I finished my last chemotherapy and then spent most of the last week in bed sick from the chemo and exhaustion. My bones hurt a lot this time and my legs have been weak and giving out on me. The pink eye I had during the Christmas season came back in both eyes, just as my doctor said it would. When your body is put into a weakened state (this chemo has brought my immunity down to zero), any recent or long term infections and weaknesses can easily come back.

This cycle I also experienced the next set of side effects.

My nails have started to fall off. Both thumb nails and one finger nail fell off the other day and all of the other nails are showing signs that they will soon come off. My toe nails are also showing that they will eventually fall off, and I hope I won’t have a lot of pain when they do. There is a lot of tenderness on the ends of the fingers where there is no protection from a fingernail, but this loss is not permanent. The nails will fully grow back in time. After spending so long in bed, I feel like I am finally on the mend and this time there won’t be another cycle to knock me back down. Yahoo!

I received a call from my surgeon and he is still not wanting to take out the lymph nodes that my oncologist has asked him to remove. So in order for the doctors to make a fully informed decision, my surgeon sent me for a CT scan yesterday. The scan will show any difference in the lymph nodes from the previous scan that was taken 6 months ago before I started chemo. If the lymph nodes are the same size as the previous scan, then this would indicate that there was no cancer in them previously. If the chemotherapy has made them demonstratively smaller, then they should be removed. My surgeon also told me that the oncologists at the Kelowna hospital would be holding a conference session to discuss my case and make a decision. I pray for wisdom for these doctors as well as a good outcome from the CT scan.

I am reminded daily that all of the symptoms that I am experiencing, will go away in time. There is an end in view. I am finally on the mend after the last chemotherapy, and there is no more being knocked down by these poisonous drugs.

Thank you for your prayers for my healing as I go onto the next phase. My surgery is scheduled for February 11th, and by the end of February I will know if radiation is needed. I will praise God in whatever state I find myself, but in my humanity I sincerely desire to stay away from any treatment that would take away my ability to function.