2/16/2010 - Round 5, Day 1 (Last Round!)

Belated happy Chinese New Year! May we all have a healthy, happy and prosperous year of the Tiger.

Belated Happy Valentine's day, too! It is very nice to have a day to celebrate the people we love. My husband and I went to our favorite Japanese restaurant. We have not been there since I got sick, so we both missed it quite a bit. Although I am no longer neutropenic, I didn't want to take the risk of getting bacteria, so I had to jealously watched my husband enjoy his delicious sashimi while I enjoy my cooked dishes - must be love! :-)

My blood count steadily went up since I last wrote. The blood test last Friday confirmed that my body is ready for the next round of chemo. However, the doctor suggested that I have a bone marrow transplant instead - yikes! The doctor had said that she will only do a BMT if there is a perfect match, but now she's thinks the 90+% match that we now have is good enough. I did not like this change in her position. Apparently, the chances of getting a perfect match is getting slim, because they have gone through the best possible matches from the national registry. I am still not convinced that I should go through a BMT, especially when there is no perfect match for me, so here I am having my last round of chemo.

I am so excited about getting to the end of this journey that I have been planning our family celebration once this whole thing is over. We will have a short family vacation when the kids go on spring break to celebrate my healing. I also wish I could get on a private jet and visit everyone who have supported us during this journey. It will be so nice to personally thank all of you. Besides, that will be a great reason to travel the world! Now, that will be a journey I would totally enjoy! Okay, time to wake up...

I also spent much time these days reading up on how I can reduce the chances of having a relapse and how to live a healthier lifestyle. So far, it has been quite interesting, and shocking sometimes. Some of the things I read I have heard countless times from my mother - "Drink more water", "Eat your vegetables", "Go to bed early", "Be kind to yourself (I tend to overwork)", etc. I am blessed to have a mother who is health conscious. My father died when we were still young, and the thought of leaving 7 orphans behind should anything happen to her motivated her to keep herself healthy. Now, I find myself in a similar position. The thought of leaving my 2 little girls without a mother is motivation enough for me to live a healthier lifestyle.

Here are some of the things I learned. Since I am no expert, and even experts argue among themselves, please take all these with a grain of salt.
- Sleep 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day. For those who have a hard time falling asleep, keep the room dark and use natural sleeping aids such as valerian (named after me - ha! ha!), 5-HTP or melatonin. The quality of sleep before midnight is better - I forgot why.
- Drink water. How much? Our weight divided by 2 is the number of ounces we need each day.
- Avoid partially homogenized vegetable/soybean oil. This is a stinker! I didn't know how much of the food we're eating has this ingredient. With my family history of heart disease, I have replaced butter with margarine and real cream cheese with soy-based cream cheese. I have deprived myself of the real thing only to find out the replacement is actually worse. Partially homogenized oils are bad for the heart and can cause cancer - a double whammy! So, I am going back to the real thing, but just limit the consumption.

Oops! Time for bed. I will continue sharing what I have learned in my future blogs. Please pray that my chemo treatment will be uneventful - no nausea, mouth sores or other complications. Please also pray that my family and I will be protected from the flu and cold viruses, and that we will stay positive and happy.

Thank you for your continued prayers and may God bless you and your family!