Batter up!

Here is a picture of Michael teaching Jack what to do with a baseball bat! I thought it would be timely as Michael is off at t-ball practice with Jack. Morgan is with them, too. She is the assistant coach to help Michael. This is the first practice so we will see how all this coaching goes. Jack was nervous and a little shy before he left, but I just gave him hugs and told him that he would get to run a lot at practice. He seemed to like that.

So, while my family is off having fun, I thought I would write a blog update. Things are good here, but I am relatively fatigued. I am pretty sure it is the medicine doing this. I slept for TWO hours this afternoon, which is not something I can normally do. However, I am just trying to go with it. So, if I feel that I have energy, I try to do something like walk on the treadmill or do weights. If I don't have energy, then I rest because the medicine is working its magic.

What else? My scalp is very achy at this point. No hair is falling out, but I will start shedding sometime over the next week. One of my medicines, Tykerb, also causes a rash. The rash, which comes in the form of acne for most, is usually a sign that the medicine is working. Because I have sensitive skin, I always get the "skin" side effects of my meds so I have the rash on my face and my head. So, the achiness on my head might partially be due to the sensitivity from the rash.

There is not a lot they can do for the rash as they don't want to mess with the dosage and they don't want me to take topical medicines that might interfere with the cancer-fighting agents. This is fine with me because topical medicines (e.g.Retin-A) dry me out to the point that I have to work to keep my skin moisturized. So, I have done a lot of research on skin cleansers that will work for me. Whole Foods has a good cleanser product that works with your current pH balance to keep your skin from being too acidic or too alkaline. So, I tried that skin care line out, which is Dr. Hauschka. We will see if it holds up with these new medicines. I may need to tweak it. But, for now, I have to view the rash as a good thing...as a sign the medicine is working.

Overall, I feel pretty good. Being fatigued and having a rash and losing my hair...and whatever other side effects are WORTH IT because it is cleaning the cancer from my body. Don't get me wrong, there are bad days...days where I feel sad, but I have no understanding of why I got this disease so I don't try waste my energy on trying to figure it out. All I know is that I have the tools to fight and THAT is a privilege. So, I will fight.

Blessings,
Lolo