Update 10/16/11

After chemo #6 I felt pretty good.  My legs were a little achy, the weekend after, as was expected.  My fingers and toes are also numb, which is also a side effect. Other than that I am doing pretty good with the side effects of chemo.

Saturday after treatment, Maddie, Raff (my brothers girlfriend), and I went to Ashby Apples to go apple picking.  Afterwards, Maddie and I hiked Wachusett Mountain.  It was a fun time.

Last Sunday when I woke up, I had a cough and runny nose.  It got progressively worse by Tuesday.  I called the oncologist and the nurse had said that I could take Nyquil and Delsym, and that as long as I didn't have a fever, I did not have to go in to be seen.  I tried the 2 meds till Thursday and my cough was still not better.  I called the doc again and this time they put me on a Z-pack (just in case) and gave me Robitussin w/codeine.  Finally, a week later, I am feeling a little better.  I hope that I am able to get treatment done on Thursday.

Next Sunday, I am walking in the Making Strides against Breast Cancer walk in Worcester.  Are you?  If you are able to walk, I hope to see you there!  I have about 15 people that are signed up to walk so far.  I am excited to see everyone next weekend! If anyone wants to walk, be sure to go to Making Strides and register under TEAM TIFF.

Boston Making Strides & Chemo #6

Last Sunday, I took part in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Boston.  There were over 40,000 people there!  It was a lot of fun, and the rainy weekend actually held off the entire time we were in Boston.  My good friend Krust, my mom Karen, my mom's boyfriend Jimmy, my mother in law Maureen, and my cousin Erin walked with me.  We joined a team called "Miss Pink Queens" that was led by Jimmy's daughter in law Ashley.  Thanks to the friends and family that donated to the walk! 

The following are some of the pics that I took while we were walking.



Our group, Maureen, Karen, Me, Krust & Erin




Krust & I, there were so many walkers, we must have bumped into each other hundreds of times!




Mid walk, I think this was right before some "cheerleaders" started singing Beyonce's "Survivor" to me! Scared the crap out of me!



Almost there!!



Finished with the walk, I needed a bald pic with my wand Cyndy made me!


About midway though walking, we started talking about the Making Strides walk that they are having in Worcester on October 23rd, and thought that it would be fun to invite all of my friends and family to walk with me!  My cousin Erin set up an event page on Facebook and I have set up the team page on the Making Strides/American Cancer Society website.  My team name it "TEAM TIFF".  I would love for anyone that is not busy that day to walk with me!  Registration is between 8-10AM and the walk starts at 10AM.  It does not cost anything to walk, but you may also donate if you would like.  The route is shorter than Boston, it is about 2.5 miles I believe, and handicap/stroller accessible, so it would be good for kids too!  I would love to see everyone there!

Now onto chemo treatment #6.  I had treatment yesterday and I cant believe how much easier Taxol (the new drug) is.  I can tolerate it SO much better than the other drugs.  Besides being a little achy, the only real downside is that between the Ativan (to calm me down) and the Benadryl (to get rid of any allergic reaction) I feel like I am drunk during treatment!  But, if that's the only terrible thing that happens, that's great!

We did remember to take one pic while we were at treatment yesterday.

Yay, feeling good at treatment #6

After treatment #5, I went to get my lab work done the next week to see what my white blood cell count was.  It came back looking good, so I will NOT have to get anymore Neulasta shots and I will not have to get my labs done on my week off chemo.  I get to wait until chemo #7 to check my labs!!

2 more treatments then its on to MRI, surgery, and radiation!  Things are moving right along!