Break's Over - on to Round 3

Hello all. I enjoyed my week off, sitting on the deck reading, taking the dog for walks and resting. It felt just like being on vacation, especially since the weather has been so pleasant - not that the sun is a true cause of happiness, as Gen-la Dekyong reminded us at the Post Spring Festival Retreat here in Seattle : )

Earlier this morning I had bloodwork done and met with a physician's assistant, Erin Shade, who examined me and asked lots of questions about how I've been feeling (in short, very good).
The chemo's working: my tumor marker CA-125 dropped again. That's very good news.
Now I'm in the hospital - back in room 1111 ! - getting chemo: 24 hours of IV Taxol, then a few hours of IP Cisplatin. You're welcome to come visit me in the hospital if you like: I'm at Swedish on "Pill Hill," in the SW wing. I should be here until tomorrow evening; if you need to ask for me, use my "real" name, "Meredith.
Next Fri I'll get a few hours of IP Taxol at the doctor's office. That will mark the halfway point for chemo, as I'm scheduled for 6 rounds in all.

I've been working my way through some cancer and nutrition books, including The Journey Through Cancer: Healing and Transforming the Whole Person, which was recommended by Sangha. It outlines 7 stages of healing, ranging from medical to emotional to spiritual, and strikes a reasonable balance balance between standard and complementary alternative treatments (the author is an MD who's studied Eastern healing practices, including Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine). Unlike some of the books and websites I've been reading, it's presented in a way that's easy to digest - I read it in a day. I'd recommend it for anyone with cancer, especially those who could benefit from chemo and/or radiation but would prefer a more "natural" approach or who are scared that chemo sounds too toxic. If you'd like to get a sense of the book, go to the author's website, which has overviews, sample chapters, author interviews, etc.
One exercise he recommends is listing your goals for the coming year, so I'm going to spend some time thinking about that, especially details about how I can make some spiritual progress.

I can also recommend to everyone - not just cancer patients - The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health, which was "prescribed" by my naturopath. You might want to start with the later chapters, which give his nutritional recommendations and are easier to get through. The first chapters give the scientific basis for his recommendations and establish his credentials. There's more info at the book's website and a sample chapter in PDF form at
http://www.thechinastudy.com/PDFs/ChinaStudy_Excerpt.pdf

On my break I also had a burst of energy where I did some organizing and filing. As you can imagine, when you're fatigued, when you're spending a lot of time going to doctor appointments, and when you're trying to understand more about your disease and improve your health, less important things pile up - like the mail and other papers. I took some time to go through it and got a lot of it into folders. Still some more work to do there ... and on other fronts : )

As always, I want to sincerely thank you for your support and prayers.