Nine to Go! in Here Be Dust

My chemo countdown continues:

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Life under Taxol continues to be smooth sailing compared with Adriamycin/Cytoxan. In contrast to 9 hours of naps after my first Taxol infusion, I needed 5.25 hours after my second infusion (3.5 hours on chemo day + 1.75 hours on Day 6 after a short sleep night). So far this cycle I've taken one 3.25-hour nap on chemo day, with my next chemo cycle starting in two days.

My stamina for exercise remains good. I have now worked out on the days of both my second and third Taxol infusions, at reduced intensity but still at a decent clip, and have bounced back to baseline the next day.

My slight leg edema hangs on (at most a half inch above baseline) with no discomfort, and I have a bit of mild abdominal cramping. I still have metallic "chemo mouth," which I can feel increasing as I sit in the chemo chair, but it drops in subsequent days to a low level remedied by adding lemon juice to my water. I am also nowhere near as dehydrated as I had been with A/C.

That said, I still aim to drink at least 10 glasses of water per day. My average daily water intake under A/C had been 11 glasses/day with a high of 18; under my first 2 Taxol infusions that average reduced to 10.3 with a high of 12.

Constipation has not been an issue since my first A/C infusion back in May. BM frequency has increased slightly, but that change predates my start on Taxol and could well be due to my reduced steroid dosage -- or to my summer love affair with gazpacho:

My recipe is very simple compared to most:

1. Lemon juice to taste (I don't measure; probably 3-4 tablespoons)
2. One slicing tomato
3. 3 garlic cloves
4. One cucumber
5. One bell pepper. I've used red, green, and yellow. This soup uses red.
   That's it, in the order in which I add the ingredients to my blender. Yields about 5.25 cups (1.25 liters). Everything but the lemon juice comes from my local, chemical-free farmer's market.

August 13 marked my 240th day of maintenance (chemo weight blips notwithstanding) since I had reached my goal weight. That meant another 30-day update on MyFitnessPal. Here's the big picture:

My average weight continues to hold fairly steady even with the chemo blips, which had mainly occurred under A/C. Here's the detailed view (day 17 marks my start on Taxol):

My breast cancer support group has been on hiatus for the summer. My photo, taken at the June meeting, appears in the latest newsletter:

I'm holding my fabulous chemo port/breast surgery pillow from Hello Courage. Am looking forward to reconnecting next month!