Late but worth the Wait

I'm sorry it has been awhile since my last post. My classes take more work than I had originally anticipated and I haven't been bouncing back from chemo as much as before.

I went down early Thursday, Feb 16 with my aunt Becky to get my lab work taken care of. The wait was a bit longer than usual and the nurse had some trouble getting a blood return. Luckily we had enough time for lunch and enjoyed food from the campus center. I had some yummy pizza and Aunt Becky had a salad. I went to class, two literature classes. We had good discussions and I went over and met Mom for treatment. The port worked fine and we were out of there after no time.

Friday was special because my sister, Katherine, came for a visit. Friday Katherine and I went into Broad Ripple so she could buy new running shoes, she has a big race coming up. Then we all went downtown to meet Dad for dinner at Creation Cafe. Saturday night we had a family game night for the first time in a really long time. The last time we had a family game night we played Trouble when I was quite little and I cried because people kept sending my pieces back to the start. This time we played Clue. Turns out we are missing one weapon piece and two of the character pieces. We still have all the cards though so it still works out. Kim took a gamble and lost out. Mom ended up winning which surprised us all. After we finished the game, I convinced everyone that we should continue on to a family movie night. We watched Clue, the movie and it was a hoot. Watch the trailer here if you have never watched Clue Sunday saw the entire Van Wyk clan at church for a great service led by the youth group at Fairview.

The rest of the week went by without much incident. Turns out everyone was hating one of the books as much as I was. It was a huge relief. Classes went along as before. On Friday I picked my friend Nathan up at the airport to move along to the Megabus. It was great to see him for a few hours. Mom went to Chicago for the weekend with Aunt Becky so Dad and I made tacos for dinner. Saturday Dad and I went to work out together and then went to see a movie. We got free tickets and ate at Johnny Rockets and then watch This Means War. It was a lot of fun. It was a good mix of explosions and covert operatives and pretty men. Sunday was more church. I also picked Nathan up from the Megabus and took him to the airport. I spent the remainder of the weekend reading.

Monday and Tuesday of this week were a bit boring, though Monday morning I got to wake up to two lovely little girls playing in the basement, I think college should get President's Day off as well. Wednesday was not so fun. I went in for a CT scan and that was less than fun. They were doing a contrast so they went through my port- which wasn't numb so that was not comfortable. The scan went well on its own but then I got a heparin shot it is did not go well. The heparin makes me feel a lot of nausea and really crummy so I went home and slept it off.

Today was much better.
Mom, Dad and I met with Dr. Azar and he had some very good news.

Dr. Azar had hoped for at least a 50% reduction in the cancer sites (I'm approx. 66% through chemo) Instead we got - NINETY PERCENT! (Or more... he didn’t want to be toooo optimistic)! He said it could have been a better report. He is feeling that I may not have to have radiation this summer, but isn’t saying it is still a possibility or the cancer could return.

I still have to finish the remaining three rounds of chemo and 4-6 weeks after that have another CT scan and PET scan. Between the two the tests will give Dr. Azar a clear picture of (PET) metabolic activity [i.e. energy] and (CT) shape, size, location if any cancer remains - but who knew what beautiful words these could be

As it stands:
liver is normal
spleen, pancreas, adrenal glands are unremarkable
kidneys are normal
bowel, intestines, uterus, and bladder are normal
abdominal aorta is normal
bones intact
heart is normal, aorta & great vessels are intact
(and great medical lingo here (scrabble players note))
the left supraclavicular lymphadeopathy has also nearly resolved.
previously visualized mass effect upon the SVC and azygos vein has improved with persistent attenuation of the left brachiocephalic vein (I think that’s the left lung)

They had some trouble with the blood drawn for my labs so they gave me a "clot buster" but had to draw my labs from my arm. The clot was cleared in time for chemo so that was great. It took a bit of time to get my drugs but they get them and I was home just before 6. A lovely neighbor brought dinner and dessert. It was very yummy.

Thank you for all your support and prayers. They mean a lot to my family and my self.

Finding Fun

February 2 was chemo number 7 with a meeting with Dr. Azar.  Mom and I met with Dr. Azar, with Dad on speakerphone (ratings & Superbowl meant no day off this time!)  Dr. Azar is very happy with  my answers to his questions and to what he is NOT finding in his physical exams.  I will have a CT scan at the end of the month and Dr. Azar is hopeful that the scan will show more than a 50%  reduction in the size of my lymph nodes.  He doesn't believe that I will need radiation but if I do need radiation it would only be for a month. As a result, I have started to look for housing in Bloomington for next fall. Bloomington is...special when it comes to housing. People start looking and signing in August for the following year. I am currently looking at one bedroom apartments near campus and trying to find friends who need to fill a room.

