger ordeal since it has to be a sterile process but that's how we were going to do it. So, I had to move to the other room because it had to be accessed by a nurse. While getting everything ready the nurse asked me, first "how long have you had your port" and I answered "3 months", next "have you ever had any problems accessing your port" to which I answered "no, none at all." She said, "ok great because some people have tricks to accessing their ports because they have had issues." I assured her that mine has been perfect so far. Once ready she says, "ok now, 1, 2, 3...uh oh, this doesn't feel right." I'm thinking, "are you kidding me? There have NEVER been any issues, just smooth sailing and now all of a sudden, uh oh?" She said, "hmmm, that's weird, I know I stuck it right in the middle, let me try again." I mean, c'mon, this is the reason I got the port, so I don't have to be stuck multiple times, but luckily, I had the numbing lotion on so I couldn't feel it. Again, "1, 2, 3,....mmm, got it!" Yes, finally! She proceeded to draw my tubes of blood and of course made small talk because it is awkward when it's just the 2 of you and you sit in silence but then again, the small talk can be awkward too lol! Within about 5 min the blood was drawn then we were de-accessing my port and I was out of there thinking that I was glad this part was done so that we could save an hour at chemo.

CHEMO DAY #5...
Same thing just a different chemo day :) Ryan picked me up at 12:30 and we headed to the Cancer Center where we arrived at 1:00. I signed in and thought I would for sure go back soon especially since I already had my blood work done. Then, another 45 min later I heard my name. I went back and did the normal stuff, saw the normal people then waited, yep that's what I said, waited. This time I had already done my blood work the day before so I didn't have to wait for that but I did have to wait for my anti-nausea meds and chemo to be mixed in the pharmacy. So, needless to say, time was not saved. We actually got out of there an hour later than the time before when I had my blood work done that day. We left around 6:30. Oh well, I of course went ahead and scheduled for my blood work to be done the day before my next treatment which also happens to be #6, my LAST & FINAL treatment!!!!!!!!! I.CAN.NOT.WAIT to be done with this part of the journey :) I also can't wait for my hair to start growing back lol!! I know it won't be overnight and will probably take awhile to really start growing in but I still can't wait!! Sometime after my last treatment I will meet with Dr. Wei, my Radiation Oncologist and we will begin radiation but we have to wait 4-5 weeks after my last treatment because we have to make sure my white blood count has come back up. I just can't believe it has already almost been 6 months since the diagnosis that changed my life, 4.5 months since surgery, I've completed 5 chemo treatments and I am getting ready for my LAST ONE!!!!! It has all gone so quickly, it almost doesn't seem possible but the support has been tremendous and I can actually say that I am 1 step closer to kicking cancer's butt!!! I more step to go :)

Chemo #5

Since chemo...

I would have posted sooner but since chemo I have had this awful virus. This time it was Monday before the side effects hit me. I had the normal nausea which this time I just decided after talking with my nurses to take my Zofran scheduled so that the nausea didn't get out of control and it worked. I did however have that awful taste I get in my mouth. I absolutely hate it because everything tastes bad, even water, UGH! Sunday I had started with a cough and was SO TIRED but other than that I was alright. By Monday I started feeling a little different than normal. I checked my temp and it was low grade at 99.5. So I started taking NyQuil and stayed in bed all day. Normally I would hate that but honestly I didn't want to get up. By Tuesday I wasn't any better so I called the Cancer Center because I didn't want it to get worse and I talked to the Triage Nurse who said my NP said based on my symptoms it sounded like a virus so continue treating it over the counter and if my temp gets above 100 to call back. I did what she said, continued with the NyQuil and stayed in bed. By that night I felt like I had the flu and I had a temp of 100.3. Yikes! Well, it was too late to call the Cancer Center so I took some Tylenol and told Ryan that if it was still up in the morning I would call. By Wednesday my temp was all over the place but it didn't go above 100. I then started taking Sudafed thinking maybe it would work because the NyQuil obviously wasn't working. I took it scheduled through Wednesday and Thursday and finally by Friday I could get out of bed and function like a normal human being lol!! Thank goodness because I don't think I could take another full day in bed! The dogs were in heaven laying in bed with me all day for almost a week but I was so ready to see some daylight. Now, since I have been able to function since Friday, I have still not left the house. I mean, I have been outside but I have been NOWHERE since last Sunday so we are looking at a week and a day here folks!! Oh well, at least I am feeling so much better, only tired which is to be expected...HALLELUJAH!!

