Good evening everyone. It has been two weeks since I last wrote, so it is time to update. The past two weeks have been better. Once I got past the first week after chemo things have evened out. Probably my worst problem is a lot of leg pain. It is rather bizarre. It feels like I have been running up several flights of stairs and that muscle burn that one gets after you have really worked out. In reality all I have done is get up out of a chair or walk across the room. But it doesn't last long. I still do not have very much energy, but I have finally accepted that as a normal side effect. I just try to not over do. I have developed a lingering cough, but I'm not sure that has anything to do with the chemo. I have an appointment next week with my internist, so we will get that checked out. I get my third round of chemo this Wednesday. I am not looking forward to it, but as everyone keeps telling me, I'm half way through. So, I expect to feel crumby for a week and then hopefully get back to whatever my normal is. My last chemo will be in three weeks, the last week of July.
One interesting thing that has transpired is my genetic testing. It actually turned out to not be any testing at all. At the very beginning of all of this I had filled out a family history questionnaire of all of my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins on both sides of my family. They wanted to know when everybody was born, when they died and what they died of and any cancers that had come up. After they went through all of this information the doctors decided that there was not enough statistical probability that this was genetically related to warrant doing all of the blood tests. So the doctor just looked me in the eye and told me that I just had dumb bad luck. Isn't that comforting! Shannon, my oldest daughter went with me to the appointment. He did tell her that she and Laura would need to be diligent in getting baseline mammograms at 40 yrs and then every year after that. But, this also means that I don't need to be overly concerned about ovarian cancer. That is a relief. So, hopefully after this is all over we can just go back to normal life. So things are progressing on schedule. I have been getting some physical therapy to get the range of motion back in my shoulders. That will continue until the end of July. I am actually doing pretty good. I still have some pain from the reconstruction process, but my ability to get my arms up in the air and reach for things is improving. So, that about takes care of everything at this point. As usual, thank you to everyone who continues to send cards and e-mails. I really appreciate the good thoughts.