Very sleepy and feeling weak today so not much of a blog.

I have NOT been on my email or facebook so I've asked my son Paul to close my personal email and FB pages so will not be replying to messages. Please don't be offended by my lack of response to electronic messages (I'm dictating this to Glenda who is getting very tired and being very patient and I love her! *note: I love you too Julie - Glenda*

I'm having lots of good moments and making memories. Graham spends as much time with me as possible and we continue to share laughter together. I am restricting visitors to family only depending on how I'm feeling on that particular day so please don't be offended if you stop by and the nurses say it's not a good time. Know that I appreciate each and every one of you. Supper time! I'm hungry and that's always a good thing....

January 3, 2011

I MADE IT TO 2011!!! Happy New Year to everyone! Sorry I haven't been blogging regularly but I made it to 2011!

I now have seven items on my bucket list completed and two items well on the way to being completed. I cannot express in words how overwhelmed I have been by the amount of love that has been pouring in to me from all directions. A special thanks to the Valley Women's Network (and Caroline Huston along with her 10 year old grandson Dyllan Spencer who SHAVED THEIR HEADS IN DECEMBER!) - this wonderful group raised funds to buy copies of our book to donate to cancer patients!

My health has deteriorated in the past couple of weeks and I have been sleeping for longer periods. This is why many times I have only been able to have family visitors. We have been focusing on enjoying the good moments and not wasting time on worrying what tomorrow may bring. We brought in the English New Year (at 4:00pm Vancouver time). Graham, Paul, Mel, Abby and I celebrated with a glass of sparkling apple juice and ate Purdy's chocolates. It was awesome. Tonight Graham cooked a Sheperds Pie dinner - it was soooo goooooood! Funny how ordinary stuff can be so special when you are living one day at a time. Life these days seems to be more concentrated (and sometimes more constipated!). I still have "miracle cure" on my bucket list and will continue to keep that "miracle window" open - every day that I am still here is a mini-miracle of a cure for today.

Today I'm still weak but not as tired. I am planning to spend Christmas weekend at
home with Graham. Tonight we will have Christmas Eve dinner with Paul, Mel, and Abby
followed by Christmas breakfast at their house on the 25th. I'm coming back to the
Hospice Centre on Boxing Day. Although Hospice has been wonderful I'm looking
forward to the comforts of home over the holidays. 

 December 23, 2010

My energy has been low today mostly because I was overtired from yesterday. I had
non-stop visitors who kindly avoided visiting on my birthday but then everyone
visited yesterday (the 22nd) instead. The whole day was a bit of a blur with 11
groups of visitors and several birthday phone calls. Luckily the nurses stepped in
when they saw how tired I was and they do a wonderful job of making sure I get my
rest. I would like to thank everyone for their loving care and good wishes for my
birthday and apologize if you weren't able to visit when I was too tired. 

 December 21st, my birthday, possibly my last birthday. Somehow that last statement can't be real. Can I really be enjoying my last birthday? It feels like I have way more life in me yet but the swollen belly I have can't be overlooked. Is it the cancer in there? Is it the fluid in there? Is it the steroids that I'm on? So, here I am - not living in the moment - right now I should be looking forward to dinner with all my family. Who cares what size my belly is? Who cares what is happening with the cancer? The swollen belly is not a new symptom; I have a lovely outfit on that hides the bulge; I feel beautiful and well dressed.

Today we finished all the little bits of things we could do to get ready for Christmas. We have done quite well all things considered. Only just a month ago I was hoping to get to see another birthday and Christmas and here I am looking forward to birthday and Christmas Eve dinners followed by breakfast on Christmas day with Graham, Paul, Mel and Abby. I'm sitting in the Hospice room right now waiting for Graham to pick up the kids and then me. I just need to get my pain medication and then I'm ready to go. I'm hungry and looking forward to the good food. That in itself is wonderful considering how much I have struggled to eat over the past year. The cancer and the chemo has taken such a toll on my body - more than I realized. I feel that I'm part of an experiment now - just waiting to see what the cancer will do next without the chemo. How much of my ill health over the past year has been due to the cancer and how much has been due to the chemo? I suppose I'll get some answers now.

The book promotions for the past week have been overwhelming but wonderful. However, it's now time for birthday dinner. I know it's going to be a great family memory!

