Numbers are Down...

I just came from Dr. Hui's office and I have some good news, my numbers are down! Recently, they'd gone from the 60's, to the 70's, to 142. Today my cancer count was at 84!! That was so exciting, I nearly jumped off the table. She said that we don't need to do scans for awhile because she already knows that my numbers are going down and that it was unnecessary to do them right now. She also was happy to hear that my vomiting had decreased a lot and that it was almost under control. She didn't really have any more advice on that subject, just to keep doing what I was doing.

I think I forgot to mention that on my last visit I asked about surgery once again and she said that they won't be doing any surgery on me, that at this stage in the game they felt it was unnecessary. I don't know how that made me feel, but at least now I know for sure that it's not going to happen.

Monica came to chemo today and it was so good to see her. My chemo is only an hour now and so she got there right at the very end of my treatment, so we went to lunch and caught up. I sure love her, and it's been a long time since we've seen each other. Way too long!!

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Catching Up...

I'm still dealing with my stomach issue, unfortunately. I've recently posted on facebook that I've had a couple great days of keeping my meals down...but that was short-lived. I almost feel as though I've been binging and purging (which I would NEVER do in my wildest dreams!). I get so excited to eat something (hoping to keep it down), but sure enough, a couple hours later it usually comes up. I've tried to analyze whether I'm eating too much at a time, whether or not it's too spicy, etc., but it's really none of the above. So....I go see Dr. Hui this Friday and I'm sure she'll have something to say about the matter. On one hand I want her to order scans to see what is happening inside of me, on the other hand, I can't even fathom drinking the liquid that I have to drink in order to do the CT Scan so I'd rather not. My gag reflex is SO INTENSE right now that just thinking about it, makes me want to vomit. Problems, problems.

Oh, and by the way, I've got this weird pattern on my back now from radiation and small blisters along with it. Rolling over at night sometimes pops the blisters and then it's kind of messy. Yay, just another thing to deal with :)

Well, I'm headed into the shower to try and get in to work today. It'll be the first day back in one month. I hope I don't throw up at work, that would suck.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Under the Weather...

It's not that I haven't wanted to blog, it's just that I can't remember ever being as sick as I have been lately. This is the 3rd full week of me vomiting, not even keeping water down. The doctor's think that during radiation they could have possibly hit either my intestines or some nerves. All I know is that I'm miserable. If I'm still in this condition next week they're going to consider doing some scans to see what is going on. Yay, a month of puking my guts up...fun!! Just to lighten the mood, I can only think of my weight watcher leader (Teresa) and think..."it's all about weight loss!" LOL.

If I'm not up to blogging again before Christmas, I sure hope that each and every one of you have a joyous holiday filled with love and laughter.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

All Done...

Yahoo...radiation is over! Although I am glad that I no longer have to drive across town to Rancho Cordova (which is about 40 minutes away) everyday for treatment, a tiny bit of me is sad that it's over. I met some very sweet ladies in radiation who are obviously going through similar journeys of their own. I met one lady who has anal cancer and not only had to have radiation near her bottom, but also around her vaginal area as well. I felt so bad for her, she's such a sweetheart. Then there were a couple other women who were there with breast cancer who were having their breasts radiated. I also met some of the technicians there that I will miss, they were extremely pleasant and made it a more comfortable atmosphere. Forgive me if I've shared this before, but I leave there with thoughts of my mother-in-law (believe it or not) because she gave me a bracelet that sums it all up, which reads:

Cancer is so limited...it cannot cripple love...it cannot shatter hope...it cannot corrode faith...it cannot destroy peace...it cannot kill friendship...it cannot suppress memories...it cannot silence courage...it cannot invade the soul...it cannot steal eternal life...it cannot conquer the spirit.

Yes, believe it or not, it's very tiny writing, but it's on my bracelet that I wear everyday :)

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Two More Days...

Two days left of radiation...yahoo! I don't mind the actual radiation itself (heck, it's quick and easy), but it's the way I feel afterwards that I can't stand. My stomach has been on the verge of vomiting for the past week and a half, and I'm so sick of it. Now that I've started taking Zofran on a regular basis, it's helped me to keep the food down, but it hasn't helped me feel much better. I don't know what is worse, vomiting and getting whatever is upsetting your stomach out, or always feeling like you're going to vomit, but you don't. Well, I'm on the ladder part of the two options and it's such an awful feeling. I keep bags and paper towels in my car, just in case. I know, this is a gross topic, but it's exactly what I'm going through right now and it sure is the pits.

Tomorrow is my Christmas party for work, I sure hope I'm able to make it. I used to be on the entertainment committee at work and we would spend nearly the entire year preparing for this event. It's kind of weird no longer being involved, but at least John and I can go and relax now and I don't have to hurry off to "work" the party.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

My First Radiation...

I went for my first radiation treatment today and I sure hope it gets better :( First of all, they couldn't find one of the tattoos, they even used a flashlight to try and find the dot, but ultimately couldn't. I know they marked me, I felt it the other day and the lady even swore she did it, but for some reason it just didn't show up. Sooooo, they had to tattoo me again on the left side :( ouch. Other than that, they had to do a lot of x-rays (which took about 30-40 minutes) of laying in the same position. Remember...my back hurts, so it was really hard to lay flat and still for that long :( I took two vicodin before going in, but they didn't seem to help at all. I managed to get through the radiation and they promised me that from now on it'll only take about 15 minutes...I sure hope so. After we were all done, they went over skin care with me, and how I should apply some aloe vera gel to the affected area and also some lotion afterwards. They also mentioned that I may have some trouble with nausea and vomiting. Since we've already gone down that route for a year with chemotherapy, I wasn't concerned in the least. Well...half way home, my stomach started to get upset and by the time we got home, I was running for the bathroom. I haven't vomited like that in a very long time :( I even managed to take some anti-nausea meds on the way home, but couldn't catch it in time. Oh well, like I said, I'm hoping for the best!

On a lighter note...my son Johnny got his driver's license today!! Yahoo for him. We're so proud of him, he's such a good kid.

Today is a day of new beginnings. Good luck Johnny, I pray to God that you are safe out there on the roads. I pray that not only are you careful behind the wheel, but that others around you are just as cautious.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving was quiet, yet sweet at the Mark household this year. We usually spend the holiday in San Jose with John's family hosted by his mother and step-father, but since the passing of his mother changed all of that, we chose to stay home. Thanksgiving actually came upon us quite suddenly and we hadn't made any concrete plans as to which house we would be attending and at the same time, we had the usual obstacle of John having to work early the next morning. So we decided to stay home, all alone. Although that sounds sad, it wasn't. John loves to cook and has even brought up the idea of hosting next year so that he can do it all over again. We did miss the family, but we texted and called all day to keep in touch with everyone :)

Tomorrow starts my radiation journey. Although it's only two weeks, I'm not looking forward to driving across town every day for my treatment. I hope the time flies bye :) And of course I hope it doesn't hurt! I spoke w/my brother Jeff the other day and he said that Sheryl's brother (his brother-in-law Mike) actually works on the radiation machines and has offered to give me a tour sometime! I'm fascinated by how it all works, so that sounds like lots of fun. Anyway, he went on to tell me some interesting tidbits about the process and how although the doctors say there's a slight chance of injury to some of my organs, he says there's a slim-to-none chance of that ever happening. He says that they are so precise nowadays that if you happened to have cancer on the end of your eyelashes, they could actually zap that w/out harming your eye!!! Now that's incredible :) Just hearing that put me at ease...so thank you Mike!!

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie