Chemo is working!

This week, I received several gifts of love and friendship. I got a package in the mail from a friend from high school that had several breast cancer pendants in it that she made. What a neat, fun gift! Thanks, Amy! Another day, I had some friends bring lunch and join the kids and I for sandwiches on our back deck. It was great to visit and catch up. Thank you, Clark family! That same night we had dinner delivered by some family friends. Thank you, Rozeks! I continue to receive lots of cards and emails, all of which are very much appreciated! Some days, I will go through and re-read all the cards I have received and I am overwhelmed at the number of people that are praying and sending their love.

We went and picked my wig up this week too. Another gift...my Mom paid for all of my hair needs (hats, wigs, accessories, etc) Thanks, Mom! :) We picked all this up none too soon. Yesterday my hair started falling out when I ran my fingers through my hair. Within a few hours, I had quite a collection of hair in the trash can. This morning there was quite a bit more when I washed my hair. Enough hair has fallen out now that there are some spots of really thin areas revealing my scalp in different places on my head. I would be lying if I said it wasn't a really strange feeling combing or running my fingers through my hair and getting clumps coming out. However, I am going to look at it as the chemo doing its job. If the chemo is killing my good hair cells, it MUST be shrinking that nasty tumor. And besides, what better time to tell the kids I am going to pull my hair out if they keep bickering....and really mean it! LOL :)

All in all, things are going well. I have had some pain in my left arm and upper back in the area where the nodes were removed. This is something that will occur some as when the lymph nodes are disrupted, it changes the flow of things and causes a condition called lymphedema. Hopefully these times will be few and far between. The pain ranges from minor inconvenience to a sharp surge that feels like that spot is on fire. I will eventually figure out how best to deal with this, so I'm not too concerned about it right now as long as my day to day life can be pretty normal. Otherwise, I feel great!

Thanks to everyone who made the week a little brighter, and to those who just read the blog to stay updated. I appreciate everyone of you so much!