Round 3 = fatigue, funny tasting food, and frozen shoulder

Chemo #3 on 5/28 is in the books! I wasn’t able to get acupuncture during the infusion, but we did enjoy some leftover home cooked Japanese food from my mom which was equally calming and good for the body 😉

The after effects were a little different this time around. The bone pain was only bad for a few days, but I’ve had bad indigestion, bloating, and overall stomach issues + some nausea throw into the mix. The nausea meds seem to work really well, so that part has been manageable. I’ve ben doing acupuncture once a week which might be helping to ease some of the side effects as well.

The most noticeable change has been fatigue. By 3pm, I notice myself getting exhausted, so I’ve been trying pace myself that first week back to work. I’ve also noticed that I start to lose my breath after even a few flights of stairs! I used to be super productive all day, starting at 6am and ending at midnight. Those 18 hours were filled with a full day of work, errands, carpools, working out, calls, emails, planning… and maybe a few minutes here and there to eat and go to the bathroom – but I was usually multitasking during both LOL. For all you working parents (especially the moms), you know the drill. Now, I have to squeeze in way more sleep (mostly because I get up a lot at night with hot flashes) and I’ve had to de-prioritize and reduce just about everything else I’m doing. I will say, it’s been nice to have way less going on to manage and worry about – makes taking care of myself a lot easier.

One of the craziest side effects from chemo is the impact it has on your tastebuds. Stuff tastes either bland, weird, or totally disgusting. And it’s hard to predict which foods will taste like what. To give you some examples:

• Bland: anything salty, anything processed
• Weird: juice, pasta
• Disgusting: plain water, any kind of grilled fresh fish, strawberries

I’ve been craving weird stuff like bagels and cream cheese, tuna fish, and peanut butter and jelly. Nectarines/peaches and blueberries are some of the only fruits I can still fully taste and enjoy. I have not been eating as healthy as before I started chemo, but I’ve been told to just focus on eating (as healthy as I can manage) because my body needs fuel to repair itself.

My biggest priority now is to get rid of my frozen shoulder so I have as close to full range of motion for the radiation CT planning appointment on 7/1. For those who have known me for a while, you know I have dislocated both shoulders 2-3x each. Some of you have witnessed these crazy moments (gymnastics practice, night swimming, the Villas, spring break in Key West, surfing in Hawaii, etc). I had frozen shoulder a few years ago, so it wasn’t a surprise that it happened again post surgery. Thank you to my PT and PT friends who have been helping me along the way!

Aside from the occasional brain fog (usually when trying to recall someone’s name), I’m feeling pretty good and looking forward to another week of recovery so I’m as strong as possible heading into my 4th and last chemo on 6/18. This adventure has continued to provide so much perspective around what really matters in life, and has allowed me to slow down a bit to smell the roses as they say. Thanks for your continued love and support over the past 5 months – that’s a long time to keep me on your mind given everything else you have going on in your busy lives. I appreciate it so much!

xo

😘💪🏼❤️