Random things

I’ve gotten some questions that I figure I should answer for people.. 

One question I have received is asking how we will know if biochemo and treatment in general is working for me. This is a good question as there isn’t any way to know. My tumor has been removed so there isn’t an active tumor or mass to watch. We are watching a small growth around one of my kidneys but we (the doctors and I) don’t feel it is melanoma but more a lymph node over reacting. But what we are hoping for treatment is that the numerous floating cells they found around 7+ lymph nodes from the dissection will be killed off before they group into a tumor. This is basically the most aggressive treatment we could do for my stage and symptoms. It is really a blind leap of faith hoping it is working as I go through such a harsh treatment regimen. 

Second question I’ve been asked is about my hair. My hair is still going strong and here :) As I have mentioned, the biochemo regimen I am on doesn’t make me completely lose my hair, only thin it. Other bloggers have said their hair changes around day 14, and that is tomorrow so I will keep you posted. I am hoping it doesn’t change much so that I have some long hair for coverage in the summer. If it does drastically change then I plan on cutting it and donating what is left. We shall see!

Another thing being asked is what I am doing to fill my time in between treatments. I truly have had -zero- energy since being home so I don’t do much with my time but relax. I have started to watch a couple Netflix shows and started to catch up on my OnDemand/DVR stuff. I also have been talking with friends and family when I have the energy, or just texting/messaging. I find myself spending a lot of time on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest - so get posting people! I also have passed some hard levels on CandyCrush and SodaCrush, but I’m trying to limit that to a minimum. I also have a large stack of random magazines my friends have sent me. I have not read much though, magazines or books, because it has been hard to focus on such things after treatment. Treatment affects your focus and you get what is called chemo-brain where you just are a little more ditzy is the best I can describe it. There is also a level of amnesia that comes with treatment. For example, there are multiple conversations and messages I have no recollection of. On top of everything listed above, I have been sleeping. Like I said, zero energy. I just went outside for the first time in 5 days yesterday and I may leave the house for a moment tonight, that’s about my entire energy quota for the day. But I am getting better each day, so there is that. 

Those are some of the questions I have gotten, hope this clears some of it up! But, there are no dumb questions about biochemo, it is a weird thing and so different from regular chemo so there are bound to be questions so please ask them! 

One day (question) at a time!