More Good News

Sorry it has taken me a while to post. This is one of the most hectic weeks of the summer. I'm in a writing workshop here in Ouray, plus rehearsing the melodrama.

The writing workshops are wonderful. I have a start on a memoir about having cancer, and I think a short piece can be lifted from it as an essay that I can submit for publication in the near future.

I have a bunch of family coming in next week for the melodrama, and it will be fun to have them here. Next week I won't do any chemo. I won't have the Gemzar and I won't take the Xeloda, because I want to feel good for the melodrama and all the family coming to visit.

I did find a great wig on the internet for my role as Mary Pickaxe. I'm also having a pair of pantaloons made. I'll try to get a picture to put on this blog next week of me in full costume.

CHEMO ON WEDNESDAY - MORE GOOD NEWS
At my blood draw this week, another one of my liver enzymes fell in the normal range. My weight is stable. I had no temperature this week (I did last week). My CA19-9 tumor marker was down a hundred points. Hemoglobin 12.0, up from 11.7 last week meaning I'm now only one point below the anemic borderline. Blood pressure was something like 98/67, somewhat on the low side for me, but the nurse still says is fine. Today should be one of my slump days after chemo. Last week, I had chills, slight fever, slight queasiness, and fatigue. Today, I'm mostly just tired. Again a wee bit of queasiness, but I don't feel like I have the flu like last week. I'm back on the Xeloda, the oral medication - having a slight bit of hand-foot syndrome. The oncologist feels it's the Xeloda that's making the difference. We're still thinking about the Avastin for the future.

NEXT SCAN IS AUGUST 9TH
I next see the oncologist on August 9th and we're going to do a CT scan in the morning before I get chemo in the afternoon. I'm sort of dreading the scan because I don't usually get good news. But I feel pretty good and despite what they say is going on in my liver, I just focus on what I want to accomplish in the short term. I'm hoping in August to get our house cleaned up and caught up on some bookkeeping. I also want to get working on this memoir in earnest.

Just up here in Colorado getting some good news and being dramatic.

Sincerely, Caroline

P.S. Lyle Lovett was incredible last week. The Subdudes only got to play for about 30 minutes due to problems with the sound system. Bummer.