Mouth Sores…

O.K. I got ‘em. They’ve been coming on for a few days. After the first chemo treatment, I had one; and it went away. This time I have several. There are a few on the inside of my lower lip and some on my tongue. I think the ones on my tongue bother me most and hurt the most. They are like canker sores. So, if you’ve ever had one of those, you know what this feels like. I got up in the middle of the night (they were hurting) and read about them in my cancer books. There wasn’t much of anything helpful there, except to explain that they are a side effect. (Yep, got that part). Cold feels better than hot, like I need another reason to eat ice cream. I’m not complaining about the mouth sores. I’m sure I could have much worse side effects; and even these could be worse than they are. I’m really only mentioning them here to continue chronicling my experiences, at this point with chemo treatment in particular. So, about the mouth sores…for the first chemo treatment, the nurse had me chew so much ice, I could barely stand it. For the second one, the nurse grabbed what was left of my Diet Pepsi and dumped in into the cup of ice, saying that no one says it can’t be flavored ice. I remember talking about the difference in treatments and noting that time would tell if more or less ice was the key. The cancer books said that there is no agreement among doctors about whether the ice treatment is effective or not. I guess for my two cents, it seems like more ice is better than less ice in my individual case. I think the doctor sent in approval for me to get hydrated through an IV after the next chemo treatment. I hope that will help me keep from getting as sick as I did last time. I completed my first week on my new job. Laura and Anthony (her little boy) came to visit on Friday. Laura will be coming to work at Harmon, as well. What a reunion this new job has turned out to be. I met Robert (principal) and Laura the first year they began teaching. We’ve all been friends ever since, and being reunited in the work place after five years just feels right. Today, a bunch of us made it to church together; it was great…Joe, Jay, John, Kathi, Krista, and me. I haven’t seen much of John lately since he started his new job. I could tell he’s missed me though. I don’t always see a lot of Jay either because he works a lot. Periodically though, he brings home gifts from women (from his work place) who have had cancer. When I had the mastectomy, a lady sent a Susan G. Komen bag with goodies in it. I still use the soft pink pillow and the pink quilt. Another lady sent a pink journal for me to write in, and the other day I got a pink bag with all kinds of little goodies and sayings to go with them. When it’s appropriate, I will pass things on to others as well.