April 2015 Chemo Crew... Starting in April? Please join us!

I take 37.5 mgs of Effexor XR, and have been for a few years now. No change in how it affects me.

Hi - I take L-Glutemine 10g, 3x a day for 3 days (Taxol day 1, 2, and 3) per MO's instruction. I bought a bag of powder from Amazon - let me know if you need the brand, and I'll find the link. It doesn't taste like anything to me, but I mix it will ~14oz of Crystal Light ice tea. It tastes different than straight ice tea, but it doesn't taste like anything, if that makes sense. It could have been my taste buds from the Taxol. I thought it was good because it made me drink even more fluids for 3 days.

Scarlett - my drive to ME isn't too bad, about 1.5 hours from home. It will take me about the same if I were to go directly from here to my hospital. I have to have chemo on Monday, so I'll leave tomorrow night after dinner, sleep at home, and report for poison at 9:45 AM. Based on how I felt last time, I should be able to drive straight back to ME after I get home (about 4 PM if it's like last time), and be there in time for dinner.

I was thinking how the timing was really good for me - I am feeling my best since my last chemo, almost 2 weeks ago now. I still have tingling in fingers and feet, but my energy is back (but not stamina or cardio), and I was able to pack these last two days, shop on the way up here, etc., and almost feel normal. I know that next week will not be like that, but by the time the rest of my family arrives for the 4th on, I will have started to feel better (I hope).

We (my family - mostly my sisters,(but also other family visits and stays for some parts of it) have been coming to the same place for 22 years. The place we stay is an old hotel that has been converted to condos (think "The Shining") There are also "cottages" on the property that have also been converted to condos. Over the years, we have gone from renting 1 to renting 3 separate places to house us all. Sometimes, we rent the same one year after year, but sometimes they are sold, or owners stop renting, etc., and we have to find a new one to rent.

This is one of those years for us - we had the same place for the last 2 years, but they decided not to rent, so I was in a scramble to find a place that wasn't rented. This was all before diagnosis. I put a deposit down on the place we are in - coincidentally, we rented it about 18 years ago, but it was different owners, and it was configured a little differently.

So, my main complaint right now is that there is no TV/cable in the bedroom. I usually fall asleep to the TV. There's nothing on during the summer, but I like to watch HGTV and reruns - flipping between the channels. It's mindless. I tried to stream my Xfinity, but of course it won't connect (but somehow the popup ads play just fine). I have a Netflix account, but not sure what to watch. Since I have to go home anyway, I could swipe my Chromecast device from our TV at home, but it doesn't work with Amazon Prime, so I'll have to figure out something else for that.

I made dinner tonight, and the kitchen is equipped in that weird way that rentals are - like, they have all these baking pans (muffin tins, cake pan), but no casserole dishes - they have a big microwave, and really nothing to cook anything in it. No serving spoons. No bread knife. No paring knife. Weird.

No pictures yet, we just got here, unpacked, had dinner, then I took the girls to the pool to swim, now bed time, Guess I'll get a lot of reading done, hope I brought some good books!

#19: I am grateful to be back in the classroom again.

anyone reading any good books?

Alibeths, what do you like to read? I am currently reading "The Other Typist", it was recommended to me by one of my book club friends. So far, it's ok, but I haven't read enough to recommend it.

I like mostly fiction, specifically historical fiction if it's good. Because I'm in a book club, I read a lot of other types of books. I'd say memoirs/autobiographies/biographies are the next most popular genre after fiction. We haven't had a big winner (5 stars from all) in a while - the books we've been reading have been just 3.5-4 (we all rate them on a scale of 1-5).

I have my favorite books that I recommend to anyone who likes to read:

1. In the Fall by Jeffrey Lent - this is a multi-generational fictional account of a family starting in Vermont right after the civil war. It's beautifully written, and the story keeps you involved. This was rated a 5 by my book club.

2. The Black Flower by Howard Bahr. This book takes place during the battle of Franklin, TN, but it has flashbacks and flashforwards as well. Again, the writing is superb, and the story will keep you turning the page to see what happens. Mixed reviews at book club, it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but it got an overall rating of 4.2.