Chemo itself went well enough, ish. It was delayed because the nurses wanted to double check with Dr. Azar that he was alright with me getting chemo because my white blood cell count is really, really low. He gave the green light but I am supposed to wear a mask out it public. This made church difficult on Sunday because it was my first time having to wear a mask. It is surprisingly uncomfortable, hot and unattractive. I have been wearing masks daily during my classes and it is surprising how much it restricts air flow when I am walking from building to building. On the plus side, it is a great diet tool; as I learned during my cousin's Sweet Superbowl 16, masks cut down on grazing.

Chemo makes me more tired now, as I mentioned before. The weekend after this last one was a bit tough in that regard. Originally, I was supposed to have two tests and two critical response papers due the week after. One test was moved to this Monday because of the Superbowl class cancellation on Monday. One of the papers was moved to this Tuesday because the prof had not returned the previous paper and she wanted us to know how we had done before we turned in another. I don't know what I would have done with all of those things to do.  Sleep is great and the easiest way to fight being tired but when work needs to be done, it is hard to shut off my brain and sense of responsibility to my academics. I have been cleared for some light exercise so I am going to try to find time to work that into my routine.

I got my hair cut. No new purple though, trying to decide if my hair would hold the color. Currently my hair is 3 different colors (has a bit of an interesting look to it) and 6 different textures (yay chemo!). 

This past weekend was awesome. I went down to Bloomington to see my friends and had a great time. I was able to see people I hadn't seen during my first trip and eat places I hadn't as well. My friend Hanna celebrated her 21st birthday with a party and trip to the bars, don't worry, I stayed out of the germ-filled bars, though Bloomington is more cancer-patient friendly than Indianapolis, all of the bars are smoke free so I could go in them if I wanted, whereas I can't really in Indy. It was also the annual Viennese Ball at Collins LLC (where I lived my first two years on campus and helped to plan those years). We looked mighty fine. More pictures available here! 

This week has been rather unexciting since returning from Bloomington. I got my test back from one of my classes- 98%. I took a test and wrote a paper. I also gave out Valentines to my Tuesday classes, I am so sweet ya know. More class tomorrow. Thursday I go in early for my blood draw, followed by chemo #8.

And now I go to bed.

Sleep sweet.

Halfway There with Hair

My last chemo appointment marked the halfway point for my chemo treatments. Six down and six to go.

This was my first chemo since starting class at IUPUI. My good friend Deb took me down early to get my blood drawn to try and speed up the process for later in the day. Then she took me to lunch at the Campus Center, the cheese pizza was surprisingly yummy. Then I went off to class. The first one went well enough except that my port had been accessed and I had a needle in my chest connected to a length of tubing. It was quite uncomfortable. My next class was alright, we had read a short story for the day involving a guy with cancer ("The Pura Principle" by Junot Diaz) and it didn't sit well with me. Due to having chemo that day, I was a bit on edge and while trying to explain my dislike of the story and pretty much all of the characters in it, prefaced by saying I was a cancer patient, I started crying while trying to make my point. For those of you who know me, you know I hate to cry for no reason- if I am bleeding for instance, I am fine with crying, but a story isn't a very good one, so that was a bunch of fun. After class I went to meet Mom and our friend Christine for chemo. Because I had had mouth sores for the previous two weeks, the nurses decided not to order my drugs until they had a chance to talk to me about how bad they were. We worked out that the sores were manageable and fading so they ordered the drugs. We had a nice time while there though the person one booth down from me was listening to the tv at an annoying volume. After chemo we came home to a yummy dinner of ranch chicken and noodles and homemade rolls from Sandy. It was very yummy.

Chemo this time around was more tiring that previous treatments. I think this is because of the amount of activity I have taken up since that last. I am going to class four days a week for 12 hours and am using my brain a lot more than before. It has been nearly two weeks since my last chemo and I still feel a bit drained.

