Magical Cat's Corner

Hello, It's Me Again...

Wow, it is 2010, and my last post was September 2008. Has it really been that long? I do have a good excuse for being absent from the blog world. I have been on chemotherapy for the last year. The tumor saga goes on... In December 2008 I was in extreme pain, my tumors were growing and spreading, and it was finally decided that I would start CVD chemotherapy. CVD is a cocktail of three drugs... cytoxan, vincristine, and DTIC. At first I received it every three weeks. Then we moved to every four weeks. It makes me horribly nauseated despite all the anti-nausea drugs I take. I also receive a Neulasta shot after each chemo treatment, which keeps my white blood cell production going. The side effects of the shot are worse than the chemo. The combination of chemo and the shot pretty much puts me out of commission for a week. I get three weeks of "normalcy" between treatments. I use that term loosely because I do get tired. For the most part, I can't complain. The chemo is gradually shrinking the many bone lesions I have. I will stay on it until it stops working or until the tumors are gone, which would be some sort of miracle. I keep hoping that a cure will be found in the meantime.

On my last visit to the NIH for scans, I had one trouble spot in my pelvis. It was more enhanced than on a previous scan, which means there is tumor activity going on. So, they are going to burn it out with RFA (Radio Frequency Ablation). I had RFA on my liver once, but that was during surgery. This will be a little different.

I'm still working (part time). My work status may change eventually, but I'll always be a mom. The kids keep me very busy. Tess is in preschool and Nolan turned two last month.

My only goal for each new year is to be in better health at the end of the year than I was at the beginning. That was true for 2009, so I hope it will be true for 2010.