I slept okay last night. I kept having to get up to use the bathroom. They pump so many fluids into my body through the whole infusion process that I am constantly having to empty my bladder. Plus I am trying to up my fluid intake so I can try and be proactive in combatting the constipation issues this time around. I feel pretty good so far this morning. It's just taking me a while to get the girls taken care of so I can finally get myself in the shower!

I got a call from my oncology team nurse this morning. (BTW - her name is Stephanie too. I have had several nurses through this whole process that have been named Stephanie. It's been kind of weird.). Anyway, Stephanie called to give me my results from my latest CA-125 test which they did as part of my lab work yesterday. She said that the day before my first chemo treatment the number had jumped up to about 6200 (my initial test number was 5700) and yesterday my reading was 2227! She said that that was a very significant drop after just one chemo treatment and the whole team is very pleased with how well I appear to be responding to the chemo!

Side effects: We discussed my side effects yesterday and what I can do to try and minimize them after my second chemo treatment. My biggest problem last time was the constipation so we discussed starting taking the Senokot right away starting the day of my chemo. So I took some last night before bed. My next biggest side effect has been some tingling and loss of some feeling in my feet. The chemo drugs can affect the nerves and cause peripheral neuropathy. Right now it is not too severe, but it is something that I need to monitor. It kind of came and went off and on with my last treatment and was almost completely gone by yesterday. The nurse practitioner suggested I take some Vitamin B6 and possibly try an arthritis cream that has jalapenos in it and is supposed to help with the circulation and help warm up the feet. So far I haven't noticed it affecting my hands at all so I will keep my fingers crossed! I don't think there is much they can do for the chemo brain side effect - just rest. I was told that having a period after my first shot to shut down my ovaries is normal. Hopefully that will be the last one I will have to deal with. It is a shot that I will be getting monthly though until my surgery takes place.

Wow I lost a ton of hair today in the shower! I have a very obvious bald spot in the very front of my head. I think I will wear a hat if I go out at all today... I'm not quite ready to shave my head yet, but getting close to it. I'm not very excited about losing my hair, even though I am resigned to the fact that it is going to happen. That is one of the most obvious signs that a woman has cancer and is going through chemotherapy. Men have it easier because it is not uncommon to see bald men. Women on the other hand is a different story. My big concern is that I just want to lo normal and not stand out. I don't want to look sick even if I am. I'm getting a fairly big headache right now. I'm not sure if it is because of the chemo or my neck kind of hurting today. I got my new pillow from UPS today so hopefully that will improve my sleep at night.

DH stayed home today for a dentist appointment and then spent the remainder of the day working in the yard. I was feeling well enough that I took the elementary school kids to their parent/teacher conferences while DH cleaned up the yard work he had been working on. I wore one of my new hats that I had ordered and I thought it looked pretty cute, especially since I still have some hair underneath it. After I got back DH drove me out to the hospital to see my sister and her new baby - such a tiny, cute thing! I took some Tylenol for my headache and it finally kicked in just before we got to the hospital. After we got back home it took a little while to get the house cleaned up a bit and the kids off to bed.

Don't have much of an appetite today. I've had to force some food down just so I can have something in my stomach so I don't get nauseous. I hope I can get a good night's rest tonight!