Oh and don't forget to click on the link below to register and join my Race for the Cure team!!

Holly's Rack Pack

Chemo sucks but I can do hard things...

OK, so after today I will have 1.MORE.LEFT!!!! I can really say I AM ALMOST DONE!! Of course Ryan does well reminding me when I feel like crap that we are SO CLOSE :) The last treatment has been the worst so far and I felt really awful for about a week. Ryan even had to stay home one day. I told him that even though I was probably not half as bad as some people in the sickness after chemo department, I now understand why people say "no more". Not that I would do that especially with only 2 treatments to go, I just now understand where they are coming from and I will never again say, "I can't believe they gave up and said no more treatment when it's helping" because now I GET IT!! Honestly, I am really not looking forward to this one today, who am I kidding, I don't look forward to any of them but with the side effects getting worse each time, I just dread them that much more. I just keep playing over in my head what my friend Tarah Pace Wright told me. "I CAN DO HARD THINGS!" Anyway, I did go get my blood work done yesterday to save us an hour today which will be nice other than the fact we will be leaving in rush hour traffic on a Friday but I am just grateful to be almost finished. Then I get a short break, like 4-5 weeks and then begin my radiation but my hair will grow back WOOHOO!!! Oh and hopefully I can begin to lose some of this weight I have put on because of the steroids. Man, I feel like I'm blowing up like a balloon lol!! Looking forward to returning to the gym the day I return to work, April 14. However, I am going to have to get some new sports bras that will fit my prosthesis because I tried to use it when walking the treadmill at my neighbors and luckily I was there and not in public because it definitely didn't stay in place. I was a little lopsided haha!! That will look a little odd at the gym so I will need to fix it before returning because I AM returning!

Just a little update for what's to come! I will update again after chemo #5 :)

Oh and don't forget my Race for the Cure team "Holly's Rack Pack"
Holly's Rack Pack

 

2 left...

TWO.TREATMENTS.LEFT!!! Yep, that's right, only 2 more to go. I completed chemo #4 last Friday, Valentine's Day. Of course, just like with my 1st treatment, we received 5 inches of snow!! AHHH! I am so tired of the snow!! We have already had like 60+ inches of snow this year and we are only in February!! I think saying that I am so ready for summer is an understatement! Anyway, chemo. Like I said it snowed and of course it began hours before I was to go to chemo which means that no one knows how to drive because they freak out at the first flake. Ryan picked me up with intentions of grabbing Jimmy Johns on our way however, since no one could drive we were 10 minutes late to my appointment so needless to say, no Jimmy Johns. Of course, as always, they were running behind so I didn't go back until 1:30. At 1:30 Ryan and I began our romantic Valentine's Day :) It began with a stylish mask so the nurse could access my port for a blood draw, then starting up the computer to finally finish Breaking Bad and an online order to Jimmy Johns. I know you are all jealous! Nothing says I love you better than chemo, Breaking Bad and Jimmy Johns haha! So, normally my blood work takes an hour to come back so we just sit and wait to begin chemo but this time it was back in 20 min! This meant that we would not be at chemo until 6:30 but it did mean we would be out around 5:00 so we could drive in all of the 5:00 traffic and snow. YIPPEE!! Chemo really went well and quickly really. I still had all of my regular visitors which included Sharlee and a few NPs but this time there was a new NP because my regular NP was out of town because her daughter had a baby. The new NP came in and I have to say, I want my old NP back. I explained to her that even with the Ambien I still wasn't sleeping. I was sleeping more than 2-3 hours but I was really only getting 5 hours max. When I told her this she said, "I'm stumped." Really, stumped? I just want to sleep. She wrote me a script for Ativan hoping it would calm me enough to help me sleep but this is after I tell her that my other NP had said that would be our next step but I'm not sure we gave the Ambien enough time. Oh well. After an uneventful 4 hours we left and headed home. Night one went pretty normal as always but Saturday, ugh, it hit. I was already nauseous. I began taking my Phenergan and actually took a 3 hour nap. The next few days, Sun-Thurs I continued feeling nauseous and taking my Zofran. Like I mentioned before they told me the side effects would get worse each time and they weren't wrong. This treatment really made me say, "CHEMO SUCKS" and dread the next 2. However, I do just have 2 left so that is definitely something to look forward to! Then 2 weeks after chemo is complete I will be walking in the Race for the Cure with my team that Ryan created which I am really excited about then I will begin 6 weeks of radiation at the end of April or beginning of May. Once that is complete, we wait for my next reconstructive surgery which should be at the end of this year or beginning of next year. However, I am already SUPER NERVOUS about it. I talked to Sharlee about it and she did say that she would not sugar coat it and tell me there is nothing to be nervous about because she said this surgery is a BIG surgery. It cannot be done in the Surgery Center so it will be in the hospital and I will have to stay for about 3 days. After that, recovery is going to be rough and I will have to have Physical Therapy. Then, I will have my FINAL surgery. I asked her when I should have my port removed and she said I could anytime after chemo but she suggested that I keep it until my last surgery so that I have easy access for surgery and so I have it in case anything happens and I need fluids or blood drawn or whatever else. So, I am taking her advice and holding on to it. So, as I mentioned in the beginning, I am 67% through chemo!!! My next treatment will me March 7 at 1:00. Hopefully smooth sailing until then :)

