First off, a big happy birthday to my hubby!  I’m sure this is not the way he wanted to spend his birthday, but he remains the sweetest man around.  I sent him off to the Stanford-UCLA basketball game, which apparently is no birthday present at all.

I’m having an unusual reaction to the Perjeta.  I talked to the “diarrhea” nurse for a while today.  We have a plan of attack for the next round of treatment, which is good.  Of primary concern for me now, though, is how to resolve the current situation, which is pretty much non-stop diarrhea.  Margaret gave me some things to do, and then said that if the diarrhea doesn’t stop tomorrow that there were other drugs they could prescribe.  They’d like the situation to resolve before the weekend, and believe me, so do I.

I also talked to her about the nausea.  She basically said that I can take Compazine for as long as I need to, and to take it so that I don’t vomit.  So I’m going to take it every 6 hours.  I didn’t know if I should/could continue to take it, especially if I didn’t feel nauseous all the time, but we’d rather avoid vomiting.

Over the past few days my mouth has changed some.  My tongue is numb in places, and I’ve noticed some sore spots in my mouth.  I think I’ll start using the mouth rinse that my dentist recommended tonight.

I’ve come up with another way for my friends to help celebrate the end of this journey. Of course I’d love for everyone to go skydiving, but recognize that’s not for everyone. This idea also allows for folks everywhere to pitch in.  Hopefully I will be recovered enough to participate in the Avon 39: The Walk to End Breast Cancer.  It happens the 2nd weekend of July every year in 8 cities, so if you’re near one of the cities, participate in the walk; if you’re not, then help by sponsoring someone.  So mark your calendars for 2016!

*The quote above is from my friend and colleague Julie, for whom my absence this week from work has hit the hardest.  Thank you, Julie, for everything you do every day, but especially this week.  I hope to be back next week at full strength.