Hair Trouble… Still Undefined!

Well, my hair is still coming out pretty darn easily if I hardly pull it. It is disheartening, but I am still hopeful that all it is is stress. I mean, who wouldn’t be stressed out to find out that they have cancer for the second time, aka 1/10 of their life? I certainly am stressed out more than any final has ever made me, more than any guy problems have ever caused me, and more stressed out than any big swim meet has made me. As much as I choose to try to ignore my health problems, I am sure subconsciously my body is under a whole ton of pressure. With the chemicals, the sudden lack of working out, and the increase of sitting on the couch, I am sure that my body is not very happy with me. 

In other news, I am no longer feeling nauseous or feeling any sort of chemo aftermath for that matter. Well, except my teeth and gums are very sore which makes me want to kind of bite at my cheeks and inside of my lips, that is about it for my side effects. My cold is finally going away, which is a relief because it was just adding insult to injury- so not needed in my case.

My left lung is feeling iffy still. When I yawn or breathe in deeply it still hurts, but I will be able to workout without a problem. I cannot wait to get another chest xray to see how the fluid in my lung is doing- preferably decreasing as it has been. Chemo should be helping get rid of the fluid and should help with the reinflating of my lung, considering that the tumor(s) which caused the lung to collapse will be shrinking.

I really miss my swim friends. I miss not seeing them every day for at least two hours a day. I even miss having the hard sets with them at practice. It is so weird for me not to see the people who I have spent the last five months with. Considering that I am no longer in the same area as they are, I live around 100 miles away from my school normally, it is difficult to catch up with them on a regular basis. As much as I know I will be seeing them for the next spring semester, it still is hard knowing that I will not be running into them at school because I will not be attending school in the fall semester. I will be taking one online class, but I am not going to be going to school very often unless there is a water polo game scheduled when I am feeling decent.

To end my post, I went online shopping yesterday and got a new practice suit. I am extremely excited for it to come in- I already have so many two piece practice suits, but you could say I am addicted to them. I also got two pairs of shorts and a shirt… I guess you could say I was treating myself after finishing up my semester as well as my last essay for a while. I wish I would be doing enough stuff and being active enough to post what I have been up to every day, but I think I would run out of things to say. I do hang out with my best friend DeAngela every day, but a lot of the time we sit on the couch and just relax. Although tomorrow, I promise I will go swimming and make her come with me, we both need the exercise to keep our summer bodies in check! So goodnight and I will keep you guys posted… for sure about my hair problems!

Letting Reality Sink in (For the First Time)

Kevin taking funny pictures of me while I sleep

Kevin taking funny pictures of me while I sleep

I guess my sadness is coming through right now because of how scared I am that the doctors cannot surgically remove any tumors because the lining of my lungs, or the pleural cavity, it is very unusual. I have to ask my doctors if indeed I can still go through with radiation because it seriously works with my type of cancer. I keep on thinking about the things I would like to accomplish before I die or get rediagnosed… I am trying not to keep my hopes up to be disappointed, so I will do everything in my power to have a fun and active life.

Today I was visited by my best friend Kevin in the hospital for my outpatient chemo, and of course was in tow with my other bff DeAngela who is taking care of me while she is having summer break. My mom is paying her for the work, considering it takes just about eight hours to get to and from my house (including my chemo). We hung out with my chemo buddy Andrew, as he has the exact same cancer as I do and is only a year younger than I am, and it sure is nice to talk to someone who is going through the same difficulties and compare side effects.

Once I got my Ativan for the start of my chemo I fell asleep and attempted to watch some of the new Batman movie with DeAngela and Kevin, but with no luck. Then again, I would rather be sleeping than feeling nauseous. Today, unfortunately, I am nauseous for the first time and am not in a very fantastic mood. I can only hope that I feel better tomorrow and will be able to start the day off fresh. As long as my cat decides to sleep with me and not be hyperactive, I will immediately feel better.