Since chemo, though, I have been busy. There is school- yay! I also put in a few hours at work with Mom and done some babysitting- money! (I definitely work for the money and it is a nice part of babysitting but I enjoy the kids' company and antics as well.) Last night Mom, Dad and I went down to the Super Bowl Village and had a good time. We parked for $0.50 at a meter near the Statehouse and got pizza for $8. It was the cheapest night we have had in awhile. We also got to see the Village People concert for free. (And I got to yell at a drunk guy trying to dance but running into the people around him, the yellow jackets removed him a short time later. It is one thing I hadn't realized that I missed from Bloomington parties, I really enjoy telling drunk guys that they are being stupid.)

Not much else in going on. It feels as if my hair is getting thinner by the day, I find it on my pillow and shedding on my clothes and whenever I run my hands through my hair (which happens a lot when you are thinking about your head). I'm not ready to shave it though. I tried on a wing I got for free and accept that I have been walking around with purple hair for the last few months, it could be my length (had I not gotten the messy bob) and color. As it turns out, purple hair doesn't really work with a transition to wig. Maybe if I had thought to start wearing it when I started classes but I think it would be quite noticeable now, not to mention confusing to some of the teachers that take attendance. As I am filling out internship and job applications, I think I might wear it to interviews but we shall see where things go. The future will come with whatever it wants, I just have to wait and see what it brings, like a church pitch-in.

Uncommon Cancer Patient

It's nearly my next and I've yet to tell you about my last.

So...two weeks ago I had chemo #4. We (Mom, Dad and I) went down early to buy a parking permit for IUPUI so that I can park closer to my classes and not be constantly out of breath. Time was running out at the permit office so Dad stayed to acquire the permit for me and Mom and I went up to get checked in. We met with my doctor after a bit of difficulty with my blood draw, someone didn't notice that I had a port so the first nurse that took me back couldn't do it and my name may or may not have been passed on to the port-drawing nurse. My doctor said everything is looking good. He did say that I won't know that I will keep my hair until I finish treatment and still have my hair, though the longer I keep it the better my chances. If by some chance you were wanting to shave your head with me, don't wait, shave it if that was your plan all along or keep it.

We went over for the actual chemo portion. My friend Tommy joined us. Mom went home after a bit but Dad stayed around giving the nurses a hard time in the way that he does so well. The chemo went well enough though a bit slow- I think I have said this multiple times.

The rest of the evening passed without much incident. I rested and then ate a yummy dinner and watched Bones and went back to bed. Good night.

The next morning was coffee group, a group of Mom's friends that started in our old neighborhood over 18 years ago. More yummy food and good conversation. When my aunt Becky got ready to leave, she mentioned that the family was going tobogganing over the weekend. I convinced her to take me with them. It was awesome. There were 13 of us. We went tobogganing, walked around the park, did puzzles, played some games and ate more good food.

Really "fun" puzzle with my cousin Emily, though it was a group effort.

The whole gang, aren't we good looking.

Then I started classes on Monday. Yay! I am taking four classes, four days a week with two on each day. It works out nicely except that I have two literature classes on the same day. Lots of reading, but it could be much, much worse.

Since there was a three-day weekend, I decided to go down to Bloomington to see people down there. It was a great time. I was able to see friends that I met in Bloomington, my cousin who just moved down there and a friend I met in London. I didn't get to see everyone but it was really nice to see the ones that I did and there is plenty of time to go back.

Tuesday was back to class (grr Huck Finn). Which bring me to today. Yay! You are all caught up. Doesn't that feel good. You may have noticed that this covers two weeks which mean, you guessed it, I have chemo tomorrow. I will give you a bit of a preview since I have a feeling I will run late on my next post as well.

Our good friend Debra is taking me to campus early to get my blood drawn. Then we will grab lunch. Then I get to go to both of my classes. Then I will meet Mom and our friend Christine for the actual chemo.
Fun Fun Fun.

The End, for now

Busy Busy

Well, once again I have fallen behind in keeping you wonderful people updated with the wondrous thing that is my life...well, life anyway.

December 19 held another chemo. Pam M went to chemo with Mom and I. Once again, the blood work order wasn't logged in the system so that added a bit of time to the process. I was rather tired this time around during the treatment but I think that had more to do with the fact that it was 8:30 in the morning rather than having cancer. I like my sleep to last until at least 9. Once we got my blood tests done and the results arrived, we were cleared for take-off though the nurse commented that my white blood cell count was low and to take it easy with crowds and coming in contact with lots of people during days 7-10 (Christmas Eve and Christmas day, staying away from people would be so easy). We went through chemo without a hitch and we were home after only 4 hours, I think. We did stop for lunch and I got my Jag Tag for IUPUI classes in January. After we got home, I slept until 4:30 and had a bit of a freak out when I woke-up. I thought it was 4:30 in the morning and really confused for awhile, and then I used my brain and noticed that it was still light outside.

