Herceptin #16: Just Another Day at the Spa!

My friend and sister-in-cancer Carla, suggested that we should call our trips to treatment 'A Day at the Spa.' She goes to a spa in LA called City of Hope while my spa further up the coast, is called the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara.

After my brilliant friend advised that we use this new terminology, I quickly mulled it over and agreed, this is totally like a day at the spa! I get to sit in a lounge/recliner chair, I'm brought warm blankets to snuggle in, I'm greeted and pampered like I'm an A-list celeb, I get to hang out with some pretty awesome peeps (Martha, Debi, Kimba, Socorro, Amber), a lady comes around offering tea, coffee and treats and if I'm lucky, I get to sneak in a short nap while I relax. So yes, this is indeed a day at the spa!

I also had the lucky chance encounter to sit next to a new day spa guest and her groovy husband, which added greatly to my spa treatment experience. Being around others in this....uhm....'sisterhood,' makes my day at the spa even more meaningful.

So hats off to all of my fellow spa guests because this signature treatment left me with a more settled feeling that I really needed as I am still making every attempt to make friends with the side effects and this journey. Now if they could only serve up a little champagne to go with that Herceptin infusion bag, it would round off the whole spa treatment experience ever so perfectly!

Lastly, it goes without saying, that I think the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara ROCKS! Thank you to my wonderful Purple, Chemo Angels along with Dr. G., Amanda, Martha (who always takes 2lbs off my weigh-in!), Christy, Sam, Tammy, Joanna, Elvira and all the gals at the front desk. You make my treatments at the spa, well.... faaaabuulous little darlings!

Herceptin #15: On The Homestretch

I can hardly believe that I'm on the homestretch of treatment as this part of my life has become my new 'normal,' my routine, and in some ways, my salvation. As I now see an end in sight, I enter each treatment in the chemo room with newer, fresher, wiser eyes. I suppose that my 'new life' as my cousin and I often call it, continues to provide me with a fresh perspective. Life is fragile, short and full of pay-it-forward moments as we often experience in the chemo room.

This treatment was no different as it sent Hil scanning the room for opportunities to help other patients with their technology as there is always someone in need. And Herceptin #15 provided her with yet another opportunity to be a personal technical assistant. This time, she helped a male patient during his chemo treatment so that he could hop onto the Cancer Center's Wi-Fi and his iPad during his 5 hour stint. Mission complete.

Me on the other hand, well, I connected with a fellow breast cancer survivor who is also what I term a 'repeat offender.' On her second diagnosis now and in the treatment room for her first chemo, I sat down next to her for a bit on our way out as we discussed how to keep our spirits and bodies moving forward. Yoga? Cancer Center classes? Walking? Naps? Whatever it takes.

Whatever the case, we know it's good for our souls to help others, pay it forward and be there for someone else. And even though this treatment knocked the wind out of my sails, I'll still keep going back for more. Why? Well....why not? I'm still chasing my cure and getting ready to cross the finish line soon.

Herceptin #20, here I come!

Herceptin #14 Baby!

The drive to my treatments can best be described as the time that I get my 'good juju on!' The routine usually goes like this: silence in the car...turn the phones off...breathe...Hil sings me 'Our Song' (thank you Dave Matthews!)...hold hands and follow it up by doing our 'good intentions!' And for some reason, the guy upstairs always seems to make sure that it's a sunny day, hence my ritualistic phrase, "It's a GREAT DAY for a Herceptin treatment!" Drive. Check.

After seeing my oncologist (luv Dr. G!), I'm escorted into the treatment room by him like he's my own personal chemo valet. To my surprise, I am greeted by my old 'Chemo Mixologist' Amber! Yippee! She's been hitting the books hard and getting her teaching degree (science and math of course) so we haven't seen much of her lately, but let me say that she always lifts my spirits as she brings me my Herceptin cocktail bag on a tray! Luv her too! Treatment. Check

Lastly, Hil and Amber get caught up and swap recent life stories all the while we all ignore the pink-breast-cancer-elephant-in-the-room! And while my veins are being flooded with my cure, this is about the time I doze off and fade into my meds slumber before heading back down the coast to home and bed.

