hola!

The first two doses of CMF were fairly uneventful (always a good thing with a new chemo!)  I'm totally digging the new schedule too -- with chemo given on weeks 1 & 2, that gives essentially 3 weeks of "rest" in between rounds (yeah - I know... it took me a minute to do that math right, but I essentially only use 7 days of the month between dose 1 & dose 2, leaving me with the rest of the month for recuperation, work, travel, visiting with friends, etc etc!)

On the docket for January was a Casill-family vacation with Mom, Dad, John, Mike and I.  Despite the fact that we left on the only day we've had snow since October, Mike and I managed to make it out of Philly, through Denver and into sunny Puerto Vallarta (PV) as planned.  Dad had arrived the day before (from China) and was waiting for us at the airport.  John & Mom weren't as lucky -- they missed their connection in Houston and had to spend the night there. 

We stayed in a villa about 45 minutes north of PV, near the small fishing town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.  The drive up to La Cruz was a bit sketchy at first, but once we got our bearings, I was delighted to be away from the tourist-infested craziness of Puerto Vallarta. 

Highlights from our week in Mexico:
* the local craft market at the marina next to our Villa (fresh spinach & pine nut tamales... yum!)
* zip-lining with the whole family (watching mom have to get "rescued" on her first run)
* searching for Chico's or Chino's Hidden Paradise (didn't find them, but did find our own hidden paradise for lunch)
* mom sleeping through the scenic bus ride into the mountains to San Sebastian
* mom trying to give John away to our tour guide for San Sebastian
* whale watching and snorkeling at Marietas Islands
* hiking the "Jaguar" trail at the Botanical Gardens
* drinks at La Cliff
* guacamole, a bucket of coronas, sunset and dinner on the beach in Bucerias
* delicious food, lovely people, time with family and sunshine

kayaking at Marietas

Marietas

Whales

Whales

Outdoor Adventure

John- Outdoor Adventure

Mike & Linda racing on the zipline

Outdoor Adventure

Outdoor Adventure

Whale!

John & Mike at the "Hidden Paradise"

In the mountains

Hacienda

View from our Villa

Sunrise

Sunset drinks and dinner

On the way to Marietas

next stop on the chemo train...

Despite my best effort, Xeloda joins the likes of Abraxane, Ixempra, and Adriamycin... chemos that I have tried and had to move on from (either because they didn't work, they stopped working, or the side effects were too risky).

Next stop on the chemo train is an oldie-but-goodie:  CMF.  CMF is a "cocktail" of 3 drugs:  Cytoxan, Methotrexate and 5-FU.  CMF has been fighting breast cancer for as long as I have been alive.  In 1976, researchers found that CMF chemotherapy used post-operatively reduced the risk of recurrence.  It quickly became the standard of care.  Since then, AC+T (Adriamycin, Cytoxan & Taxol) has demonstrated superior efficacy, but CMF is still a worthy soldier in the fight against breast cancer.

There are a few different regimens for CMF.  I am starting on a 28 day cycle, with chemo given on days 1 & 8.  The first dose of CMF was relatively uneventful.  The nurses accessed my port and drew blood, took my vitals and then Dr C did a quick exam.  He still can't feel my liver, which is a good sign (I was getting pretty paranoid and nervous given that I had been off of chemo for a few weeks!  My body was certainly feeling stronger, but I just don't trust it... and am much more comfortable now that I am back on the chemo train).

Prior to the chemo itself, they give me a steroid (dexamethasone) and Aloxi to prevent nausea and vomiting.  The Methotrexate & 5-FU are both given by an IV "push" (the nurse pushes the drug from a syringe into the IV line).  The Cytoxan is an infusion and it is given over 1 hour.  All told, the visit lasts about 3 hours... it is pretty mentally tiring, so I often take a pretty good nap after chemo.

When I went in for my second dose, my white blood cell counts came back quite low.  Dr C decided to still give me chemo, but he cut the dose in half.  I also took a Neulasta shot this week (to stimulate WBC production) -- we are heading to Mexico for a family vacation and Mexico is not someplace that I would like to wind up unable to fight off an infection due to low counts. 

So far, the side effects are fairly manageable.  While I don't feel great on Wed/Thursday, I also don't feel awful.  A little slow, a little nauseous, but overall, I can't really complain.  Most likely, my hair will "thin" but I shouldn't lose it all.  It would be nice to hang onto my hair for a while since it is finally starting to look like a normal haircut once again.  Though, if you could promise me that the chemo would work, going bald is a small price to pay!

Next chemo is Feb 7.  We'll have to wait and see what my counts look like -- they may play with the dosing a bit to avoid any disruption due to low counts. Hopefully, the two weeks off will be enough to rebuild my strength and we'll keep on moving with this current plan.  If not, we'll have to get back on the train and head to the next station.  There are still a few approved drugs/cocktails left to try, but I am really hoping that CMF works well and that it holds the beast at bay for a good long while.

Bright yellow methotrexate

Cytoxan

on to 2012

New year's eve 2012 will go down in history as the night I made the best lasagna I have ever made. For serious.

While Mike does most of the cooking around here (he is much more talented in the kitchen than I am), I still like to get into the kitchen once in a while to whip up one of my favorite recipes -- snickerdoodles, Bonny's banana mango nut muffins, and New Year's lasagna.

Somebody once told me that it was "good luck" to ring in the new year with lasagna... and since that time, not a year has gone by that I have omitted the ooey-gooey deliciousness from my new year's menu. The first year I made a new year's lasagna was to ring in 2006 -- my first new year with cancer.

I was bald. I had just finished chemotherapy. I had one boob and one "foob". All the more reason to bid "good riddance" to 2005 in style. I had so much fun that evening that I forgot all about the lasagna, cooking away in the oven. It baked for 3 hours -- but not even a semi-burned lasagna could dampen the spirits of those present that night.

I learned early on that "who you are with" is much more important than "where you are" on New Year's Eve.   I spent some time digging up some old NYE photos -- and I am so thankful for those memories!  It seems as if every year, I was exactly where I was supposed to be... or more importantly, I was with exactly whom I was supposed to be with!  One look at the smiles on our faces and you know that is true.  (I've tried to assemble a NYE timeline below --- but a few years are missing!  If you have a memory, please share it!)

Even in the tougher years, NYE has always offered a reason to smile.  It's the dawn of a fresh, new year... ready to be explored... ready for adventure and laughter (and yes, probably some tears).  The beauty is, it is a blank page.  A story ready to be written.  And I can't wait to see what surprises await us this new year.  On to 2012!

2012:  Casills, Scotts, Coynes at our house

2011:  Casills, Scotts, Bells at our house

2007-2010:  I need to dig up these memories!  I can't find any pictures, but I am fairly certain that we rang in the new year with friends at our place in Westampton  (with the exception of the year that I was sick and we had to postpone our party to the following weekend!)... anybody with firm memories for these years, please share them!!!

2006:  Nancy, Hillary/Bob, Jim/Cindy, B Lo, Rowley, Mellen/J, Susan at my townhouse in Westampton

2005:  "Last minute party" at Nancy's house

2004:  Skippy's house in Philadelphia (we were still driving around looking for parking when the clock chimed midnight!!)

2003:  Night out in NYC with Nancy & friends (Off the Wagon?)

2002: I *think* Nancy & I rang in the new year at Harvest Moon in New Brunswick with Walt & MJ?  That was either 2002 or 2001?

2001:  Southern NYE at Ziggy's in St Simons, GA with Sarah & Jennifer

2000:  Kozmo.com party in NYC