My stay overnight went well but as I expected it was a very emotional time for me with lots of smiling but a few tears. A time of happiness at being home and a time of sadness at how that home time will be limited. It has been over 6 weeks since I was admitted to hospital and I have been in hospice for 4 weeks now. My home was so warm and inviting and to sleep in my own bed was heaven. I cried as I sat looking at our wonderful view of the mountains from our living room window. So many times since moving into our home I have said that I would never tire of looking at that view. I smiled as I saw all the loving care that Graham has put into keeping our home so spic and span and ready for me to come home. I laughed at myself as I went from room to room touching and holding our ornaments that we have collected over the years and that have such memories attached to them. A few tears fell as I realised that my priority is to spend as much time as possible in our home with Graham before I die but with that realization came the acceptance that days at home will be limited by the cancer. I had to admit that I am weaker than I thought as I struggled to find the strength to climb the stairs. I smiled as I ate Sunday breakfast at home with Graham and read the newspaper, savouring the moment. I smiled as we hugged in the kitchen while making breakfast. I smiled as I thought about our upcoming Christmas weekend at home. I smiled and anticipated Christmas eve dinner and playing charades with Paul, Mel and Abby. I cried as I left home and I sighed with exhaustion as I fell into bed at the hospice last night then fell fast asleep with a smile on my face. Now back to my book bucket list. Today my request is that everyone goes online to Chapters/Coles and searched for the Choosing to smile book. The more searches that their system gets the more chance we have of getting our book in all the Chapters/Coles stores across North America. Julie www.choosingtosmile.com

I am still doing well in the hospice and continue to have short trips out. It is quite amazing to me how having all my symptoms under control and no chemo side effects and of course all the love and prayers sent to me from all of you has improved my quality of life. I seem to be recovering my life energy and it feels good. We had a lovely survivor dinner last night at Glenda and Rick's house and I ate like a horse. It is so good to enjoy food again. I am working down my bucket list and the better I feel the more gets added. I did some girl shopping with Abby on Saturday, getting to the mall as the doors opened so I avoided the crowds. Graham pushed me in a wheel chair as my legs are still weak and not up long mall walks. I had fun last week in the new Walmart when I used a mobility scooter to get around! It went really fast and whipped around corners. Now I know why the seniors here seem to be speed freaks!!. I only hit a few things and at one point a few pairs of socks were hanging off the back of handle like Christmas ornaments but no damage was done.

Thank you so much to everyone who went or plan to ask their local library to order our book Choosing to Smile. My next request is that you contact your local morning breakfast TV show or talk show and ask them to do feature on "Choosing to Smile" With skype technology we can do an interview anywhere in the world and even from my hospice room. We are hoping to do a fund raiser for the hospice by donating a dollar amount for every book sold when the name Chilliwack Hospice is named by the buyer.

Love to you all and Thank you for all your support. Julie

To see our pictures, look on this website under the tab "Photos".

julie@choosingtosmile.com

As most of you know I moved from the hospital to the Hospice just over two weeks ago,when scans showed that the chemo was not working. So we made the decision to stop chemo and go for quality of life rather than quantity. The chemo was killing more of the good cells than the cancer cells so there was little benefit, if any. The hospice is a wonderful place with such caring compassionate staff who are dedicated to making the patients comfortable and helping them to meet all their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. The decision to stop chemo albeit a difficult one has been an enormous relief for me. I feel so good without the toxicity of the chemo side effects and the worry of the next test result. In hospice the tests are not needed because the treatment goal is comfort, not killing cancer cells.
When I made the move to hospice my goal was to see one more Christmas. I have made such progress that I now know I will see Christmas and have started to talk about seeing 2011.
All my symptoms are under control and my doctor said yesterday that for some reason the cancer is being "well behaved." So we are making the most of the good days.

Now to my bucket list. I am working through my bucket list on a day to day basis and savouring every moment. We took Abby to the pantomime and attended her Christmas Carol service and we are planning a survivor dinner this weekend at Glenda's that I am really looking forward to.
My big item that I have recently added to the list is my "Choosing to Smile Book" dream. I so much want to live long enough to see it hit the best sellers list. I know it will be there but I need the time frame to speed up so I will live to see it and this is where you can help in lots of little ways.

1. Please go to your local library wherever you live in the world and request that they get "Choosing to Smile" in stock. This can be ordered from any country by visiting the website at www.choosingtosmile.com.

