My mood is a wobble.
The good news–thanks to a miracle product suggested by a nurse who works with head and neck cancers, my mucositis is finally under control. Yet there, but a tiny little brush fire. I ordered this stuff from Amazon and it’s not cheap but it is worth every penny.
I have scans again next Tuesday—because of the time off treatment they came up fast. Infusion is scheduled again two days later but I am hoping that Jess and Alice will read my scans first and we can discuss.
My ongoing issue is depression. Given that I had an infusion reaction right out of the gate, I am wondering if this could be related to cytokine release–which my smart friend Janet suggested as a possibility. I have been dealing with GI symptoms–both diarrhea and vomiting, as well as occasional chills; all of which could be attributed to cytokines. Those are manageable side effects, but being sad is not.
I continue to prepare meals, walk my dog, go to the studio. And–with social distancing observed–I am gradually becoming more social. On Saturday my friend Jim picked me up and we drove up the coast–with masks on and windows open–stopping at a restaurant on the marsh just south of Portsmouth for fried clams and a lobster roll. It was so much fun. I’ve had three other picnics in the past two weeks now; that and hiking seem to be the best sort of outing for the moment. My friends have all been super respectful when it comes to wearing masks, for which I am most grateful.
So that’s the scoop (one daily, mixed in water, for the Healios).
xo
life and breath: outliving lung cancer 
I think a lobster roll would improve my day too!
All encouraging news Linnea, steady!❤️✊🏼
So glad to know you found something helpful for the mucositis.
BTW, if you need a lot of generic imodium for diarrhea side effects (like I do) on the advice of your oncologist and can’t find them because of the new FDA restriction against OTC bottles of them, leaving only expensive & hard-to-open blister packs of 12 of 24, try checking online for BJ’s wholesale clubs that still have OTC boxes of pairs of 48-pill bottles. If they‘ve all run out, let me know and I’ll share some of my inventory that I snagged from a BJ’s 45 min away from me.
Yay for Healios, coastal drives and lobster rolls! My heart goes out to you re: depression. What I would give to banish that demon forever. Much love to you, Linnea.