CHEMOTHERAPY 03
Day 0 Chemo 3. Wed 8/30/2017 9:10PM
3rd Round of Chemotherapy
I just did my 3rd chemotherapy cycle and if all is well the last cycle would be this coming September 20, 2017. As with medical readouts my CBC (Complete Blood Count) was normal, so as my bilirubin and SGPT (Serum Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase). However, my creatinine was elevated. The highest cut-off in PSH (Perpetual Succour Hospital) lab for creatinine is 1.02 and mine registered 1.12 mg/dl. This of course, triggered the attention of my onco to decrease my cyclophosphamide dose for chemotherapy. Cyclophosphamide is an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug which can cause some side effects like temporary hair loss, nausea and vomiting, poor appetite and others.
Despite of the results, there’s always a rainbow at the end of the road because during that morning I have received an envelope again from the “We love Karen” group and I got teary eyed once more. Indeed, when God shower me with blessings, I really can’t resist the tears. Right away, tears of joy came rushing in my eyes. So though, there had been some abnormalities on my lab results today, still, I couldn’t help but be grateful.
Prior to my chemo, I was not able to visit this morning, my patient whom I delivered yesterday, because there was a fire incident that caused too much traffic. And had I done my rounds first for the patient, I won’t be able to be on time for my chemo. So I decided, to prioritize my treatment then followed up my patient in the afternoon which gave me ample time to have a good conversation with the entire family. Everybody was thanking me, because I took care of Mrs. Catherine Kaye Cruz from 7AM to 5PM yesterday with hardly no break at all and giving her my undivided attention. Minding how much they appreciated such altruism, they handed me an envelope telling me that it was their gift of gratitude on top of what I still have to write as professional fee with the same amount that I told them yesterday. And of course with such benevolence I could not do otherwise but accept it, with full gratitude as well.
In addition, while I was doing my rounds with Mrs. Cruz, I met Dr. Leilani “Nanan” Yee Cabahug once more at SVGH (Saint Vincent General Hospital). She’s the sister-in-law of Dr. Roselyn “Bulak” Cabahug Yu. I have mentioned “once more” because we also met at the chemo unit at PSH (Perpetual Succour Hospital) that morning where I had my third chemo session while she was seeing her patient as a Hematology-Oncologist. She was so surprised of my energy because she knew I just had my chemo this morning and yet in the afternoon I was still up and about doing my rounds. I guess this all boiled too with the regimen I followed. With prayers especially the rosary, support from a live guardian angel who was inspiring me to log a daily journal of my trials, activities and milestones, strong will to survive enhanced by the daily morning and evening meditation by Sonia Ricotti in her “Unsinkable Bounce Back System” and combined with the non-dairy diet mentioned by Jane Plant in her book “The Plant Programme”, following of some suggested non-dairy diets, juicing and smoothies by Kristene Matheson in her book "From Cancer to Wellness, the forgotten secrets", I was able to create a solid base emotionally, physically and spiritually. And that what constitute the regimen I followed to keep me strong and full of energy despite the B17 deficiency problem.
When I was about to leave SVGH (Saint Vincent General Hospital), I saw my consultant Dr. Clarita Alcantara who also had Breast Cancer stage 2B. At first, she was not able to recognize me because I was wearing my bandana and face mask but later on, she noticed that it was me and we had a little chit-chat. I’m glad that she had her hair back now. It’s an encouragement for my part to see that after all chemotherapies I can expect to have the crowning glory sprouting again, hi...hi...hi.
Well, that’s all for Wednesday I guess.. I have to rest and sleep right away.
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