I'm walking on sunshine....and I feel fine!

Hello people,

Tomorrow is day 10 of xeloda. I normal have had a rough and very sick day around this time of my cycle. But I have been taking anti-nausea meds and I didn't feel sick today as I would have normally. What a relief to wake with out a headache or a sick stomach!!! It feels so good to feel good. We managed to run errands and look at a couple houses today. Not having a wasted day is so awesome.

As for the house search, I am pretty discouraged. There hasn't been a house that we have seen where we both were able to say "we can totally see ourselves living here!" It seems each place has quirky things that we just can't get past. Like the house that the people had put a doggie shower in the basement living room with a doggie door leading in from the outside. Or the house that had a sound booth built in because the owner was a dj (really.... who else on the planet would use that but him?) There have been houses with weird attic access doors, and others that have had microscopic kitchens. House hunting is so hard. It is something I am about ready to take a vacation from for a while.

It was a lot more sunny here today. The temperature was in the 40's and it actually was a pretty nice day. I promised you all an update. I feel as though I am walking on sunshine. Do you know that song? From Catrina and the waves. I'm walking on sunshine....and I feel fine!

Thanks for stopping by,

Leslie

Xeloda, cycle 6... stable so far.

Hello People,

Question of the week:
What's your favorite season? Post your answer and why in the comments below.

Are you doing well my friends? I am on cycle 6 day 7 of Xeloda. So far I'm feeling pretty well. It is usually between day 8 and day 10 that I have a day of sickness. I'm taking a consistent amount of zofran (daytime) and then phenergan (night time) The test of how well taking these meds from day 8-10 works will be tomorrow. If I don't wake with a headache or sick stomach tomorrow, Life will be awesome! I'm pretty hopeful about feeling good tomorrow. I will of course, keep you all posted.

Cancer news aside, the weather here is finally getting warmer. It is supposed to get colder now around mid week next week. They are expecting another winter snow storm to head this way. Are you ready for winter to end? I love Spring and Summer. We have been house hunting in and around Knoxville. It is not fun going out in the cold to view houses. I Hope and pray that we find one soon. I think we have viewed about 30 houses now. There have been two that have come close. But so far, no luck. We have some very specific things we want in a home, and at our stage in life we don't want to compromise. I'm pretty sure that where ever wee end up, it will be the last house I move into. I want it to be as near our dream house as possible. Do you have specific dream items for your dream house? I would love a large kitchen with lots of storage and enough full bathrooms for my whole family. Plus a lot of room for the pups to run and wear each other out! LOL. I thought I was done entertaining small children. But that is what a puppy is, A small, furry child. Sadie wants to play all, the, time. I love her to pieces though.

Another thing that has been taking up my time. I've become completely obsessed with watching Downtown Abby. I have watched the three seasons available in 4 weeks. I am down to the last episode of season three. NO SPOILERS please! I just can't seem to see enough. I hope season four comes out soon.

I need to find another project to keep me busy. I just finished a small crochet lap throw for my daughter. Maybe I should get out my sewing machine? I don't know. I just need to keep busy. Any suggestions? Craft ideas?

as soon as I know how I feel for day 9 and 10, I will post a small update for you.

Thanks for stopping by,

Leslie

Who says I'm not stable?

Hello my people! How are you all doing? It is so dog gone cold here in Tn. It is really messing up the area. 3 inches of snow and all the public offices and schools shut down for 3 days. It was a parking lot on a lot of the major highways. Several schools had to keep students overnight. But Sadie loved eating the snow. I guess since she was born in Colorado, cold weather is in her blood! LOL! I did enjoy the snow days. Being indoors and watching tv and movies. I finally got to watch the Bourne Legacy. Tell me there is going to be a sequal!?! Cause that ending was a real let down.

My petscan was last week. Today I went for the results. Due to my car battery dying on me, I had to rely on Mo rescuing me and driving me to my appointment. What a blessing that he was nearby. The appointment went well. I tell you all about it in my video.

Question 0f the day:

What do you do for excersize? Post in the comments below. I look forward to hearing what you do.

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Leslie

Xeloda cycle five days 8-9.

Hello People,

How are you my friends? I have been sick the past two days. Friday morning began with the signature headache and upset stomach that let me know it was going to be "one of those" days. I took nausea meds immediately upon waking up. Within a few minutes, I had tossed them. No fun, no fun at all. Thus began a day of throwing up and diarrhea. Let me just say that being on the toilet and barfing at the same time, into the trash, is not a party I want to be at. But that is how it went. Yesterday I spent the day feeling fatigued and weak. Today is day 10. Which is supposed to be my nadar. Meaning the day I feel the worst. If there is anything I have learned over the past two and a half years is that cancer and chemo are unpredictable.