Herceptin #14. Check

Herceptin #13: Lucky 13!

LUCKY 13! That's what I'm calling this one. Full of brightness, sunshine, good friends and love. Doesn't get any better than that. And while 2012 may have been looming over me and my health like a hawk, I still cannot express enough, the gratitude I have for my 'Pac-Man Medicine' munching away in my internal arcade of cells fighting against that Herceptin gene protein with Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde eating away and obliterating the bad guys as they attempt to roam through the maze of my cellular structure. Simply said, I feel victorious with each treatment (insert Pac-Man music here!).

                                           Me, Zeb, Sydney                                            Hil, Me, Zeb, Sydney, Julie-Bunny

Adding to my 'Lucky 13' theme of this treatment were visits from my gal-pals which spread like joy from the chemo room to the cancer center parking lot. While Zeb and Sydney have remained a steady source of inspiration for me as we have all sat in those chemo chairs over the past couple of years, the ongoing support of Hil and Julie-Bunny remains a major cornerstone of these treatments.

So, I pronounce yet again, my thanks and gratitude to Buddha, the Universe and the Herceptin Gods. They really are on my side.

Herceptin #12: All In a Day's Work

Get in, get my 'pacman medicine' - get out! Well, not exactly that quick, but that's pretty much the routine these days. This process still takes a few hours but we're definitely getting this down to a science. I do my 'good intentions' at the beginning of each treatment, pose for my personal chemo room paparazzi (Hil!) and negotiate with the chemo nursing staff to slow down the drip a little so I can fit in that all important snooze towards the end of the treatment that I feel coming on. And hats off to Socorro for doing an awesome job and getting the right vein the first go-round. It's been a little challenging lately to get that infusion needle in there on the first try, but the Vein-Gods were on my side this time. Whew and thank you!

As usual for Hil, she spent much of her time taking photos, getting me warm blankets and pillows and helping out the other patients. She is so great with elderly people and the other patients and it shows. I'm sure the chemo nursing staff would love to put her on payroll as a 'Chemo Room Concierge' as she's quite good at it.

It was such a beautiful day, that after Herceptin treatment #12 and before my next medical appointment, we headed over to our favorite park in Santa Barbara for some R & R, a little photog fun for Hil and just some much-needed time with Mother Nature. She was good to us this day and showed her sunny and warm side during our break at the park. The ducks were adorable, the leaves on the trees glorious and the grass smelled wonderful. As Hil always reminds me, it's the simple things in life that fill us up and we left the park that day with both of our emotional tanks full.

Next stop in our full day was a follow-up appointment with my lovely and wonderful plastic surgeon, Dr. Julio Soares. As standard procedure (ahem!), I wait for he and Hil to finish their camera, lenses and F-stop convo before he takes a peek at his skillful work on me. They are so funny in their all-consuming chit-chat about this subject but I've become quite used to it after a year. Plus, Dr. Soares was leaving the next day for a two-week trip to India and he had some pressing questions about lighting. But past that, he was quite pleased with my progress and finally admitted that my case was one of the hardest to date. But aside from that, we were all pleased with the outcome and I for one, am forever grateful to him for not only his skillful work but his level of sensitivity and care.

Driving home at last after a full and productive day. I cannot say enough how extremely grateful I am for this day, my progress, my medical peeps, Hil's love and care and a beautiful sunset. Life is indeed, good to me.

Herceptin #9: No Monkeying Around!

As Dr. G. said to me a couple of weeks ago, "You have chemo room anxiety. All patients do!" Really, I thought? Not me. I don't think I feel that much anxiety about going in there. But, this morning at 3:00 am proved me wrong. Dang! I don't like that he's right on this one! I mean, even Hil admitted to having the same anxiety about being in there along with the familiar 'chemo smell' that gets to her while we're in the treatment room.