After the intense year of writing and publishing our book and then almost a year of writing my blog while going through chemo treatments, I hit writers block. It all started with a week in hospital at the end of August. The doctors thought I had pneumonia but it turned out to be a lung inflammation caused by the chemo. A couple of weeks after coming home from hospital I started to write my blog and then accidentally deleted it. That's when the writers block hit me. I just couldn't write a word. At first I made some more unsuccessful attempts to write and then realized that when writing the blog I was giving an update on the treatments and side effects. It was the re-living of the bad reactions to the chemo that I could not do. It was still all too raw. I needed to escape cancer for a while so made a point of doing things that took my mind off the cancer. The chemo was stopped because my lungs needed to heal and all the side effects have slowly disappeared. I am still on a break from chemo and feel alive again. I am just enjoying every moment of every day. I love this time of year. The colours on the leaves are beautiful especially on sunny days when the sky is an incredible deep blue. There is no mistaking that it is fall because the evenings are getting cooler but that means we can turn on the fire which makes the family room so cozy. Life is good.

The last two weeks have been pretty good. I had my vacation from chemo on August 13th and then on the 15th we went on our vacation to Osoyoos with our son,daughter in law and granddaughter. On the first day Abby and me played on the lake on inflatable armchairs. It was heaven, bobbing on the waves in the warm lake. The chemo I am on makes me very sun sensitive so I had to cover up. I wore my bright yellow "Relay for Life" T shirt and bicycle shorts along with my big sun hat. When Paul and Mel returned from shopping they could not contain the giggles. Paul said I looked like a warning buoy bobbing on the lake. My driving caused a few giggles too when I took them all on a winery tour. Apparently I drive like a "nana" I blamed "chemo brain" but I think I have become more cautious with age. I took a wrong turn and had to a 3 point turn that ended up being a 7 or 8 point turn. When I looked in the mirror I saw Paul and Mel sitting on the back seat with lips pursed trying hard not to giggle but not making a sound. I broke the silence by saying "shut up" and everyone in the car collapsed in fits of laughter. It was one of those funny family moments we will never forget. On return home there was a message on my answer machine to say that the tumour marker test showed that the levels have dropped significantly so the chemo is working well. On Friday it was back to chemo and all went well. I had an Angel IV pole again so thanks to everyone for all the positive thoughts and prayers. My hair is now falling out but I am not bald yet. The side effects are not as bad so far this week.

After our wonderful picnic last weekend the week started out well but by Tuesday the Chemo fatigue set in and no matter how hard I tried to shake it knocked me off my feet for a couple of days. But I knew only one more treatment and then I have my 2 week break. Late Wed I had a call from my Oncologist who apologetically informed me that she had made a mistake and that the regime I am on does not have a break every 6 weeks it is continuous until the tests show the cancer is in remission enough to have a longer break. But as I was expecting a break next week she agreed to me missing next Friday and then back to every week. I calmly put the phone down and then had a tantrum. I punched the couch,the cushions and kicked the ottoman. I then yelled obscenities at the cancer as I slammed every door in the house as hard as I could. When I calmed down I called Graham at work who said he was glad he was at a safe distance and that he would check the door hinges for damage when got home. The tantrum was needed to release the frustration and it left me feeling strong and back in control of the damned cancer! You see I have to keep the cancer in it's place. I always have to stay bigger and stronger than the cancer, no matter what! You may have noticed that I always refer to it as "The cancer" not my cancer, because I REFUSE to own it. Happily the week ended on a positive note. My dear friend Gisele drove me for chemo, we enjoyed a nice lunch and chat and once again I had my angel pole. This time a beautiful larger Angel dressed in white lace. I am so blessed. The chemo went well and I don't have another treatment until August 20th Yeah! Thanks for all your prayers and positive thoughts.

Good news on Thursday that the blood tests show that this chemo seems to be working (the days of extreme fatigue have been worth it) Other good news is that I will on a 6 week on 2 week off routine for chemo so next week will be number 6 and then I get two weeks off. Yahoo!! On Friday Glenda took me for my chemo and as I sat in the chemo seat I noticed that once again the IV pole was one of the few that had a pink glass angel hanging on it. I never sit in the same seat and and yet I always seem to have an angel on my pole. I mentioned this to Glenda and the nurse. The nurse said the poles are moved around all the time so it is just chance that I got an Angel pole. Glenda said she was not surprised because so many people were surrounding me with Angels. When I got home I opened my email and the first one I read was from my dear friend Peggy. I got a lump in my throat and goosebumps as I read that she and her husband had prayed for me to be surrounded by Angels that day. I am so blessed.
Today Graham and I had an awesome day. We went to the Alpine meadows at Manning Park for a picnic. The alpine flowers were in full bloom and were spectacular. It was a magical special day with lots of those "special holy moments" that you want to keep the picture in your mind forever. Sitting eating our picnic at the top of the mountain with the flowers all around us. Watching a beautiful deer at the side of the road. Then later sitting an the tailgate of the truck sharing a piece of tiramazu cake. Yes, my appetite is good today.
Thanks to everyone again for all your prayers and positive thoughts and of course all the red dots on the map.

