Taxol Round Two...and I won Phase 10.

My second round of Taxol was mostly uneventful, and I think that's a good thing.

When we got there, I learned that somewhere along the line, the message that I was supposed to have blood work drawn to check my liver enzymes got lost. I couldn't start my infusion until they'd checked it, which would take between 60 and 90 minutes.

My nurse had a bit of trouble getting blood return on my port, though it was flushing just fine. She had me raise my arm and breathe in deeply, and that did the trick. The blood would flow whenever I took a breath in, and it'd stop when I breathed out. Weird, but effective after a few deep breaths. She capped my port access, and Debbie and I took a walk around the hospital while we waited for the results.

My liver enzymes were fine, so we were good to start the infusion. Since I didn't have any negative reaction to the Taxol last time, I was able to take the my Benadryl and Pepcid orally rather than by IV,  which saved a bit of time. I still had the IV steroid, but that's a small bag and doesn't take too long. The nurse said I was a little anemic, but between the chemotherapy and the pregnancy, it's not surprising. It isn't low enough that it needs to be treated; I'll just use my cast iron pots more and up my greens and such.

Debbie and I rematched in Phase 10, and I won this time. We finished the game just a few minutes before my infusion finished, so yay for good timing.

We finished up about half an hour before my genetics appointment, so Debbie went on home and Kevin met me at the hospital. After reviewing my medical history and family history of cancer, she explained the types of panels that are available. As best as I can recall, the simplest is to look for just the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, then a mid grade and a full panel. The full panel identifies any genes that are known or suspected to be related to risk of breast cancer, though there are many that have an unknown significance. We decided to do the full panel; I think more information can be helpful, and I don't think I'd freak out unnecessarily over potential results. It'll take between four and five weeks, which is kind of an annoyingly long time...and means we'll get the results right around the time baby comes. Let's pray they're good results, okay?

After the appointment, we headed to the old house to meet with the contractor who has been doing a bunch of work to get the house ready to rent. The biggest changes are the revealed ceramic tile in the bathroom (the original owners had stuck linoleum over top of it) and the addition of a wall in the basement to separate the front area from the utility area and create a potential third bedroom. New flooring, a painted ceiling, updated lighting make that space quite nice. We're hoping we can get someone in there very soon...know anyone looking for a place to rent? We have a nice rowhouse available!