Side Effects

With treatment number 5 under my belt, I am seeing a pattern. It can be extremely hard to mentally gear up for Chemo Day, but the weeks following are I even harder. I've never been one to pop a pill, but with the side effects after chemo it's sometimes the only thing that keeps me going. Side effects vary for every person depending on their Chemo cocktail and regimen, but fortunately there are many remedy options to help lesson the pain. I have a plethora of prescription drugs that I pretty much have to take in order to deal. At least three of the prescriptions are for nausea and vomiting, as most of you know that is a real problem that landed me back in the hospital after my first treatment. There is also mouth wash and pills for mouth sores, as I have struggled with sores not just in my mouth but down my throat to my stomach. The steroids taken the five days around treatment can help with energy, but it is a short time before fatigue and insomnia set in. I have spent countless nights awake, wondering how or what to do (maybe that's why this blog is so long). I have at least two different heartburn medications that help, but sometimes there is no escaping it. The metallic taste that you get in your mouth really has no remedy other than a tong scraper, which I have found to be quite useful. There are countless other side effects from constipation, blood in your urine, soar throat and runny nose, depression, hair loss, skin changes, and a low white blood cell count, which makes you very susceptible to viruses and other illnesses. These are just a few that I have experienced but there are many. Some that can even show up later in life. I have been fortunate enough to find some very useful natural remedies that just feel right.
One thing is for sure, the sooner you rid your body of the chemo toxins the quicker you feel a little more normal. Mend Juicery has supplied me with many cold pressed vegetable and fruit juices as well as a little two ounce bottle of ginger that I put in my bath. Epson salt and ginger baths have proven to be a great way to draw out the toxins. As you know the skin is the largest organ on your body. Dry brushing and frequent baths are a great cleansing tool. My sister also brought me a plant from Southeast Asia called the Guanabana fruit plant. Claims have been made that the plant extract can slow the spread of cancer or make traditional cancer therapies work better. Weather its true or not I am wiling to try it and continue in remission in hopes of never dealing with this again. The tea that I've brewed from this plant is actually quit tasty and I enjoy drinking. 

I have also found a tong scraper to be very useful in battling the horrible metallic taste in my mouth, which can stop you from tasting or eating anything. It doesn't take it all away but it certainly helps. I know one day I will enjoy food again, but for know I've been told to eat whatever I can get down. As I have tried to keep it very healthy, I have been known to make dinner out of three creamies.  I know this has no nutritional value but the doctor said: get as many calories as you can for the day and that was the only thing I could gag down.

Six weeks and one more treatment before my next PET/CT Scan. This will determine if we have killed the beast. These are some of my pictures taken from the last PET/CT Scan I had in August of 2014. They say tumors have a face and are a living thing. After seeing these images, I know its real. I must fight the beast and win. 

It's frightening how the tumor has taken over my abdomen and would have continued to grow until it eventually shut down other functioning organs had I not caught it.
PET Scans create a true visual of the cancer in your body. A PET Scan uses radiation, or nuclear medicine imaging, to produce 3-dimensional, color images of the functional processes within the body. It takes several hours to complete as you have to drink this horrible sweet dye and then be injected with radiation. Once it goes through your body the sugary dye attaches to the cancer cells (FYI: they love sugar) then they are able to see how and where the cancer has spread. 

The picture to the right shows all of the fluid that engulfed my right lung causing it to collapse as the tumor grew making it impossible to breath. This was the undeniable force in getting me to the doctor. Many people experience different effects from growing cancer cells, some of which are not as urgent. I urge any and all of you to listen to your body. The first doctor I went to had me convinced I had heart failure. I knew this wasn't true and continually fought to have other tests done to prove otherwise. While I never thought it would be cancer, I had to push the doctors into looking below my chest cavity for a cause. Doctors are trained in the most common cause and effect illnesses and will automatically assume those first. Today's warp-speed doctors' visits rarely address all of your questions, which is why its more critical than ever to be in tune with your body. I urge everyone that if you feel something is off, do not delay. I have had the opportunity to talk to many other cancer patients and found that many of them with lymphoma waited to long and are now facing much darker odds. Cancer is becoming more common in our society. We must get back to natural foods and environments. I visualize everyday a healthier, happier life. Stay positive, I now know more then ever "the quality of our human relations largely determines our quality of life, which of course includes our state of health".  As we all know, every illness contains a message. The mild ones, ranging from we don't get enough sleep, our reserves are exhausted, or to much stress. But, the undeniable message I have received is one of love, and to be thankful for the time I have with my family and friends. I have learned that over the years "What really matters is rarely on my to do list". It's the love we show to one another, because it's only the memories that are left in the end.