I have had a wonderful week. I was energized by all the positive thoughts last Friday and the effects continued all week. On Monday I had the energy to go girl shopping with Abbygail. We Had so much fun. On Tuesday I went out for breakfast with three of my dragon boat friends, ate a full breakfast and chatted for two hours. Wednesday, I saw the oncologist after having blood tests done, she was very happy with how things are going and said she thinks taxol is working for me. I was a bit tired by Wednesday afternoon so had a nap to re charge my batteries. Thursday I had the energy to do some dusting and vacuuming, the first time in months that I have had the physical strength to do this. Then on Friday all the positive thoughts started to arrive all over again in the form of emails, messages on facebook and of course all the red dots appearing on www.choosingtosmile.com world map.
It was time for chemo again and I was so full of positive energy from everyone that I knew it was going to go well and it did. Glenda drove me to the cancer centre and just before I went in for treatment Michelle arrived. So I had my soul sisters with me as the nurse started the chemo. I was so busy laughing and chatting that I almost forgot I was having chemo. I had no reaction and have been feeling great ever since.
Saturday was a bit emotional for me because my dragon boat team were at a race and Graham was steering. I was not up to drumming yet or the long day so I stayed home. I called Graham after every race to see how they had done and shed a few tear tears every time I spoke to him and some in between calls too. They took first place in the breast cancer challenge race and second place in the final. I am so proud of them and can't wait to be back in the drummers seat.

My first treatment of taxol was not good. I had severe back pain a few hours after treatment and although that was sorted with help from the on call oncologist, I felt very ill for almost a week. By Wednesday I was at the point where I was ready to stop treatments. Graham and I talked and decided I would try one more treatment and if it was as bad again I would not have any more. If the treatment was going to make me feel that sick for the rest of my life then there was no benefit to it. I believe that healing is not just about living longer. It is about living and enjoying every moment of every day of whatever time you have left. Being continuously sick from treatment would not be living my life to the fullest.
Then on Thursday I had an idea to put a post on our facebook page requesting all 3985 members to send me positive healing thoughts and visualize me smiling and telling them that the treatment is working and I am in remission. By Friday morning I was feeling like a change was happening. When I arrived for the chemo and told the nurse how my week had gone she asked if I felt well enough to go ahead with the treatment. I answered "I have almost 4000 people sending me positive thoughts that this is going to go well so we are giving it a go." She said with that many positive thoughts it had to go well.
The treatment went smoothly, I had no reaction, no pain and I feel like a huge change has swept over me. My appetite has returned and I have energy again. I know this has to be the positive energy coming in my direction. I have always said I still believe in miracles but I think I was meaning a new miracle drug. Now I realize that miracles can come in many ways. I feel very optimistic that I am on the way to remission but I need you all to continue helping.

Sorry I have not written in my blog for so long. The last few weeks have been quite trying and I have to admit there have been been a few days when it has been hard to choose to smile. After a few weeks without treatment to recover from the stomach problem I had in May, the tumour markers were on the rise. Metastatic breast cancer will progress if it is not treated and I know I will be on some form of treatment for the rest of my life. So I was put on a new chemo drug. This was 3 tablets twice a day. I was optimistic this would be a good treatment for me but after only 8 days I was in emergency again with a high fever and a suspected chest infection. This resulted in me taking antibiotic for a week and the chemo being stopped. All of this has left me feeling very tired and weak. Finally saw my oncologist this week and she recommends that I start IV chemo again(Taxol). She recommends weekly infusions so that the dose can be lower and the side effects minimum and she is confident that I will feel better with more energy because she thinks the tiredness is in part because of the cancer progressing. So with only half an inch of hair grown back I will be loosing it again. Funny but loosing the hair does not bother me as much this time. I have been feeling so tired and sick that it is worth loosing the hair if it makes me feel better. Please all send positive thoughts in my direction that this one will work for me.
The book events have helped keep my mind off all the health difficulties.Being on Global TV was so much fun and made it easy to smile. I haven't been out on the dragon boat for several weeks and I am missing all my team mates but hopefully I will be back out on the water soon.
I will keep you posted on how i do with taxol.

