Strange Symptoms and New Weapons

It seems that my body reacts slightly differently to each round. For some reason, my sense of smell seems to be enhanced and contributes to my nausea. I tend to have these strange feelings that are hard to describe. You may recall that my scar tissue felt "crunchy" and my stomach often feels "squishy." That means very little to anyone but me, I'm sure. Last night I felt like I had drunk a bottle of perfume. I know how strange that sounds. I don't even have any perfume in the house! Later in the evening I felt like I had heart burn. Chemo affects the gastrointestinal tract, so this symptom is not unusual. Fortunately I have been sleeping well so I get a reprieve from these symptoms. I spent this rainy morning watching the men's final of the Australian Open, in bed with Casey, Ben and Bella. It has been blissful. We had hot cereal (thanks, Chris) with bananas, blueberries and coconut milk. We add ground flax seed to mine, which gives me omega 3s and keeps the chemo constipation at bay. Yummy, healthy, cancer fighting. Green tea also fights cancer, so that's what I drank. It feels really good to eat food that is healthy for you. Your body appreciates it and responds in kind.

This is Cate, my gorgeous niece, in Tahiti. Love this girl!!

I finally got around to ordering food from the Wellness Kitchen in Templeton. All of their food is local, organic, and cancer fighting. I ordered soup,two entrees, a grain salad and the chicken bone broth. Each dish has two servings, so that will be 8 meals for me. All Casey has to do is heat it up for me until I feel well enough to do it for myself. These meals are a major weapon in my arsenal against cancer. With all of the love and support that continues to pour in, the yoga, the visualization, the prayers and intentions going out on my behalf, the cancer fighting meals...cancer doesn't stand a chance. Vanquished, forever!!

I will spend today taking it easy. I'm reading one of the books Kimberly sent me, about Julia Child in Paris. Gorgeous book - makes me want to see Paris again one day, this time with Casey. It also makes me want to learn to be a more gourmet cook, like Julia and Kimberly! Thanks Kimberly, you always send just the right thing. I love you, my dear friend.

Tomorrow I'll get up and do private with Jean in my living room. Tuesday I'll go to Cathy's studio for yoga with the yogaflirt women, who are all so inspiring and so supportive. Wednesday a private with Cathy, then the second and last part of round 6. I saw the physician's assistant before this round, and he thinks I will have two weeks off after that. Then they'll do another CA125 and I'll meet with my doctor to discuss what happens next, based on those results. It will be in my belly port, and it will be harsher than the IV chemo. I feel so much stronger then I did the last time I had the IP chemo, but it is intense. It made me so ill I ended up in the hospital a few times last time. Hopefully it will not be like that this time.

Two weeks off sounds like heavenly bliss to me right now. I hope it happens!

It's harder than you think, spending all this time in bed. I'm grateful for my google TV, for netflix, for books, for Casey, for my dogs...but it's getting old. I have to keep reminding myself that this is part of the battle and I have to stay strong and happy. With so many people behind me, how could I be anything else?

Namaste, Jill