Take 2 Benadryl and Call me in the morning" - Finished Round 6 out of 8 today!

"Take 2 Benadryl and Call me in the morning" is the theme for the taxol rounds. Turns out I'm a bit allergic to Taxol and it creates the classic "sneezing, watery eyes, red-face, itchy throat " histamine response. The last hour in the chair was pretty amusing - luckily for me the kleenexes are free at the infusion center :) I came home and took 2 Benadryl which promptly put me face down in my bed!

Now that I've been through the entire two weeks of my first round of Taxol I can report that for the most part the side effects are far more tolerable than the AC rounds. Still a bit of what I call "chemo palate" ( things taste funny), some bone pain, fatigue, and mouth sensitivity ( no sores this time) but no major 4 day headaches, no seeing stars, no nausea, no "lower GI tract pain/issues". I will be stocking up on the Benadryl though!

In other news, my 2008 tax return is complete and was mailed today. Big refund - yay! Yeah, yeah, I know, I shoulda done this earlier....no need to let the government collect interest on my money. My refi is well under way and I spent the last 2 weeks getting financially organized including sorting through the:

"Spaten Box"- Sometimes the fear of something is bigger than the thing itself. This was certainly the case with the Spaten Box. Ever since diagnosis I have placed all the unopened medical bills, insurance EOB's and any other mail associated with my disease into an empty Spaten Box. After dealing with some of my family members' medical bills and fighting with the insurance companies for coverage I just didn't have the energy during the early part of my disease to deal with fighting the inevitable fight with the insurance companies. This is not a cheap disease and I appreciate having my company's insurance plan but I knew there would be a fight somewhere. Anyway, it had been 3 1/2 months and some of the bills started showing up with those red borders that indicates they are thinking of sending the bills to collection. So, I knew it was time but I just didn't feel like sitting at home alone sorting through the box - I needed moral support.

Just then, in the nick ot time, my friend Linda invited me and my injured friend Pat to join her at her art studio. She was going to make art, and Pat was going to hang out with a few books and I could have a spot to sort out the Spaten box in the company of supportive friends. It worked like a charm and it turns out that I owe a very reasonable amount considering the exhorbitant cost of cancer treatment and there is only one $3,000 denial to fight. And, to boot, I used that momentum to organize ALL my financial records so I can make intelligent plans for the remainder of my treatment. Turns out the fear of the Spaten Box was bigger than the result!

Thanks to ALL of you for your support in all of the different ways that you show it. I really appreciate it!

Next step - Meeting with the surgeon on Monday - whoah that's starting to feel real!