The post below was in Draft status. It's one month later and these side effects have pretty much all gone away - except for my face hair. For some reason, I kept losing eyelashes and eyebrows. Now, I have NO eyelashes, NO eyebrows, NO nose hair (TMI!). Oh well, it's good to have my energy back!

OK, here's my end-of-chemo inventory. After five months of chemotherapy,
this should be the beginning of the end of side effects and symptoms! Absolute nadir of the experience? No question but that it was crying on Thursday nights before another Adriamycin/Cytoxan treatment. I really, really didn't want to go back in for another of those treatments! But, in I went to watch the "Red Devil" slip slowly through the tubing and into the port in my chest. Yuck! Glad that's been over since February!

Hair - still mostly gone, but now some fuzz is growing. Also, I'll have to start shaving my legs again; hair is growing back there too.

Gut - not so good! Days of constipation followed by bouts of diarrhea. Lots of gas, constantly. It's yucky - 'nuff said!

Teeth - still have to get a broken one fixed but it was a minor chip. Thanks to my stepped-up dental care there have been no more broken teeth.

Nails - Lost four toenails the other day while trying to give myself a pedicure. I'm really glad that I didn't go to a salon this time for a pedicure. How embarrassing that would have been! "Excuse me, ma'am, would you like me to glue those toenails back on for you?" My fingernails are now two-tone. Half pink and half tan (rotten). People pay good money for a two color manicure but mine was courtesy of Taxol!

Weight - gained twenty pounds during treatment. That's the way is is nowadays, they tell me. People gain weight with chemo instead of losing it. I think it's mostly due to the massive dose of steroids for pre-treatment and also to low activity levels because the chemo makes you feel bad.

Energy - Not so much. I have found out just how much garbage is on the tv. But, I watch it anyway! I rotate between reading, watching tv and surfing the net but the outside world looks so inviting! Can't wait to feel better and get outside more.

Nose drips constantly, like a little old lady! Skin is very sensitive - everything hurts more than it should.