Well it has been another roller coaster ride for me in the past few weeks. Lots of fun stuff happening with the book and lots of not so fun stuff with my health. I was feeling good despite the annoying nausea caused by the new hormonal treatment. Steadily the nausea got worse and I had dizziness to go with it. Eventually I stopped the medication and low and behold all the symptoms went away. When discussing this with my doctor she thought we should try the meds again. So to cut a long story short after taking the meds again for 14 days I was in emergency with severe abdominal pain and a suspected stomach ulcer. Now two weeks later I am still trying to get my strength back. I was so disappointed to miss the book signings in Kelowona and Kamloops. I did however manage to sign some books while in hospital, thanks to my wonderful husband Graham. He carried boxes of books up to the third floor hospital ward for me to sign. I was still feeling very exhausted so we did it in two sessions with me having a sleep in between. Glenda and Michelle thought I should have had a photo taken of me signing the books in hospital, are they nuts?? I was dressed in the lovely designer hospital gown. I had been in hospital for 5 days and not able to shower because of the IV, I had no contact lenses in, no make up on and had not eaten anything except clear fluids. It was not a pretty sight!!! This is a book signing event that will not have a photo on facebook!
Thankfully I am now recovering but still not back to my full strength.
I enjoyed meeting everyone at the book signing at Hemmingways on Saturday. Especially, Lisa who wrote such a touching review of our book and Teresa who is a fellow local author. (I cant wait to read her book "Shameful Innocence")

Wow! What an eventful few weeks for us with extreme highs and lows. The first high was the successful book launch and the fast paced sales of our book. Then all the wonderful reviews we have had sent to us. We are so happy that everyone is enjoying the book. The week after the launch Graham and I went on a vacation and spent an idyllic 12 days on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. We didn't read a newspaper, listen to the news or check email for the entire vacation. It was heaven. We soaked up the sun, enjoyed the fantastic food and enjoyed each others company. Once I find out how to do it I will post some photos. Before we went away Bonnie had been admitted to hospital so she was on my mind. I visited the day before we left and she said she was feeling better and would probably be going home the following day. She was excited for me and wanted me to have a good holiday and not did not want me worrying about her. The day I arrived home I heard from Glenda that Bonnie was gravely ill. I was able to see her and say goodbye. She died the day after I got home. I feel a sense of relief for her that she no longer has to endure treatments and that she is at peace. I miss her so much. I hear my phone ring and think it will be Bonnie before I remember. My heart aches for her family. I still hear her voice but now instead of reaching for the phone to call her I stop and think "What would Bonnie have said or what would Bonnie have done. I am still waiting to hear about the tumour marker results to find out if I will be starting any new treatments. I had to stop the hormonal treatment for a couple of weeks because of side effects. But will be starting them again next week if the tumour markers are stable. If not then I will be starting another chemo treatment. I have told my Oncologist that I want hair for the summer. She said OK so we will do a treatment that doesn't cause hair loss. I have some hair growing back and it is a 50-50 blend of grey and black.

Now that the book had been successfully launched and the excitement has subsided I have found myself reflecting on the past year and how events unfolded. The book was launched on March 5th 2010 only 11 months to the day since we made the decision to write it. I am still not sure how we managed to do it. Michelle worked full time throughout the time of writing, Glenda continued with her public speaking and volunteering and I underwent aggressive chemotherapy treatments. We arranged our meetings in between my treatments, making sure we avoided crowded places when my immune system was at it lowest. Add to this the worry of leaving the house with low immunity when the swine flu scare was at it's height. Sometimes having to delay our meetings because I was so sick from the chemo. But somehow we made it work because we knew we were destined to write this book and share the choosing to smile message. In addition to writing the book we developed the website, started the choosing to smile movement on facebook,developed a logo and Glenda even wrote a song. The chemo treatments paled into insignificance as the momentum of the book took over.
My memories of the past year are of a wonderful episode of my life with many hours spent with my dear friends culminating in a huge sense of accomplishment. All of this occurring well after my doctor predicted "expiry date." If this sounds self congratulatory, I make no apology. We did it!!
Now to the next phase of watching our book sell and hearing from our readers.
I am on a break from treatment and hoping the tumor markers stay low to give me a long break. Early April will be the time when I know if everything is stable, I will keep you posted. Send positive healing thoughts to me.