You may wonder why I am even sharing this with you. Well, if you are on this journey, you deserve to know all the aspects and possible outcomes. If I can share anything that might help you to be better prepared or arm you with knowledge. Then I will be sharing with you.

So, today I feel much better. I am planning on taking it easy with my Mo, Anna and our pups. Later we will watch football. That is all from here. How's it going where you are? If you are any kind of cancer journey or have an important person in your life who is going through cancer please share with me in the comments below. I would love to be able to encourage you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Leslie

Xeloda, hand and foot syndrome over the counter treatments

Hello people,

How nice it is to be past the winter freeze. It is starting to be a bit warmer. There is still warnings of snow in the Knoxville area. How is the weather where you are? I am still counting down to Spring forward. 53 days until we change the clocks. But who is counting???? I am!

The update on the 5th cycle of xeloda is that overall I am doing pretty well. My hands and feet are still bright red and extremely itchy. About an hour after I take the treatment my hands and feet start going crazy with the itchiness. I have started using aquafor and it is really helping. I just put some on my hands and feet two or three times a day. I had been cracking, peeling and bleeding, and now it is only red and itchy. I use the giant tub that is from Amazon. Here is what it looks like if you're interested in trying it out.

Sometimes when the itching is really bad I use aloe with lidociane. It really calms the itching. You can also order this from amazon, but I got mine from cvs pharmacy. Here is what it looks like if you want to find some for yourself.

There is a bit of fatigue that I am battling. I'm not sleeping very well. There is a loud train that honks its horn at two hour intervals all night long. It really can be disruptive. We live very near the tracks, and Tennessee is a big railroad state. Yay! Got to love interrupted sleep YO! All day long I am dragging, but don't want to get into a cycle where I nap and make it even worse for myself at night time. So, that is my hurdle right now. Red itchy hands and feet, and fatigue. There are far worse things I could have to deal with. I'll be content with the side affects I have.

Well you guys, I sure appreciate you stopping by my blog. Please take a moment to follow or subscribe.


Leslie

Xeloda, happy healthy January

Hello People,
Oh my gosh, has life been crazy busy for you? It has been so busy and full for me here!!! I had company over the new Year holiday. Then we got hit with the biggest cold snap in Tn for the past hundred years. You know how Ilove the cold weather right? LOL, not at all. Cold is my nemesis. I'm look forward to Spring and Summer soooooo much. It is only 8 weeks away till we spring forward. Yay! I am counting down till spring. How about you?

Life is going really well for us here in Tn. Most of what I have to share with you I have said in the video below. So, I hope it is informative. I really hope you find it enjoyable. Feel free to leave your comments below. Thanks for stopping by.

Leslie

2014, new beginnings and lots of plans, and Xeloda cycle 4.

Happy 2014 people! How are you my friends?

I sure hope you enjoyed new years eve as much as I did. We stayed quite busy on the eve of the new year. My mom is here in Tennessee visiting from Colorado. It was a festive evening of nibbly type food, board games, and revelry. I actually managed to stay awake until the new year range in. I now have new year lag....LOL! It may take a few days to recover. The weather here is becoming pretty cold and bitter. There is freezing rain and cold icy wind. So for the next few days we will be keeping ourselves busy indoors.

I am doing pretty dang well after this fourth cycle of xeloda. My skin on my hands and feet is very red and itchy. The feet are blistering and the blisters dry out and then peel leave sore painful patches of red raw foot behind. I saw my oncologist today, and we will be keeping me on the current dose of two xeloda twice a day for fourteen days and then one week off. My counts are all within range. I will have to have a quarterly ct Petscan at the end of January. This will confirm that the tumor on my heart has disappeared. ( based on my low tumor markers, It is my belief that that little bastard is gone ) I'm feeling pretty confident that there will be no evidence of disease when the give me the scan results. I feel very well. There is the constant battle of fatigue, as well as the hand and foot sydrome, but I can endure that if the cancer is gone.

It has been such a great year, 2013, and it is going to be a great year 2014. There are so many things that I want to do in the year ahead. I'll not be making any kind of bucket list for fear of jynxing things. But I have a "wish list" of things to do, kept tidy inside of my head.

What do you have planned for the year ahead? Trips, reunions, ect? Please share your plans and goals, I look forward to hearing them.

Leslie