Plugging along

Yesterday I had my last dose of the Adriamycin/Cytoxin chemo.  This is the heavy duty chemo that really knocks you on your arse, so I am glad I am through with that.  In two more weeks I'll be starting up with 12 weeks of Taxol, which I have been told is the "lighter" chemo.  I hope it is, because I have been through the wringer with this other stuff. 

Finally got all my Christmas decorations down last weekend. It took me two days and several breaks for me to get it all done, but my house is back to normal.  As much as I enjoy decorating for Christmas, it starts to become too much for even me.

I'm heading back to Green Bay on Tuesday of next week to have my eye looked at again.  I had an MRI done on Monday to see if there way any way to see if there was more going on with the lesion in my eyeball than what Dr. Shere can see with his exams.  Dr. Siemers did get copies of the MRI reports, and he said as far as he could tell they looked normal, but I don't think he really went over them that close since he didn't order them, so I will get more details nest week.  I am hoping that Dr. Shere will say I don't have to dilate my eye any more, because it's a real p.i.t.a.  I am pretty sure the inflammation of the uvea has cleared up.  I went without the dilating drops for one day so I could tell if the gray cloud was gone, which is seemed to be.  It was hard to tell if the cloud was gone with my eye dilated because my vision is all distorted from it.  So that is an improvement, which I do hope means I can stop taking the dilating drops. 

I've been off work since Wednesday of last week because I found out I was neutropenic again.  So I basically became a shut-in.  Stay away from people, and no work.   I hate that I have missed so much work because I was really hoping to be able to work as much as possible during my treatments.  I have been using intermittent FMLA but because I have exhausted my PTO/EIB, I don't get paid for those days missed.  So I have not been getting full paychecks, which hasn't been too much of an issue yet.  I need a regular income, though, so I have been thinking about applying for short term disability, which would pay 66% of my total income.  There is the chance that with this next round of chemo, I might be more able to work, which would be great.  However, I still wouldn't be able to get my full FTE in. So I am not sure what the better option would be....pass up the short term and hope that this chemo will allow me to work without too much issue, or take the Short Term Disability for as long as I can.  I need to make up my mind soon, though.  My FMLA runs out soon and that brings up a whole bunch of new headaches.

I am hoping that these next 12 treatments go by quickly.  I am ready to be done so I can focus on bigger and better things.  I'm getting tired of my cancer being the main focus, you know?