I look tired

The rest of the week was interesting. Grandpa had some dizziness problems and went to the hospital for a few days. He was home later in the week and is better but not perfect. My older sister Katherine came home Friday for the festivities. On Saturday we all got dressed up and host Christmas Eve dinner with the grandparents, my uncle, my great uncle and my cousin. It was yummy. We always have Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner from Schwan's ( we love them). It was then dash away to church for the carols and message Christmas Eve service where the five of us plus my cousin lit the Christ candle for advent. I was the one lighting and almost took off my cousin's head with the end of the acolyte stick thing, it was longer than I had anticipated and the candles were tall and I am not (though with my beautiful red suede 3.5in pumps, I wasn't too short). I spent the service in the balcony with my cousin and uncle, trying to minimize contact with the crowd. It was enjoyable to sit up there because in front of us was a family I used to babysit for (cancer has gotten in the way of that because I can't hold babies while they are at the squirmy age and I'm not supposed to pick up toddlers). They were cute. After the service ended with a candle-lit "Silent Night", I stayed in the balcony while the sanctuary thinned a bit before going down to wish our friends a "Happy Christmas" (the British saying of "Happy Christmas" appeals to me for some reason, I don't know why but I almost feel as if being happy is a more genuine feeling than being merry, it is easier to relate to anyway. I don't know when I have ever thought to myself, "I feel merry right now", but I digress). We left church to go up to my grandmother's house for dessert. She made yummy sugar cookies with homemade icing and little sugar candy canes. Then it was home and bed.

Oh Christmas day! Mom and Dad went to church, because they are good people whereas my sisters and I just like to sleep. Katherine went for a run and while she cleaned up, I baked breakfast. We had cinnamon coffee cake, lemon poppy seed muffins, blueberry muffins and scrambled eggs with prosciutto and smoked cheese. We then opened presents. I am a fan of coordinated wrapping paper for each receiving member of the family. My paper was of blue ornaments. We finished and got ready for Christmas #2. We went to my aunt and uncle's house for Christmas with the Henns and "lunch". After presents and dessert, we went around the corner for Christmas #3 at my uncle's house for the Van Wyk festivities. We opened gifts and ate "dinner" and a second helping of dessert before somehow convincing everyone, even though half of the group hadn't seen the previous one, to watch Harry Potter 7 part 2. It was great. Then home and to bed.

I have no idea how I have filled the last three days but I assure you that I have done things...I think. If nothing else, it is Winter break, though this is the extended edition of Fall break for me. I have a few parties ahead and chemo a week from Thursday.

To all of you reading this: I hope you had a happy and/or merry holiday and I wish you a Happy New Year, 2012 had better be better. I know it will.

PS: You can find a blurb about the Purple Hair Party on page 13 of the Broad Ripple Gazette. Additional pictures can be found HERE.

Support

This blog entry is dedicated to those that have given words of encouragement, signs of support, thoughts, prayers, food and dyed their hair purple. Your support means the world to me.

Now, let's see, what has happened since I updated you all. The second weeks after my last chemo went by without much incident. I went to work at two different jobs. I went to the circus with Mom and Dad. At the circus we saw one of Dad's coworkers and his sons. As I have a rather purple head, I am quite recognizable and I heard one of the sons ask his father if I was the girl they had been praying for. It felt really nice. And the circus itself was super cool, though the $12 cotton candy with commemorative hat was not cool at all, even playing the cancer card to Mom and Dad didn't work. There was also a very nice Christmas/holiday party that weekend.

Of course the big event of the week was the "Kicking Cancer with Kelsey Purple Party" at Broad Ripple Hair Design (Broad Ripple Hair Design and check out their Facebook). They are the greatest people at Broad Ripple Hair Design. The salon was decorated with purple streamers and purple balloons and there was a sandwich board outside welcoming everyone to "Kicking Cancer with Kelsey". We had purple food: boysenberry jelly beans, grape soda, sparkling grape juice, grape gumballs, purple gummies, blueberry yogurt covered pretzels, "blue" corn chips, purple m&ms, and much more. Over the course of the afternoon and into the evening, we had 29 people get a purple streak in their hair. There were 3rd graders and high schoolers. There were parents and grandparents (no, none of my grandparents got a purple streak but that is totally ok). But most of all, they are all friends and family (not to sound sappy or sentimental or anything but it is entirely true).

