Only July 9, 2010 I had my fourth intravenous Ixabepalone chemo treatment. I remember that both Dr. Paul (Rose Med) and Dr. Koenig (MD Anderson) said I could do “4-6 treatments”. When I went in I asked him if it could be my last one and he said YES!!!

This was my final chemo treatment. In one year I have received 10 chemo treatments. Since August 2009, that puts me at 9 months of chemo with a 3-month break (during the time I didn’t know it was coming back). It was bitter-sweet, teary eyed moment. My friend Krystal accompanied me:

Dr. Paul. He’s not always a midget:

Sarah, one of my nurses. It was cool because we were close to the same age:

However, this does not mean that I’m now off of the oral chemo – Xeloda. You know, my BFF that causes the awesome hand / foot syndrome. I’ll have to stay on this a few more months until I finish radiation. This is also why it’s hard for me to play gigs this summer.

OUCH:

Warning: this is not pretty. I am showing you this solely for educational reasons. I am not asking for your sympathy. The hand / foot syndrome also causes extreme peeling of the skin – no matter how much moisturizer you use. This occurs after the pain goes away. It is completely and utterly bizarre. For me it means holding off on pedicures or wearing those cute sandals I bought last summer. Good times:

My side effects from this last treatment were the absolute worst. I haven’t been completely honest (or telling to the “world”) of every single thing I experience. But I will say that for the first time out of the 10 treatments, I found myself vomiting. Whereas in the past it would be a week of nausea. This lasted off and on all last week. In addition, my dehydration was so bad that I had to go into Rose Med 3 times last week for fluids. This is despite how much water I drank. Overall I received about 3.5 liters of saline. Is this behind me now? ABSOLUTELY. I am fully recovered and am thankful I may never have to experience that again. Good thing I stopped at four, huh?

I am not always happy:

Here’s how I typically look after a chemo treatment:

This also changes my plans for Houston. There’s a certain time frame you must begin radiation following the completion of chemo. So instead of arriving October 1st and enjoying the month of Colorado’s beautiful Sept like I had originally planned – I now have to be there August 24th. I will be there for 7 weeks (47 days) from Aug 24 – Oct 9th and receive 6 weeks of daily radiation to my left breast (minus weekends). This is crazy. It only gives me one month to plan and prepare and find a place to “live” for 7 weeks. It’s been very stressful.

I have applied at the Church Apartment Ministries for an apartment for $39 or less a day. No religious affiliation to their church required. However I am on a waiting list and there’s no guarantee. Thus, there’s a chance I’ll be paying in the ballpark of $55 a day – which is actually the low-end you’ll find with extended stay hotels or furnished apartments. Let’s say that the church apartment thing doesn’t work out. I’m looking at spending around $2,700 total for a place to stay. Insurance does not cover lodging.

On July 30th I finally get my arm port removed!!!! That thing has wreaked havoc on me. The incision never fully healed, it created skin rashes due to my allergy to tape on my skin (certain Band-Aids) and it caused a clot. Duuuude! I will have to stay on blood thinners for 6 months. I didn’t have a port last time so thankfully I was spared. It’ll be a good day when I get this dorky thing out of me. Sorry guys, I’m NOT a fan!! It’s the damn truth. Hey, just being honest.

Here’s yet another non-awesome photo. No sympathy please. This is an example of the havoc. It took a while for the bruising to go away:

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So guys… I provided some telling photos here. But I want to reiterate that I’m NOT asking for sympathy. Or maybe I’m just one of those peeps that finds it hard to receive sympathy. Either way, this is merely to tell my story, educate, and, for me… to be completely honest about what this journey is really like.

Let’s just say, although the facilities were nice, the staff was compassionate and total professionals and they took care of me, I’m happy to not have to sit in one of these nice chairs or see this room again! Yay for me!!

Now onto Houston. A new adventure awaits…

Elana

Sorry it’s been a while since I posted. Well I’m now half way through my treatments! Only three more to go, and then I’m off to Houston for 6 weeks for radiation treatment. Then I’m done just in time for Thanksgiving! When all is said and done, it’ll be a year and a half-long battle since it all began in June 2009. I’m counting the 3.5 months between December and March when I didn’t know it was coming back. During that time I was working on getting my body back in shape and slowly watching my hair grow back.