Here is the link to my Race for the Cure page! Feel free to check it out, join the team or just donate to the cause!!
http://indy.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/IND_CentralIndianaAffiliate?pg=team&fr_id=3885&team_id=286737

Chemo in front of the snow

Just over halfway there :)

Genetics...

I know that genetics can be a cause of cancer, however, I really didn't think that would be the case in my situation and there is no significant cancer history in my family. So, when I saw that I had an appointment with the Genetic Counselor I really wasn't sure the reason but I thought that it was something that all people diagnosed with cancer had to do. I received the paperwork to fill out for this appointment about 2 weeks after I was diagnosed and it was about 10 pages. I had to fill out my medical info as well as all of my immediate families medical info on both my mom and dad's side. So, what did I do? I waited until the day before the appointment to call my grandmother and Jo Ann to get some medical info on family members. So, anyway, after rescheduling the appointment twice, I finally made it the third time. Third time is a charm I guess :) I arrived with my book of medical info ready for a 90 min appointment wondering what we could possibly talk about for that long. However, it ended up being very pleasant and informative with a really nice Genetic Counselor about my age and it was only 40 minutes. Ok, so I said it was informative and it was but genetics is not really my thing so honestly it was A LOT of information that I really wasn't following but was trying really hard to soak it all in. She talked about my family medical history and then talked about genes and my DNA and then she lost me! Luckily, at the end of the appointment she said that she would be sending me a letter summarizing all of the info so that I could read through it and all I could think was THANK THE LORD because I wasn't sure I could even tell Ryan what went on in the appointment.

When I got home I began to tell Ryan about the appointment but then finally said, " Just wait until I receive my letter from the Counselor in the mail so you can see it on paper." I received my letter and everything seemed so much easier to understand. It first stated that Dr. Nate referred me to this appointment because of my history of breast cancer at such a young age. I know, history seems like it took place so long ago but it is now considered history. Anyway, after that there is a lot of other info but then it talks about the fact that all cancers involve gene changes but not all cancers are inherited or passed from generation to generation in a family. At least 60% of all cancer cases are sporadic meaning they are not passed from parent to child and are due to genetic changes in the cell thought to be caused by environmental factors. She stated in the consult that because of the fact I do not have an extensive or significant family history of complex cancers, it looks like I am probably part of the sporadic group and my cancer was probably caused from something environmental. We also can assume this because of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 blood test that was done in the beginning. BRCA1 & BRCA2 tests mutations in genes and since there weren't any mutations the test was negative. These results also mean that I do not have an associated risk for ovarian cancer. Yay!! Outside of this though, I have the opportunity to take a larger panel of tests called the BRCAPlus that tests 12 other genes which could potentially tell me where my cancer came from if there is a mutation on a certain gene and it could tell me if I am at risk for any other cancers depending on if there are any other mutations that may be found. Now for the confusing part, the possible results ;)

Positive: there is a mutation in one of the genes which means there is an increased risk and possibility of other cancers

Negative: does not completely rule out the possibility of hereditary cancer. It may not detect every causative gene changes. It can also be due to a case of familial cancer which is impossible to be identified through a test. This would put us back where we are now, not really knowing anything different or significant.

