Taxol Take 2

Hello One and All, 

Seeing as it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I'd share the latest and greatest from New Hope and remind you to schedule your mammogram if you haven't already: 

Since my last post I did three sessions of radiation to my hip socket at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) in Basking Ridge. (Not so flattering pic below.) The treatment itself did not cause any side effects. The greatest pain was caused by lying on the hard, blue mold made to fit my body (getting up from it was a bear and NOT graceful) and keeping my arms perfectly still when I have an impingement in both shoulders. No results yet as I have not had a scan since then (scan date TBD).  

This was in the parking lot when Sandy & I were leaving.
I took it as a good sign that someone's looking over me. :)

A few weeks ago I tried a new chemotherapy called Irinotecan. In a word, it SUCKED. I had only one treatment and it caused nausea, vomiting and diarrhea for the better part of two weeks as well as hair loss. Supposedly it's "well tolerated" with the exception of stomach issues but for some reason I did not respond well. At. All. Twice Sandy had to take me to MSK to get an IV due to dehydration. 

Miserable at MSK getting fluids.

Despite the awful side effects of this drug, I still consider myself lucky. This was only the second time since 2012 that I felt so ill from chemotherapy. Most of the others were pretty tolerable. 

Seeing as my hair started shedding after three weeks --I was shocked it could happen from one treatment--and knowing my next chemo would cause hair loss, I decided to chop it off. I must give a shout out to Thad at Salon Gratitude in New Hope, PA who so graciously and patiently cut my hair and didn't charge me. He brought me to tears. The first time I met Thad years ago was under similar circumstances. My hair was growing back awkwardly and he fixed a buzz cut gone awry that Sandy had attempted at my request. Salon Gratitude has also been donating its services to New Hope's annual Couture for A Cure (breast cancer survivor and thriver) fashion show that I participated in a few times (this year canceled due to Covid). The stylists did the hair of all of the models and made us feel and look special and fabulous. Thank you Thad and Salon Gratitude! 

Last Friday I had my first chemo session with Taxol. Taxol was the second chemo I tried back in 2013 and I benefited from it for several months. Since it's been so long that I've been on it and because it was pretty effective, the oncologists thought it would be ok to try it again; this is not an uncommon practice. The version of Taxol I am on is called Abraxane. Abraxane does not contain a preservative that's in regular Taxol and typically can cause worse side effects. They cannot always administer it because, guess what, it's more expensive and insurance balks at that. I got lucky and thus far with the exception of some mild stomach issues and nausea, I am feeling fine.

And now for some positive non-cancer related news... 

I started a Master Gardener program through Penn State Extension. Classes are held once a week on Zoom and end in March. In addition to the requisite 40 hours of course work, I have to put in 50 hours of volunteer time over the year. There are many ways to volunteer including assisting in the development of a local community garden. Because I have to limit my interaction with people I will likely focus on working on the newsletter and social media. If you are interested in becoming a master gardener, you should know that this program has been around since the 1970's and exists in all 50 states! I originally was just shopping around for a gardening or houseplant class and stumbled upon this amazing course. I will tell you that if you haven't studied in many years like me, studying botany ain't easy! But the volunteer teachers are so kind and helpful and are there to assist with anything.

Last, Sandy & I are in contract to purchase a fabulous house nine minutes from our current address in New Hope. We should close near year end and we are very excited about this development! The house sits on over two acres of land and has many tree species so I look forward to learning about them and sprucing up the landscaping with beautiful plant containers. The house is unusual in that it was shipped from Norway (the best house framers!). There happens to be an electric dog fence so, who knows, maybe there'll be an addition to our little family sometime soon. 

That's the news for now. It's time for me to study Plant Disease. Yup, you read that right.

Be well, keep washing your hands and don't forget to VOTE!! 

Love, 

LB