Tuesday waiting game

Yesterday was another respite day. I had a cancer class in the morning which was held at the center where I will be going to receive the chemo. It was very in depth about what my body will be going through. I don't know if they normally do it one on one, but there weren't any other patients in there with us. There are so many resources available to me as a cancer patient. Nutrition counseling, counseling for children whose family members who have cancer, etc. My class leader, Tracy, went over each step in detail She explained each possible side effect and some ways to combat those. Nausea used to be a more common complaint, but there are so many anti-nausea treatments that it is not as big a concern. However, I have been counseled to take any medication immediately and not 'tough' it out. Fatigue, mouth sores, neuropathy, achy bones, and of course hair loss, etc. Even though I knew all this, I feel better having heard what she had to say about it. We (Mother came with me) got a quick tour of the facility. There are nice, large recliners which the patient sits in during the treatment time. There are small, not comfortable looking chairs that anyone accompanying the patient can sit in. (glorified class/conference room chairs). I will be able to move around a little if I wish. The treatment time will be around 6+ hours. Joanne told me that she was sleepy and dozed most of her time. When I asked Tracy if that is normally the case, she said no. I can ask for a relaxation drug if I wish, but I should be able to read or do handwork or whatever. I just realized that won't work if I wear the cold packs on my hands. Tracy said she hadn't really seen people using cold packs, but she has heard the theory behind why I might want to do it. I don't want to take any chances on getting neuropathy.

I had not remembered the correct class start time, so Mother and I were there 1/2 hour early. It was good to gather thoughts and just talk. The only bad thing was that it put us that much later for breakfast. We went to Frank's Diner just a few miles from our house. It was GOOD! They had a half size serving available and it was perfect. If I had ordered the full size, I may have eaten more, but gone home feeling too full. The hash browns were the way I like them, and the omelet was perfectly done. They do a buttermilk biscuit, open it up and slather it with butter then brown in on the grill YUM!

The rest of the day was some laundry and answering a lot of texts and trying to read up on some stuff. Jeff's car didn't start on Sunday, so he had my car. Luckily Mother and Daddy were here so we had their car on hand for all the places I have to go. We had been thinking of this anyway, but we decided to give Jeff's car to them since we are getting a new(er) car - buying Becky's car. D took the car to the repair shop literally across the street to have it checked. He decided it was worth repairing it (new battery and alternator), and they spent yesterday getting that done and changing the title. We then went to the temple in the evening. That was a very wonderful time to be there. We barely made it - Jeff had a chatty client that made him really late. We met him half-way there and slipped in just at the last minute. Afterwards, Mother and I were in the dressing room and felt a hug from behind and we turned around to see Stacy there! It was good to talk with her even though the girls and I were just there last week. Since my progress (or not) is changing everyday, I had some things to catch her up on. That was a blessing. The setting sun and the crescent moon were both a bright orange-red because of all the fires in Central Washington. There are so many and with the wind blowing all the smoke our way, we have had hazy atmosphere for longer than a week. Tonight, we couldn't even seen the sun the haze was so thick. It felt like dusk right before a storm from 5:00 on tonight.