August 19, 2013 - Team Luv, Part II

Earlier last week, I received an amazing request from Coach Sam, one of the fabulous coaches for San Diego Team In Training (TNT):  would I consider being the Honored Teammate for the upcoming 'Bad Tink winter season?  " 'Bad Tink" refers to two of the events the team will be training for:  The Carlsbad Half Marathon and the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, both to be held on January 19, 2014.  Training begins August 24.

Coach Sam is a powerhouse athlete tucked into a tiny package.  She was one of the coaches when I did TNT last year for the Carlsbad Half Marathon, and was a constant source of support and smiles.  On race day, she and Coach James ran the course back and forth, catching up to purple-clad TNT teammates and running with us for a while, encouraging and cheering us on.  They must've run 100 miles during that half marathon!

So when she asked if I would think about being the Honored Teammate this season, it took all of two seconds for me to say "Of course!"

An Honored Teammate is someone who is battling or has won their fight with a blood cancer.  They come to Saturday sessions to tell their stories and cheer on the athletes. 

For me, however, it's a chance to express to these runners and walkers how grateful I am for the fundraising they do for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and to show them in person what their fundraising dollars do:  as a Rituxan recipient, their hard work - both putting in miles and raising dollars - is directly affecting me.  Right now.  Right here.  Right in front of them.

I'm incredibly proud to be able to help TNT and LLS - I am your humble and grateful servant, use me any way you can!

August 17, 2013 - Team Luv, Part I

The day following infusion number three, I was up early and on my way to work. No wait - it's Saturday, you dope! Yeh, I know - but this was for FUN, not work.

The San Diego Team In Training Triathlon Team was doing a cycling training session that would turn around at my work, and I was asked by a tremendously wonderful friend if I would be there to greet the team.  I had met Melissa last year about this time when I did Team In Training for the Carlsbad Half Marathon.  She is a passionate athlete and fundraiser for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and has singlehandedly raised over $10,000 - that's HUGE.  How could I say no?

It was a work day for daughter Amanda, so she and I sat out at the entrance and waited for Team to arrive. 

How exciting to see all those purple jerseys wheel up, and how fabulous to cheer them on during their training and to personally be able to thank them for their hard work!

The athletes of Team In Training are all stellar heroes in my book.  I know how hard it is to train for something as initially intimidating as a half marathon, or a marathon, or a triathlon - but throw in all the hard work it takes to fundraise, plus any personal life you want to have, and you got yourself a real challenge.

But it's because of these dedicated athlete-fundraisers that I'm able to get up early in the morning following an infusion for Stage IV Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and be there to cheer them on:  Rituxan was made possible in part by research dollars from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, raised by Team In Training athletes. 

In the pre-Rituxan era, which wasn't too many years ago, I would have gone from watch-and-wait directly to chemo and all its toxic side effects.  Rituxan, working with the immune system, targets a specific protein on the cancer cells and programs them to die, leaving healthy cells alone.

So do I feel a personal debt of gratitude to Team In Training and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society?

HELL YEAH!

Melissa, Amanda, and I.
GO TEAM!

   

 

August 16, 2013 - Third Infusion

Talk about uneventful - and that's a GREAT thing!

The appointment for infusion number three of four was at 9:00 AM; by 9:30, I was settled into the recliner and the Benadryl was a-flowin'.  About 15 minutes later the Rituxan was started.



The beautiful, full-of-love-and-hugs Sister quilt.

This infusion was the first since I received the treasured Sisters quilt earlier in the week, and I couldn't wait to put it into action.  How cozy and toasty it was!  The pink flannel backing made it  so nice and warm, but its real power came from all the love and hugs that are pieced into it.  There is a very real healing energy in that quilt, and I'm so blessed to be its current recipient.

I put my earphones in, again pulled up some wonderfully soothing meditation music, and let the cocktail hour begin.

I feel asleep fast, and only marginally woke up every 30 minutes when BP and temp were taken.  Three hours later, the Rituxan bag was empty and I was on my way.  No reactions, no problems - YES!!!

After running a couple of quick errands, I went home and straight to the front bedroom for an extension of that little nap I took in the recliner.  I had hung two posters of my happy place - beautiful beaches in the Maldives that I will get to someday - and have now taken to calling this my "healing room."  When I'm snuggled in the bed having a delicious post-infusion nap, cuddled up to my dogs and surrounded by my books and travel tchochkes and the fabulous light coming through the windows, I feel like the cancer cells are just simply evanescing out of my body.

Piper loves the healing room, too.

Piper, can you scoot over so mommy can lie down?  Piper?  Hellllooooooo?

 

I hang the wristband from each infusion on  one of the 
happy place posters, as a reminder that life's short and if you
want something, ya gotta do it - like going to the Maldives!
YOLO, ya know?

I see Dr. Hampshire the Awesome Oncologist next Friday prior to infusion 4 of 4, and we'll decide how to proceed from there.  Common protocol for Rituxan alone is to have a 4-week infusion every six months for two years - but it can also be done as a single 4-week infusion to shrink naughty nodes.  Since it takes several weeks after the last infusion for all of the Rituxan to have done its job, I'm assuming that I'll have another CT scan in a couple of months and we'll go from there.  Since this cancer thing is Stage IV and in my bone marrow, he may want to do the two-year course, but since I don't know at this point, I ain't even gonna worry about it.

Whatever the result of the upcoming visit with Dr. Hampshire, I DO know that, with the exception of the initial bad reaction during infusion number one, my body does really well on Rituxan.  Since about week 2 I've had what's called the "Rituxan cough" - an annoying cough that's worse in the morning, like when you have a cold - and occasional fatigue and minor flu-like symptoms, none of which have impacted my life very much at all.

And that's exactly how I want it!