Back Home

I finished my treatment this afternoon, received my last 2 injections and my mom and I left the hospital a little after 2 pm. We stopped for a nice, late lunch on the way home and then I pretty much crashed on the sofa when we arrived at my house. I'll be recovering at home for the next several days with the help of family and friends.
Love,
Erica

Round 5 Day 3

Well, I'm hanging in here. I had a shower this morning and then a very sleepy morning. I think the medications made me quite drowsy. I was able to wake up a bit this afternoon and went for another walk on the treadmill for about 30 minutes. I'm feeling a bit tired again, but otherwise day 3 has been rather uneventful.
Erica

Round 5 Day 1 completed

One day down and I'm getting ready for the next treatment with my prehydration. Amidst N V and D, I also did a lot of sleeping yesterday... This morning Christian and I woke up early and I was able to get on the treadmill for about 24 minutes, while I'm still feeling ok.
4 more days to go...
Erica

Beginning Round 5

Well, I didn't make it to the hospital yesterday...however, I just received word that there is a bed available today, so I'll be heading up to Johns Hopkins shortly to begin round 5.
Erica

Still on hold

No beds were available today, so I'm still waiting at home. The good thing is that I get to feel well for another day. Perhaps I'll be heading up to Baltimore tomorrow. We'll see...
Erica

Hopeful for tomorrow

Just wanted to send out a quick note to let everyone know that I got bumped today. Hopefully I'll be able to get in tomorrow.
I'll let you know...
Erica

Gearing Up for Round 5

Just wanted to let everyone know that I had a great weekend celebrating my news and spending quality time with family. I am gearing myself up for my return to the hospital tomorrow.
I saw my doctor today and he was so pleased with the results I've had from treatment. We're going to maximize the benefits of the biochemotherapy by doing two more rounds and then repeat scans of my liver. I am supposed to have a surgical consult sometime in the very near future...perhaps during my hospital stay if possible. Because the tumors are all on one side of my liver, it seems that surgery may be a plausible option. Obviously, the smaller the tumors, the less liver that has to be cut out. It's still a waiting game at this point, but it seems that we're on the right track. Considering I had about a 40 percent chance that there would be some shrinkage of my tumors when we initially started treatment, I am really feeling positive and encouraged by the most recent results.
Again, thanks for your continued encouragement and support. It's so wonderful to know that I have so many people out there routing and praying for me.
I'll let you know if I get a hospital room tomorrow.
Love,
Erica

Great News!!!

I haven't been this excited or felt this good in a long time. My doctor called me this afternoon to tell me that the tumors in my liver are getting smaller!!! They are shrinking!!! I wasn't expecting to get the results until Monday, so it was a very unexpected surprise. I'm going to have to do some celebrating. I am so happy to be able to share this news with everyone!
My brother Todd and his family are all coming up tonight for a weekend visit and I am looking forward to spending lots of time with them. Christian and I are going to host a Father's Day BBQ at our house with my family and his family. It should be lots of fun!
I am still scheduled to see Dr. Sharfman (my oncologist) on Monday afternoon and then he wants me to begin Round #5 of biochemotherapy on Tuesday pending bed availability in the hospital. I will do at least one more round after that and then probably more scans.
It makes it a little easier to go back to the hospital knowing that the treatment is working.
I went into work for a few hours yesterday afternoon and as always it was great to treat patients and to have the energy to do it. I went to pick up my new wig right before work and decided to go ahead and wear it for the rest of the afternoon. It was definitely a different feeling, but kind of fun!
I'll try to get some pictures taken this weekend, so everyone can see.
Have a great weekend and feel free to join me in celebrating my good news!
Love,
Erica

Monday Update

Christian and I had a nice weekend spending time with friends and family. We were able to do a little gardening on Saturday. Though I am feeling better, Christian did most of the work. I get pretty tired in the heat and squatting and kneeling are surprisingly difficult activities. I do hope to be able to get a little more done this week...

On Wednesday, I will go up to Johns Hopkins Hospital to have another CT scan done and then I will return to see Dr. Sharfman on Monday the 18th for the results and to see what's next. We're hoping that I will continue with 2 more rounds of treatment because that means the tumors are shrinking. Kind of a strange thing to be hopeful for...

My hair has been continuing to thin, so I went last Thursday and got a very short cut. It is much easier to deal with and feels much better. Though my hair is very thin (it feels like baby hair), the short cut seems to work for now... I just have to make sure to keep my head covered if I'm outside for any length of time. I also went to the Positive Reflections Center at Fairfax Hospital and had a wig consultation. I decided to go ahead and get a wig, not knowing what will happen with my hair. I decided that it would be nice to have options and maybe fun to have a different kind of look. We'll see...

Thanks for continuing to check my blog and for thinking of me.
Love,
Erica

Recovery Week

Well, I've been spending the last week at home recovering...It always seems to take me about a week to get back on track. I am regaining my energy and my appetite. It is a little boring being at home so much, but as I feel better, I'll be able to get out and do more.
I'm waiting to find out what happens next...
Will keep you posted as I know more.
Erica

Chemo Schmemo

The past couple days since I returned home from the hospital have been a little rough... I really haven't bee able to keep anything down. I'm hoping for much better success with that today. I seem to be feeling a little better this morning!
Erica