Smart Port in a Storm
Well, tomorrow is the big day to get my port installed! I'm kinda nervous only because I hate the idea of having something foreign in my body on a permanent basis. I'll have to keep it in until a few months after chemo ends, so at least eight months. I really feel like today is my last day of "being normal". :( Tomorrow at this time I will have a new scar and a bump in my chest that signals the beginning of the treatment phase.
In case you're curious, here's the port I'm having installed (a Smart Port)...
Then it's a two-week wait until chemo starts.
In the meantime, I have an acupuncture appointment this afternoon, and have scheduled to see my Reiki practitioner the week of my chemo. On the diet front, I have stayed away from all soda and coffee drinks, I have had only one Taco Bell bean burrito (on my trip up to Portland) and two pizzas and one tostada in the past month. I've significantly increased my fruit and vegetable intake and (except for the exceptions listed above) have had no processed food. My mom continues to make delicious and healthy dinners and I have lost 10 pounds in the last three months. I'm a size 10 again - whoo! :)
I'm staying pretty positive, but I have to admit it's pretty easy when I have no symptoms except swollen lymph nodes and itchy skin...I may be singing a different tune after I start chemo. >.< Still, I am being proactive and doing what I can ahead of time to hopefully minimize the chemo side effects.
I'm still spending a lot of time on the internet researching a million different things...I haven't done any art yet. I'm hoping once chemo starts I'll be able to relax a little bit and start painting again. Poor "Mardi Gras Masquerade", still undone! *wry grin*
In case you're curious, here's the port I'm having installed (a Smart Port)...
Then it's a two-week wait until chemo starts.
In the meantime, I have an acupuncture appointment this afternoon, and have scheduled to see my Reiki practitioner the week of my chemo. On the diet front, I have stayed away from all soda and coffee drinks, I have had only one Taco Bell bean burrito (on my trip up to Portland) and two pizzas and one tostada in the past month. I've significantly increased my fruit and vegetable intake and (except for the exceptions listed above) have had no processed food. My mom continues to make delicious and healthy dinners and I have lost 10 pounds in the last three months. I'm a size 10 again - whoo! :)
I'm staying pretty positive, but I have to admit it's pretty easy when I have no symptoms except swollen lymph nodes and itchy skin...I may be singing a different tune after I start chemo. >.< Still, I am being proactive and doing what I can ahead of time to hopefully minimize the chemo side effects.
I'm still spending a lot of time on the internet researching a million different things...I haven't done any art yet. I'm hoping once chemo starts I'll be able to relax a little bit and start painting again. Poor "Mardi Gras Masquerade", still undone! *wry grin*