But, early this morning (3:00am to be exact), I was awakened by significant nausea, which, was going nowhere and actually became significantly worse. So, I popped my anti-nausea pill and tried to settle into it and go back to sleep but, my stomach wasn't buying it. Hil went downstairs to get me an applesauce cup so that I could have something in my belly to help and it did the trick thank goodness. As her dietician cousin says, "Nausea needs attention with meds and stomach pain needs food." So, that's what we did, which, definitely helped, but was taking a little longer than I desired.

Hil, now wide awake, spent the next half-hour sitting next to me with her hand on my stomach trying to aid me to sleep. Must have worked, because the next thing I knew, it was 6:00am and the alarm was sounding off.

So, in my usual pre-infusion ways and rituals, I took in lots of water today, went for a long walk, meditated, ate wonderfully, healthy foods and journaled. I also like to keep to myself on these days in order to cultivate the right mindset and framework. It's much too easy to be externally distracted by life's minutiae so my goal is to maintain a certain, yet solid mentality that allows me to have my 'Pac Man Medicine' as my focal point for the day and for my treatment.

As for the Herceptin infusion itself, it went fast and easy once my veins cooperated. Took a couple of tries but eventually my nurse (the fabulous Martha!) found the right one. She kept apologizing that the first several pokes weren't working and I about squeezed Hil's little hand right off, but we got through it and all went well.  I even scored a monkey bandage like I used to get when I had to go in for my post-chemo immune booster shots with Amber. 

As for our time in the chemo room, we spent it as we usually do with Hil going to the 'blanket oven' and bringing me two blankets (and a pillow!) - one for my cold infusion arm and one for my body as it's very chilly in there! And then we settled in... me on my iPad, iPhone and writing some cards while Hil was grabbing some snacks and downloading all those saved up Amazon gift cards on her Kindle (my sister would be so proud of her that it only took 2 months to use them since her birthday)!

So, all in all, Herceptin #9 treatment proved to be just fine and A-OK! Only 8 more months of my marvelous infusions and it's a done deal. In the meantime, I'm aspiring and striving at staying present with myself each minute, hour and day as I forge on with my cure. What choice do I have but to stay as focused as I can and allow this miracle medicine to heal and cure my body. While that's the prize at the end of this trail, I can't help but be reminded that each moment we have is a precious one. As the children's song 'Going on a Bear Hunt' says - Going on a bear hunt! Going on a bear hunt! I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid! Are you? Are you? Not me! Not me!

Flying Solo with Herceptin

Although it's been some time since my last blog entry, cancer, chemo and Herceptin are always on the forefront of my mind. And after finishing 6 rounds of chemo, a bout with bronchitis and now the flu, I remain grateful for all the good medicine that comes my way.

Officially, next Tuesday will mark my 9th treatment total and my 3rd solo Herceptin infusion which takes less than 2 hrs. from my pre-treatment appointment with my oncologist, a chat and check-up with his fab P.A. Amanda, and the dreaded weigh-in. A far cry from the 6 plus hours I used to spend in the cancer center. And although I'm nearly 40 lbs. lighter, I still beg the nurse to skip that part and negotiate at least 2 lbs. less due to clothes and a meal in my belly. She usually gives in and now says, "Okay, minus 2 lbs, that makes....." Thank you Martha!

As for the wonderful support people in my life, I count myself extremely fortunate to have good friends and neighbors helping out along the way. Deb and Sam (my beanie pal across the street) drove me to my first solo Herceptin treatment in August and provided great company to me. Afterwards, we even fit in a quick stop at the beach on the way home to get a whiff of that great ocean air and take in some of those magical negative ions to enhance the mood.

So, even though I have 8 months left of infusions for the 'ol veins to endure, I count my lucky stars that my 'Pac Man Medicine' (my visualization) is doing its thing to implode those cancer cells. So, thank you Herceptin, thank you Dr. Michael Press for discovering this miraculous medicine that's giving me my cure and thank you Cancer Center of Santa Barbara.

Grateful indeed.