Variant: uncertain significance which is a change in a gene that has not yet been classified as benign or disease-causing. This would mean that the significance of the gene changes is unknown.

Doing this test could give me answers or more questions but really if it is negative, then I am just right back where I am now which is fine :) So, I am going to have the blood test and see if I find out where my cancer came from or if I am at risk for any other cancers outside of anything that can be caused environmentally.

Sorry for the dry info but I just wanted to give an update as to what has gone on between chemo #3 & #4 which is Friday. Remember, chemo #4 is Valentine's Day but after that one I will only have 2 left!!!

3 Down 3 to Go...

So I know it's been since my 2nd treatment that I updated but honestly not too much has happened :) Every day is pretty much the same considering I am not working at the moment which is making me stir crazy but then again with this so called "Polar Vortex" and 30 below temps I'm just fine sitting at home only going to the mailbox. The 3 weeks between treatments were a little worse between this 2nd and 3rd treatment compared to the 3 weeks between the 1st and 2nd treatments. I had more nausea, less energy and man have I been tired. I haven't really been sleeping at night so I try to keep myself up during the day so that I can sleep at night but I might get 3-4 hours of decent sleep at night but those aren't consecutive hours. So anyway, yesterday was Chemo #3! After yesterdays treatment I am now halfway to the end, it is in sight!! My appointment was at 1:00 so Ryan picked me up at noon and we were off. Now, I don't know why but I always feel anxious or nervous before chemo. Maybe that's weird I don't know, it's just the reaction I have. We made a quick stop at Jimmy Johns because we were both starving and the small snack size pretzels and peanut butter crackers at the Cancer Center just weren't going to cut it. We arrived at the Cancer Center and I was surprised that there were only about 6 other people waiting. Normally on Fridays when I have my appointment you can hardly find a seat in the waiting area. I don't know if it was the weather or what but of course I thought "maybe I will actually go back on time." Haha, that's funny, wishful thinking!! It was 1:30 before they called me back. Ryan and I were about to eat our arms off we were so hungry and I just knew that as soon as we pulled our food out they would call me back. Maybe that is what we should have done because then maybe I would have gotten called back sooner. Oh well. Last time I was there they gave me a script for Lidocaine cream to put on my skin over my port to numb it so that I can't feel the needle when they insert it. I applied it an hour before I left then I put a little bit more on when I got to the Cancer Center for good measure. I wanted to make sure I was good and numb because the skin there right below your collar bone is tender. So anyway, I went back and this time I wasn't in a room I was behind 2 curtains but it wasn't too bad. Of course I could here the other patient behind me snoring. My nurse came in and we put on our beautiful masks that we have to wear when they access my port and she stuck me and I was NUMB!! Yay, it worked :) With no issues she was able to draw my blood. She did that and then we waited because it takes an hour to get your labs back to make sure you are able to have chemo. The NP came in and we first talked about the side effects I had this time and she explained to me that each time will probably be worse because the chemo is cumulative. We tweaked my meds a bit hoping it will help so I'm crossing my fingers. She also gave me some Ambien to help me sleep because lord knows I have tried every over the counter med there is that would normally work and NOTHING, I mean NOTHING worked. I got my Ambien today and am looking forward to bed so that maybe I can get some GOOD sleep. She also told me my Potassium is low so she prescribed me a Potassium pill to take twice a day and of course it is a HUGE horse pill, yippee!! I'll be cutting that sucker in half for sure otherwise I think Ryan will have to learn how to do the heimlich! Secondly we talked about work. She explained to me that because of the work I do, which is working with children who are germ carriers and with having no immune system they don't think it is wise so she said they were not planning on releasing me until two weeks after my last treatment is complete which would put me back at work April 14th. I will definitely be more than ready to return to normal life by then. Shoot, what am I saying, I'm ready to return to normal life now but I will just have to be patient, something I am learning to be especially since it is not one of my virtues. After waiting an hour we finally got the first drug started, the Aloxi which is for nausea and is supposed to last 3 days in my system and the "ants in your pants" steroid Decadron. This ran for about 30 minutes. When that was complete the first chemo drug, Cytoxan was started. It ran for 30 minutes as well then I had to wait another 30 minutes after it was done before they could begin the second chemo med, Taxotere which ran 1 hour. Needless to say we were at the Cancer Center from 1:00 to 6:30. We closed the center down! They were already filling out the dry erase boards with Monday's date! While receiving my treatment, I had told them that I heard they had a drawer of scarves and they confirmed that and told me to help myself. So, I unplugged my friend the IV pole and Ryan and I went to raid the drawer. There weren't any scarves but there were a few toboggans so I got 3 new crocheted toboggans in colors I don't have. They told me that people make them specifically for cancer patients which is so nice especially when it is colder than the North Pole outside. Nothing too exciting happened during chemo so afterwards, we put on our pretty masks again for my nurse to de-access my port and I was on my way. I normally feel pretty good after chemo because of the steroids I take the day before and they steroid they give me IV push before chemo so Ryan and I usually try to run some errands and go to dinner which is exactly what we did last night :) My 4th treatment is scheduled for February 14th, yes, Valentine's Day! At least I will feel good or at least should so we can still go to dinner and celebrate afterwards. Not to mention I will be able to spend all afternoon with my Valentine during chemo!

