Editor's Note: NewsChannel 2 Anchor Wendy Chioji is grateful to all of the viewers who have expressed their best wishes as she wages her fight against breast cancer.
Chioji has chosen to use NewsChannel20000.com as her way of keeping the public updated on her health. New diary entries will be posted every Friday.
Hi everybody.
I am now one-third of the way through the Taxotere treatments.
Four down, eight to go. Still no fatigue, no joint pain. I'm always on alert for side effects. I'm rarely disappointed, at least through this cancer treatment.
Want to know how little the Taxotere is affecting me? On Monday, I ran five miles, took my chemo and then went to lift weights. It was a piece of cake.
This week, I've really been able to build on my endurance with longer runs and two-hour bike rides.
I'm trying to make sure my 50-mile bike ride in Mount Dora this weekend doesn't kill me. I signed up to take part in the Mount Dora Bike Festival. The ride I chose is 50 miles, and includes a stop at a German bakery. Cycle, strudel, cycle. It sounds like my kind of day. I have never ridden that far before, but I figure it's a good time to try. I like the idea of achieving an athletic goal like this, during chemo. And, it'll be a lovely 89 degrees.
Let's talk hair. My hair is growing back. It's now between 1/8" and 1/4" long. I had my friend, Kimberly, measure it with a ruler, which was kind of funny. When I went to see Dr. Dave last week, he said something like, "Maybe it won't fall out," which made me freeze in my tracks. I hadn't even considered that this might not be the growing-out-for-good phase. I asked the nurses about that, and they reassured me that if it's growing like this now, after a month of Taxotere, it's not going to fall out. I am going to choose to believe the nurses. They always have good information about side effects.
I love the wig that Michael made for me, but I am tired of wearing it. I think I'll stop wearing it as soon as my hair is a couple of inches long. I could like that Sharon Stone, boyish look on me for a while. I'm sure I'll get e-mails from people who don't like it, but for me, not wearing the wig anymore would be such a symbol of getting better, I won't care.
One concept I've had trouble accepting, especially in times when I feel so good, is that I'll be a cancer survivor forever. I often wake up forgetting that cancer will be a part of my life for the rest of my life. Then, I'll remember.
Not that the prospect of it gets me down, but I do get, well, irritated. There are times when I think, I'm too young to have to deal with tests and shots and monitoring and surgery and MRIs and bone scans and CAT scans for the next few decades.
It's amazing to me sometimes that that'll be part of my life from now on. It's incongruous to my life before the cancer diagnosis. I know I'm lucky and blessed that my situation has an excellent prognosis, but as a 39-year-old woman, it's sometimes a little tough to take. It's hard to explain. Unfortunately, lots of women share the exact same feelings.
In case you don't know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are many fundraisers and public awareness events this month. Get involved, if you can. Learn something about how to protect yourself or someone you love. And if you haven't scheduled your mammogram or doctor's appointment or follow-up visit, or learned how to do your own self-exam, there's no better time than now. No excuses.
Wendy
October 12, 2001
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