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Shannon Rinaldo - Journal

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Posted 2016-09-27T18:41:48Z

Getting By

The last of this round's chemo pills went down Saturday night (the drill is always Tuesday to Saturday, always taken at bedtime). Last week went remarkably well. I only missed work one day and was able to go into the office 4 days. Two of those days were pretty full days and two were half days. I even had enough energy for dinner out with friends on Saturday. Best chemo week so far. The chemo hangover, however, was a bit tricky. Sunday was a low energy day, which leads to emotions that might scare some husbands. If you ask me it wasn't too bad but Jason might disagree (but not if he knows what's good for him). Monday morning (yesterday) I had trouble keeping anything down. Overall, one bad day out of an entire month is pretty darn good. Operation: excrement was a success. Although most things taste and smell terrible during chemo, I was able to get creative with desserts made of high calorie, high fat whipping cream (and therefore no weakness or passing out). Since most people swear by ice cream during chemo, I've been able to get by on cream based shakes and such- very similar to ice cream. Today I'm back to work and feeling pretty great![...]

Posted 2016-09-20T23:25:43Z

Chemo: Round 5

As I begin my fifth round of at home chemo, I feel great. I know this is just a ruse. There are a few basics that I know to be true:

1) If I do not start miralax tonight and continue to drink a dose every single day until Sunday, I will pay for it starting on about Thursday.[...]

Posted 2016-09-15T21:49:54Z

Lymphopenia, New Rules, and So Many OB GYN Questions

On Monday I saw my neuro oncologist (A.K.A. Dr. No Naps) for a very quick check up. There was no scan so no news on the tumor bed and he has no reason to think there is an issue there. The blood work, on the other hand, continues to show extremely low lymphocyte counts, which means I have a severely compromised immune system. Now I'm a bit paranoid and although it would not suit me to be on house arrest, I've struggled with the stress of leaving the house this week. It would just suck to survive brain surgery, to have fought and won insurance payment for proton therapy, and have struggled with the food issues just to die of pneumonia because I caught a cold. Therefore, I will not engage in the following activities, effective immediately:[...]

Posted 2016-09-05T22:18:03Z

No Real News but Here's an Update Anyway

Some have asked for a quick update just so everyone knows what is happening with me. My fourth at home, 5 day chemo treatment ended a little over a week ago. This means that I'm 1/3 of the way through this treatment round. Once again, Jason feels that it went a little better than the time before. I had 2 bad days, the last day of my pill and the following day. I was a bit moody, not hungry, and fatigued. Within days I was back to my new normal and had a lot more energy. I've been able to get back to work on a more regular basis and I feel that all of my current issues are medication related side effects except for maybe one and it's the damndest thing. I am pretty sure I have the most reasonable explanation.[...]