Hi everyone, a quick update before the weekend…
It’s been a really tough few days after the increased dose of Carboplatin with my Gemzar infusion. Every side effect has come out of the woodwork and I’m doing my best to sleep off as much as I can while still doing the necessary daily activities. I went to one Back to School night this week and hope to attend two more soon. Next week will be chemo again (Gemzar only) and then a transfusion a few days later. I’ll also get a Neulasta shot next week and my usual Xgeva shot as well. That will be a rough week.
It’s too soon to know if the higher dose of chemo is doing anything at this point, so I am just forging ahead. We should know more in the next few weeks. Until then we continue to think about what option makes the most sense to try next.
Terry Teachout featured me in a touching piece he wrote in The Wall Street Journal yesterday called “Mortality and Muse” about those of us who choose to write about unpleasant subjects. He honored me in his support and I wanted to share it with you. To read it click here.
Here, too, is a link to the YouTube video from a panel session at Stanford MedX this month entitled “Communicating the Experience of Illness in the Digital Age.” Towards the end (around 30 minutes in) they directly address my story but anyone who wants to hear more about the topic can watch the panel session. Thank you to Susannah Fox, Colleen Young, and Meredith Gould for addressing some of the real issues and challenges of individuals who choose to share their health stories online.
Autumn is in the air here and I hope wherever you are you are able to find a bit of beauty for the weekend. I will be doing just that.
Link to Twitter
I’ve shared the Wall Street piece and the YouTube video with my friends on Facebook. Thank you Lisa for finding the strength for a blog post when you are coping with so many side effects.
I hope you find the strength for those Back to School events. I know you don’t want to wish time away, but I hope you find out soon that the new chemo is working.
I think of you often. I hope you are able to enjoy this new cooler weather and the changing leaves as they come.
Sorry that you are having a hard time with the side effects. Hopefully, they will ease off and you will be able to attend the Back to School events. A few weeks can seem like forever when waiting to see if something is working, but hope that the answer will be YES.
Thank you, Lisa, for inspiring us to address these topics which for too long have been misunderstood by people who aren’t (yet) part of our world (and I deeply believe that everyone will be, some day, in need of the support and advice of a community of peer patients — the only question is if they will know how to access it.)
I joked on the panel that I sometimes think of the mainstream world as Muggles and our online world as wizards — and weren’t they surprised when Gryffindor came out to defend you? When we released the dragons and refused to accept what they called reality to be true, knowing what we know about the real life and relationships we create online?
That’s why it was so lovely to read Terry Teachout’s essay. I think my shoulders dropped an inch.
My question is: How might we not only not hurt & try to silence people who share their stories, but how might we thank them for the public service they are donating to us? As Paul Wicks wrote: it’s a gift that can never be repaid.
Thank you.
I hope you get some relief from the side effects soon. (And from the Back to School nights!) xo
Dear Lisa,
Since finding your blog, I’ve always thought of you as a writer, first and foremost. Writers write about anything and everything, including illness (a point that I thought the Kellers missed entirely). I’d be following your blog & tweets no matter what the subjects.
So thank you for your work, which you manage to do under breathtakingly difficult circumstances. As Susannah Fox explained above, it is a gift.
Wishing you a weekend filled with peace, contentment and rejuvenation.
Hi Lisa,
Found your blog somewhere, and have been reading along. You are such a strong lady. I admire how you are able to deal with your cancer and the rest of your life, too.
Prayers and hugs to you:-)
Ruthie
Lisa
Have you tried any non-chemo treatments? My wife is running low on options and we are looking at more natural treatments such as CDB oil and several vitamins that are supposed to help fight the cancer. I do not see much written or in the social media covering this.
I sympathize with your chemo-related problems as my wife has been through much of it also. We always find the beauty in each day.
Thanks Lisa. Trying to find beauty this week.