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.
Just 17 days left and three treatments of Taxotere.
It's hard to believe the Summer of Chemo is almost over. And yes, I am counting.
It seems like whenever I get too wrapped up in my own cancer experience, though, something happens to shake me back to reality.
I was in the chemo room Monday, chatting with the nurses about how the end is near. Then, a woman with whom I've spent part of every morning for months now came in. She is getting chemo and has been doing pretty well, we thought. Now, though, she is having pain and is afraid her cancer may be getting worse again. She has to have more tests this week. She's worried. I'm worried.
I train myself to think so positively that it's hard to process that events like this happen, when they do happen. I'm definitely sending all my prayers and positive thinking to her right now. I've been thinking about her all week. I can't wait to see her Monday.
I went to see my eye specialist today, one last visit before the end of Taxotere. Good news: no scarring of the tear ducts. No problems to report. There's a new study that'll be published soon about the effect of Taxotere on tear ducts and tearing. I'm waiting for it, so I can learn more.
There was another race last weekend, this one at Celebration. It was a 10k (6.2 miles). It was a great day, nice and cool. My running time came down, but still, it was tough at the end. I had lunch today with a new friend who is also a runner and went through breast cancer treatment earlier this year. She said it took a while even after chemo ended for her to get her endurance back. I'm guessing it'll be ditto for speed. I looked back on the Internet to see my time for the Disney half-marathon from last January. It was my best half-marathon ever. I was fast. Sigh.
Have I mentioned my perfectly normal white and red blood cell counts lately? It's true. Because of that, I can make an appointment to get my teeth cleaned. That may sound odd, but I haven't been able to do that, because of the danger of infection. It's just one more sign that the end is near. (And hopefully, I won't have any cavities.)
Another sign of that -- my hair is more than an inch long now. I'm going to do something fun with it, since I still have to wear the wig anyway. I'm going to bleach all the color out of it, and have Anne Heche hair. Michael and I are going to do that Sunday. Why, you ask? I don't really know. Maybe I'm just a frustrated blonde. I'll have a picture here, you can be sure of that. I figure a month or so later, I'll color it back to "normal," and go on TV with my new short hair. I can't wait.
In the meantime, it's going to be a busy weekend. The Canine Companions for Independence Gala is Friday night. Jack Hanna is the highlight of the event. I'd love to have his job. Just play with animals all day long and wear khaki. I could do that.
Saturday night is Todd Husty's 50th birthday party. Fifty. Wow. He doesn't look a day over 49 1/2. :-). And Sunday is the Florida Hospital Gala. Lots to do! I'll have to come back to work Monday to rest! (Just kidding, boss!)
Wendy
Nov. 16, 2001
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