3. A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson. Soon to be a movie starring Robert Redford! This is a nonfiction book detailing Bill's experience walking the Appalachian trail when he was in his mid-forties. I loved the way Bill balanced the writing about the trail itself - it's history, facts and figures, how it came to be, etc., with his personal experiences. There are definitely some LOL parts - very entertaining, but educational too. I thought this got a 5 from book club, but when I went back to check, I found it was only 4.5.

4. Star of the Sea, by Joseph O'Conner (Sinead's brother). I happened on this book by chance when I was on vacation and ran out of books (before Kindle days), and I took this from the "take one/leave one" library at the hotel. It took a little bit to get into it, but once I figured out what it was all about, I couldn't put it down. It's Dickension in style, and written about that period. If you like Dickens, I think you would like this book. It was not well liked by book club :-( Some did not even finish it. It is a more challenging book, but I think it is worth it.

5. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. Always one of my favorite books, my book club decided to read it last year, and I was pleased that I loved it as much if not more than I remembered. I figured out that I must have read it for the first time when I was 12! If you have never undertaken reading this classic, I recommend that you do, you won't be disappointed. I always say that the movie GWTW is one of the better adaptions of a book, even so, there is so much more in the book that makes it better than the movie.

So, there is my top 5 books of all my reading - it seems very civil-war heavy, but honestly only 2 of the books are from the civil war, and they are both about so much more than just the war. I have read lots of other books that I would recommend that come in more like my top 50. One of the recent favorites is "What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty. It is a good book on its own, but it also resonated with me.

Anyone want to hook up on Goodreads to share book recommendations?

there is a fairly active thread here on bco called Book Lovers Club. I have gotten several good suggestions and they have been very supportive and understanding of how hard it is for some to read/concentrate while on chemo. Sometimes I just enjoyed reading their synopses. But they cheered me when I finished Kent Haruf's last book. Our Souls At Night I think. It was a pleasant read, not huge, good story, not complicated, but dear.

littleblue- 106? Waaaaaaaa. Glad you find it doesn't make hot flashes worse. Thinking cool thoughts for you from coastal Oregon. In the 50s here.

Lynne - I love Bill Bryson! I have read many of his books...A Walk in the Woods is one of my favourites! Right now I am reading "One Summer: America 1927" which is quite interesting. I am not American but the history is fascinating. One of my very favourite books ever is his "At Home" - really good! It goes through a house in England (which Bryson lived in) and talks about the different rooms, items in the rooms, architecture etc. from a historical perspective. (ie, why do forks have four tines rather than three or five?)

Re the Oregon coast - I have been many times and love it, it is so beautiful! The sea lion caves are fascinating, and riding an ATV on the dunes is a lot of fun!

Andrea

Andrea- I think Bryson is so gifted. Really makes me laugh without fail and educates or at least "makes you think". I like to be made to think. Would like to think about something other than this last chemo today. It's not OVER!

We have a sea lion and elephant seal colony quite close to where I'm living now in OR. I just drive out there and park listening to them bark. Last fall I was doing that and about 50 whales went blowing by, just beyond the shoal, very close! Too exciting! No admission $$$. You come too if you want.

The Outlander series! Yes! I am just about done with the last book - #8. Love it! So sad there's not a #9. Anyone in for a long haul, these books are full of adventure, history, love and characters you won't soon forget. Excellent suggestion Littleblue!

CONGRATS JACKBIRDIE! Still, it blows that you are feeling rough. Wish I could do more for ya then just be here to listen, but here I am! Hope the side effects pass soon..it's still 103 here btw..😠

Jackbirdie - congrats on finishing chemo! Too bad the SE's are rough though. I get my last TC (#4) on Friday. I cannot wait to have it over with and get my PICC out!!!

I live on Vancouver Island, we have sea lions and whales around here too. But Coos Bay is lovely, I would love to go back there.

We are having a major drought and heatwave here too...I have such a hard time with the heat. Doing a lot of sitting around drinking cold water with a fan aimed at me. The temperatures are breaking all kinds of records for this early in the summer.

Andrea

I've been finishing the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books I have on hand, since a new one just came out. I've read a lot of classic travelogues this year, in part because everything else I read inevitably had some character or person dying of cancer.

how about Louie Armstrong's Its A Wonderful World