Chemo #3...check!! 

Everything that happens and every side effect I have, my nurse always tells me...

2 down...

Friday, just as I said it would be was a LOOONG day!! It all began at 4:30 am! I know, 4:30, who in their right mind gets up at 4:30? Not this girl but since I didn't have a choice since I had to be at the surgery center at 6:00 am, I did it. So, just like the other 2 times before, we arrived at this surgery center and there were actually other people in there waiting for surgery. I really thought we would be the only ones. After about 15 minutes they called me back. This visit was much more pleasant than the last considering the last visit was when I had my infection and was absolutely miserable! While heading back with the nurse she began telling me that she was going to take me back first to go over my medical history then Ryan could come back. I explained that unfortunately I was aware of the drill. Once we got back there we went over everything then it was time to start the IV. I explained that my recent experiences with IVs have not gone well and it's not because I don't like needles but it is because my veins don't want to cooperate now that I only have one arm to work with which is why I was getting the port-a-cath. She promised that if she didn't see anything she wouldn't stick me and dig around in there. I told here where I thought a good one was and told her you can't see it but you can feel it. So, she went for it and got it without me even feeling it...YAY!!! Ryan came back and soon we were talking to Dr. Nate and the Anesthesiologist which just happened to be the same Anesthesiologist I had when I had the infection. I promised him that I would be a much better patient. At 7am on the dot they came and got me and I walked back to surgery. Before walking into surgery I had to put on the beautiful blue surgery cap but because I don't have any hair and my head stays so cold they let me put it on on top of my toboggan, not that I would really know how cold my head was while in surgery! Anyway, I told the nurse that came and got me that this was the first time I've walked into surgery and laid on that cold, hard metal table. Every other time I had been wheeled back on a bed. I didn't know you could just walk back there. I met all of the surgery nurses, saw Dr. Nate and the Anesthesiologist and before I knew it they were talking to me and I said, "Man, that hits fast" as I was out! Surgery to insert the port-a-cath which was implanted directly below my left collar bone was done in about 45 minutes. Just to fill you in on what a port-a-cath is, it's an implanted venous access device that is placed completely under the skin and is used for collection of blood samples as well as direct administration of chemotherapy into the bloodstream. As I said, my port is placed in my chest and the tip of the catheter is in a vein just above my heart.This will make it much easier for the chemo to be given and it decreases the side effects of vein and tissue damage in my arm. Surgery was over and I was waking up in recovery before I knew it. I was of course a little disoriented as I usually am after surgery and I asked the nurse multiple times if I could take the kleenex home with me. Not sure why I was so worried about the kleenex but I was and I did in fact bring them home with me :) However, the kleenex I already had at home is much nicer and softer than the sandpaper kleenex you get in the hospital. We got home around 10:30 and took a short snooze then off to get a little something in the belly before going to the Cancer Center at 1:00 for my 2nd chemo cycle.