It is now almost six weeks since my last chemo treatment but I am still quite bald. I was hoping I would have a bit of hair by now. I find that I am wearing the wig less and less mostly because it is so uncomfortable and I am forever adjusting it. I like my hat but I am thinking I might just bite the bullet and go with the bald look. I think I am only wearing the hat or wig to make other people more comfortable. I will try it out in the next few days and go out bald headed but wearing a big smile.

After a couple of months with no blog entries, I am finally back to say Hi. The months of December and January were a bit tough for me. I had chemo on Dec 9th, Dec 30th and Jan 20th. These were the third, fourth and fifth treatments and the effects were starting to build up. All the usual side effects of hair loss, fatigue etc but the one I found hard to deal with was the foggy brain even writing a small note on face book was a big task, never mind writing a blog. I had my last chemo on Jan 20th and I am finally feeling like I am emerging from the fog. Thank goodness for all the fun activities of singing in the song video and making the interview video that helped to distract me from the chemo effects.
The 6th treatment was cancelled because a heart scan showed that the chemo was taking affecting my heart. I am now back on hormonal treatment and hoping the tumour markers will continue on the downward trend. Today for the first time in months I felt like I had some of my normal energy back. It is sooo good to feel like me again. I can't wait to have hair again.

First book edit
I was excited today to get the first edit on our book. We had a meeting planned but I decided not to go because Wendy has a cold and I didn’t want to risk getting sick so close to my port surgery and chemo start date. Wendy emailed the edited version for me.  I am so glad I have the book to keep my mind off the chemo. I just have so much positive stuff to think about that the chemo seems like a minor distraction.
I had to go to the lab to get bloods, x-ray and ECG done prior to my port insertion surgery.
 

Still doing good
Graham is back at work today. I am taking things slowly but feeling quite good. I have done all my Christmas cards and spent some time reviewing the book edits.
It is a cold day with a few light snow flakes so it feels a lot like Christmas!
I am so happy to see so many new members on the choosing to smile facebook page.
It just makes me smile even more.

Third Chemo Treatment
Graham had the day off work to take me for the treatment. It all went well and
no bad effects. Just a bit groggy from the anti nausea drugs but they are working well so  no complaints.

Appt with the oncologist and third chemo treatment
Good news at the Oncology visit. The tumour markers are coming down and my blood counts are just high enough to have the next treatment.
 

Made the most of my good week

Made the most of my good week and had a wonderful time at the pantomime
I fitted a lot in to this week while I was feeling good before my next chemo. The highlight was today when we decorated the Christmas tree and then I took Abby to see the pantomime  "Alice in Wonderland"at the local arts club. We joined in with the booing and cheering as cued by the cast. We  laughed a lot and then clapped and sang along heartily during the sing song finale. What a wonderful memory!
 

Feeling great today.
I am so happy I am feeling so good and I have another 15 days before my next chemo. I am hoping to get some Christmas shopping done and reconnect with some friends. I had reflexology with my buddy Glenda and then I met with my friend Carmen today from the Dragon Boat team and had a lovely lunch. I am getting used to wearing the wig. There is something to be said about putting on your hair in a morning instead of having to dry and style it!
I smiled all day.
 

Out and about again
I finally got out today and did a bit of Christmas shopping. I picked Abby up from school for the first time in over a month. It was wonderful to see how happy she was to see me. She ran up to and threw her arms around me in the best hug ever. We went to the candy store and then girl shopping to buy some Christmas clothes. It was the best day.

Roller coaster weekend
Started off well and feeling not too bad for the first couple of days just a bit tired. Then woke up on Monday and had no energy at all. ended up sleeping all day and night and then woke up fine the following day. My hair is looking very strange. All the grey and brown has fallen out leaving a fine covering of ginger hair which is interspersed with bald spots. Not a pretty sight.
 

Today was my second chemo treatment
All went well. My hair is very patchy now so I wore the wig for the first time. Bonnie came with me and we both attended the "Look good Feel good program at he cancer centre before I had my chemo. It was wonderful! We walked into the chemo looking like a million dollars and we each  took home a box full of new make up.

Hair is falling out !!!
Had to put an emergency hairdressing call to my awesome daughter in law who left work early to come and cut my hair into a short style. It looks lovely.