Just before I lost my hair again, I had my hair colored. Cute, huh? Next time I might tone down the Annie Lennox look. Haha:

Let’s see… I get my last chemo treatment on Aug 20th – ironically the same date I STARTED treatment last year. Then I plan to enjoy the month of September here in Colorado and let my body recover, and then I’ll head to Houston in October for 6 weeks and live in short-term housing. I’ll be able to work remotely as long as I have my laptop and a phone. Living in Houston for 6 weeks will be a trip – no pun intended. It’ll be an adventure for sure!

The first burning question I’ll answer is what happened with that drug that cost me $543.00 for a 17-day supply? Well that’s lovely Xeloda. Yes, I say that with sarcasm. More on that in a minute. After applying to four agencies for hopeful financial assistance and being turned down by all of them, I was lucky that the manufacturer Roche has a “Patient Assistance Program” that approved me! So for the remainder of my treatment Xeloda is free! Thank you Roche!

The second burning question is how am I doing? Well Xeloda has caused me a host of problems. I’ve come down with this completely unexpected side effect: Hand & Foot Syndrome.

It’s a condition where your hands and feet turn red and purple and cause extreme pain, a burning sensation, blistering and ultimately peeling of skin (no matter how much you moisturize it). And yep, that’s my hand you see up there. Lovely, huh? So yeah, it’s caused me several problems. On bad days I can barely walk or even open a door or open bottle caps. Several times I haven’t been able to drive. Good times! The only solution is to lower my dose. So I went from 7 pills a day (2 weeks on, one week off) to 5 pills a day. It seems to be at its worst the day after an Ixabepalone treatment (the one via IV). Must be the overhaul of toxins in my body.

I’ve also had problems with my arm port. Unfortunately it’s caused me a blood clot, so now I’m on blood thinners. The port stays until the end of August. Other than the other usual side effects of chemo: dehydration, nausea, extreme fatigue, I’m doing fine. Except this time my side effects are more intensified.

Krystal accompanied me in 2nd treatment:

Christine accompanied for my 3rd treatment:

However, none of this has stopped me from living! Here’s a pic of us rockin’ out at the People’s Fair (June 6, 2010). Little did people know (other than friends) that I had on a wig and the arm band was to cover my port, and I had band-aids on my fingers so I could play guitar:

My artist friend Laurie Maves painted this picture of us performing! Eddie Garcia on guitar, Rob Cameron on drums, Greg Pasquariello on bass and Mark Mauldin on pedal steel and backing rhythm:

I spent a weekend in Aspen:

Here’s a camping trip I did with my sister with a bunch of other ladies (and 2 dudes). We went to Lost Lake campground in the Roosevelt Nat’l Forrest. Our campsite:

All the girlz. (L-R: Elana, Kimberly, Mandy, Krystal, Jen, Jody, April)

Memorial day weekend I camped with friends near Woodland Park. That was tough becuase my hand & foot syndrome kicked in for the 1st time – totally unexpected. I had no idea what was coming. I’ve also enjoyed a few Film on the Rocks (where they play movies at Red Rocks) and have seen a few concerts, like the Greeley Blues Fest, Thievery Coorporation at the Bottom’s Up in Aspen, and Tool at Red Rocks.

In other news I’m now the new Social Coordinator for a cancer-survivor groups called “YES – Young Empowered Survivors”. So keep your eyes open for some upcoming fun activities!

Then, I perform once again at this years Westminster Relay for Life on Friday, August 6th! Free to all. Anyone can come to this thing. I encourage my friends to join me this year! Usually I just show up by myself (or with band) and play. This will be my 5th year to not only do the Survivor walk, but perform…so please mark your calendar!

I look forward to getting the treatment over with and getting my hair, eyelashes and eyebrows back (again), but I’m not letting this treatment stop my summer! As per usual I’m enjoying camping and hiking, just not going as much. And I usually hit up hot springs but I can’t as long as I have hand / foot syndrome. Summer is my favorite time in Colorado. =)

THANK YOU to my family and friends that continue to support me (and get me out of the house!) during this crazy-ass time.

XO,
Elana