Check out these great photos. Because there are so many photos I want to share with you, I am directing you to my Facebook album: Purple Hair Party

You might have seen me on the 6:00pm Channel 13 newscast that night or the next morning. Unfortunately, the video isn't online anymore.

Monday December 5, I had my 3rd chemo treatment. I met with my Doctor (and Mom and Dad) before treatment and when he felt my lymph nodes, the sounded very positive. It was also my first time using the port for my blood draw and chemo. I didn't put the numbing lotion on properly but it wasn't too bad being stuck with the needle. Our friend Becky sat with Mom and I during chemo and Dad went home. Everything went very well but again, we were there for 4 hours. I took naps the days after but it was less sleeping than compared with the previous chemos and even less meds. Friends did come to stay with me those two days, Christine and Cynnie.

Nothing else exciting has been going on, though, in the "Positives to coming home from London early because I have cancer" column I have added "Going to various Christmas open houses". If you didn't know, "Watching the season premier of Bones (and subsequent episodes) on a real TV" is also on that list. I like to find the perks in life, and if you have spent much time with me around a television, especially Thursday night, you know I like my Bones episodes, and NCIS for that matter. Don't stand between me and my shows.

That is all for now. I will try to be better about writing more but I just restarted the Harry Potter books so I have that going on, and I am supposed to be cleaning my room but that has been going on for about a week... Anyway...ttfn.

2 of 12

Another week, another chemo.

But before I had chemo, Katherine came home for a visit. It was really nice to see her and spend time with her. We went shopping, she cooked and we just generally spent time together. (She also got to see her other Indy friends and Butler people.) The five of us even went to church together, though it id take three cars. It was a good time all around.

Aren't we pretty?

This week was my second chemo treatment. It was another very long day, though for different reasons this time around.

We (me, Mom and our friend Wendy) had to be at IU Hospital at 7 on Wednesday. (I really dislike mornings, especially when it isn't for something fun.) We were at IU Hospital for my surgery to have a port "installed". A port is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin. A catheter connects the port to a vein. Under the skin, the port has a septum through which drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn may times, usually with less discomfort and difficulty than a regular needle stick. The surgery wasn't bad, from my point of view anyway- you will have to ask Mom how it was in the waiting area. They used conscious sedation but I am pretty sure I fell asleep, though there is also an amnesia drug used as well. In recovery I learned that I don't take even conscious sedation well and I felt sick to my stomach for longer than anticipated but everything stayed down (not that there was anything to come up since I hadn't eaten for about 12 hours). Then came lunch (happy time! contrary to popular belief, I like food).

We walked over to the IUPUI Student Center to eat in the food court. I had fried ravioli and some french fries, it was all very yummy. We ran into Dad, he was doing a story on something and shooting it in the student center.

Then we went to the IU Cancer Center for chemo. They took a blood sample through the port and we waited for the results. The results and drugs arrived around 3, by which time Dad had gotten off work and joined us. The administration of the drugs went quickly and without problem.

Check out the sign Dad made for the car 

and the awesome shoes my cousin Kristen made 

(completely cover in glitter- inside and out).

Not the most flattering shot but you can't always looks amazing.

Mom, Dad and I came home. I slept, they ate and then I woke up and ate.

All in all this treatment went better than the first and the first went well to begin with. Thursday and Friday I slept less than I had before, I'm not sure if I was less tired or if I was less motivated to sleep. I've been running errands with Mom, cleaning my room (I know, I know, you thought that never happened, however, it is an ongoing process) and being social. The port and the incisions from the installation are quite uncomfortable. I am getting tired of wearing button-up shirts, I can't really lift my arms to put on a pull over shirt. My ribs don't hurt as much which is very nice but I am still having some back pain. Given the problems I could be having, I don't have anything to complain about.

I don't have chemo again until Dec 5, nearly three weeks. There will probably be an update before then. In the time between I am looking forward to a hair cut (not a shave, but something fun and different and shorter), Thanksgiving, a week of doing whatever I want and another Purple Party (there are still spaces available, let me know asap if you are interested).