One small step for WOman...

one week into the sutent cycle. side effects are minimal still so i try to take this opportunity to visit with friends...before i get too tired and before my white cells are down too much. this time, i am still basking in the glow of good news of how great the drug is working...so much so that i am starting to take my life back. starting to see more and more of my friends and meet new ones. wanting to celebrate this first step in a long line of steps to beating this. i want to scream from the rafters...i want to brag to anyone who will listen....I AM WINNING!!!!

one thing i want to bitch about. the sutent is really messing up my thyroid...they upped the dose to 75mcg because the second round of sutent messed it up more than the first. unfortunately, it takes the body a while to regulate itself with the help of the synthroid...5 to 6 weeks. so, in the meantime, my hair is falling out like crazy. not in clumps like with chemo, just all over like old age. this is a side effect of my thyroid issue which, as i mentioned, is being affected by the sutent. dr. doom says that the thyroid should return to normal when i am taken off the sutent, but until then, they will monitor it with the other blood tests and adjust the dosage accordingly. i HATE how thin my hair is now. i know it seems extremely vain in the grand scheme of things, but i have always had thick hair...a lions mane my family called it. now that it is so thin AND the fact that it grows in white while im on the sutent makes it look even thinner. my hair part looks like i have a skunk stripe on my head. i have been getting my roots done every 4 wks, but i am not due until the 20th and i already need it now....BAD. uggg.

ok...enough whining about trivial bullshit...on to the important stuff.

follow up appointment for the usual blood check and physical is Jan 23rd. last day of sutent in round 3 is Jan 30th. my next scan to determine whether i am heading to surgery or not is Feb. 11th(happy Val-dog Day). appointment with surgeon is currently set for March 11th (assuming the scan looks good). maybe the Easter Bunny will take my kidney and ovary for me this Easter! ha!

anyhoo, i probably won't write much, if at all until i get more news or something else happens. i try to stay busy visiting "Team Bean Saver" members as i already mentioned. tootles!