We walked in the Cancer Center and there were quite a few people there. I felt like a veteran this time since I had been to the Cancer Center numerous times and have already had one chemo treatment. I wondered how many people were there for the first time or for their first treatment. It's hard to tell but no one was there alone! At 1:15 they called me back into room 7. I got situated by propping my feet up, covering up with my UK blanket, got my phone, tablet and book next to me along with my fabulous cherry coke from Johnny Rockets and Ryan set up next to me with his laptop so we could catch up on some Breaking Bad on Netflix. Yes people, we are still on season 5 of Breaking Bad but we will get to the end soon enough lol! The nurse came in and began with the blood work. After taking the blood we had to wait an hour for the results to make sure it was ok to go ahead with the chemo. During that hour I saw Sharlee (my nurse navigator), a few other nurses and the NP. We went over how I was feeling and how the last treatment effected me. I told them all the symptoms I had and how they were tolerable and I was hoping that this treatment would be the same. They took a lot of notes and charted EVERYTHING! Finally at 2:30 the 1st drug was administered which was for anti-nausea. Once they began administering the drugs we began with Breaking Bad. Even though we were there for 5.5 hours we only got through 2 episodes because so many people stopped by to see me which is nice. Each nurse I've met and have been involved in my diagnosis and treatment came by and some even had trainees with them that they wanted me to meet. Made me feel good! Around 6:00 pm my chemo nurse came in and said it was almost time to be discharged so we began to get our stuff together and she deaccessed my port. She told me that she sent in a script for an ointment that I can put over my port an hour before treatment so that it numbs the area and I can't feel the needle go in when accessing it. By 6:30 we were out of there and headed home. I was EXHAUSTED!! We got home and were in bed and I was asleep by 9:00! I can't believe I even made it until 9:00 because the night before I didn't get much sleep. The day before chemo I have to start taking steroids which make it difficult to sleep. So Thursday night I finally fell asleep around 12:30 am, woke up at 3:30 am, the alarm went off at 4:30 am and I was in surgery by 7:00 am. I don't count my nap in surgery as a true nap because even when you wake up it doesn't seem like you've been asleep.

Chemo #2...check!

Since chemo on Friday I have been tired and nausea has been a little worse this time. It's not too bad but I haven't felt as good as I did after the first cycle. Nausea, tiredness, taste change and mouth sensitivity have been the only symptoms so far. Luckily I haven't had to go anywhere especially since we have had over a foot of snow and it's -13 degrees outside but feels like -33. I'm glad to be snowed in because I definitely don't feel like going out in that kind of weather! Next cycle is set for January 24th so now we just wait until then!

  

Change...

As I mentioned in the last update, what little hair I had began to thin. You know, I thought that since I shaved my head as short as I could with trimmers it wouldn't fall out because I didn't have the weight of my long hair. However, I was wrong! So, yesterday I sat in the bathroom floor and Ryan used his trimmers to shave my hair shorter because believe it or not, it had grown since the first time I had it shaved. He trimmed it as short as he could get it. I then rinsed my head and more came out so I decided we should just do it, shave it with a razor. We didn't do it immediately but by the end of the evening my head was smooth...and COLD!! I'll be honest, it bothered me a bit at first because even though I had shaved my head I still had hair, now there is NO hair! Now, I'm just glad it's not going to continue falling out but I have to get some more scarves and hats because my head is REALLY going to be cold now! Since it was a little bit of a shock Ryan reminded me, this is only temporary. He is right and he has a perfect way of reminding me daily as I found this note on our meal plan board in our kitchen :)

On to tomorrow. Tomorrow will be LONG! We have to be at the Surgery Center (our 2nd home since this will be my 3rd surgery in 8 weeks) at 6 am to have my port placed at 7 am. Of course this one will be a short surgery. I then have chemo at 1 pm but this time will be much better as far as being stuck goes because I should only have to be stuck one time, in my port! I'm sure I will be pretty drowsy since having anesthesia in the morning so hopefully for Ryan's sake I can stay awake during the 5 hours of chemo :) So, on to round 2!!