One of the symptoms I was warned about was general itchiness post Taxol. Oh, yeah.... Some of it is due to dry skin and goes down with an application of lotion, but there must be a chemo-detox factor to it as well. There's a bit of contact dermatitis-looking rashiness as well as just itching with no visible reason. Very annoying. I'm drinking lots of water and have been meaning to without success get to the Y and sit in the sauna. Need to do some exercise to work up a sweat too; maybe I'll have a cancellation at work tomorrow.
Right now there is a tornado warning for the part of the state south of us. The weather man on channel 2 is naming off towns-Hoodoo, Hard Scrabble, Stringtown, Gassaway, Bug Scuffle, Defeated-the names are so great, it distracts from the severity of the situation. Right here in Nashville at the moment, all is calm, just wet.
I've been tired. Really tired a lot of the time this week. That too, I think, is a function of chemo detox, and probably a little bit because I finished chemo and immediately went into a super busy schedule of hanging out with my folks, then having a longer work schedule this past week as well as doctors appointments, and lots of general catching up to do. I've been trying to respect the fatigue, to rest well and sleep long and hard on the weekend. Spent the morning today sitting on the back porch with a book and a cup of weekly coffee; a treat and a very peaceful way to kick off the day off.
One of the things I've been learning about triple negative breast cancer is that it is thought to be responsive to insulin levels; it's suggested to keep them low and consistent. So I'm thinking about getting a nutritional certification of some sort myself, and in the meantime, visiting a nutritionist who can help me with a low fat, low carb, alkaline diet. I have no trouble with the concept of focusing on eating my fruits and veggies, but in what combination and proportions, that's a question I'm not quite able to answer at the moment. And I don't think I've ever had a fasting blood sugar level taken, nor a fasting cholesterol, so I will email my doctor and ask for this.
There is a clinical trial coming up of a drug called Metformin, used mainly to treat type 2 diabetes, testing as to whether it is useful for improving the long term prognosis for breast cancer patients. I expect to be asked to participate in it. I'm not sure about doing that-it sounds like I would really like to get the drug, and I'm not sure how I feel about taking the drug twice a day for 5 years without knowing if I've really gotten the goods or a sugar pill. This one will never be un-blinded; I would never know what I actually got. I don't feel good about that as I just think about it in advance here, but I suppose I may change my thinking as I learn more.
Today's symptoms:
Dizziness-every time I bent down today, I felt lightheaded upon standing up. Skipped yoga today because of it.
Itchiness-all over, not constant but consistent. Annoying.
Mouth pain-3/10, right side of tongue
Swallowing-pretty good.
Nose bleeds-diminishing; no major bleeding today!
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