Saturday, May 23, 2020
Two weeks later, I am still not a fan of soul-sucking chemotherapy. I was finally not exhausted at the end of the day yesterday, but I was still tired. I am not feeling nauseous, I do not feel like I am going to pass out when I get up in the morning anymore, and my creativity level is still good. I am however, moving very slowly, and I still cannot eat. Living in slow motion is why I decided to nickname chemotherapy treatment number three soul-sucking chemotherapy.
Every task is taking me twice as much time to complete than usual. Okay, probably not really, but it feels like the truth. I did not finish my Tuesday tasks until Thursday morning. I still have very few completed journal entries since the first week of May, and most of those unfinished entries are blank. Those journal entries may stay blank if my body keeps refusing to move at a much quicker pace. I did attend a two-hour Zoom networking meeting for one of the businesswomen’s groups I belong to which did take some of the time I devote to Tuesday tasks, but I only edited, uploaded, and scheduled three videos, so I should have been able to finish the other tasks, but I keep getting slower as the day moves on and my productivity evaporates. I think about opening a journal entry page and decide writing is too much effort.
Today, my significant other, Donald, and I have eye exams scheduled. Donald needs to pay big bucks for his glasses because he wears bifocals. Donald needs to get at least two pairs because he needs prescription safety glasses that are impact resistant, progressive, photosensitive, and whatever else they throw at him. Donald usually ends up spending approximately 150 dollars for his regular glasses and 400 dollars for his safety glasses. Because I do not drive, I simply get one pair of computer glasses and one pair of distance glasses. I can get two pairs of glasses for approximately 70 dollars.
It upsets Donald that we are both old and would need bifocals to see up close and far away from the same set of lenses, but I never need to see both distances at the same time so I spend 500 dollars less than him. Actually, Donald usually pays for my glasses because we go at the same time for our appointments so you would think he would be happy not to be spending another 150 dollars. I did not get new glasses last summer because chemotherapy drugs affect your eyesight and I was waiting until I finished chemotherapy treatments.
Now that I know I will never finish chemotherapy treatments, okay not never, I will stop chemotherapy treatments when I die, I need to simply accept I must spend 70 dollars for new glasses each year as the chemotherapy treatments hasten the degradation of my eyesight. It is time to go now so I will see if all goes as expected at the eye care store.
Yes, cancer is killing my eyesight. I have a thick cataract now in my right eye, instead of a slight cataract. Fortunately, my left eye is still clear. Since I saw the eye doctor a few months before my initial cancer diagnosis, we did not discuss how chemotherapy specifically affects your eyes. The side effects listed for the chemotherapy drugs are general such as “worsening eyesight”. Today, the eye doctor told me chemotherapy drugs can cause cataracts which is why my cataract has gotten so much worse in just two years. The eye doctor said cataract surgery does not require a long healing time, so whenever I take my next chemotherapy break, I can contact an eye surgeon to schedule surgery. The eye doctor told me my cataract is still soft, so removal is not time sensitive simply vision sensitive.
My piece of advice to you is to get regular eye exams. I can barely wait seven to ten days for my new glasses to arrive. Because of my cataract, my distance vision is not spectacular, but when the eye doctor put the chart 18 inches away, I could see quite clearly. I am so excited to read my computer screen easily again!
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Two weeks later, I am still not a fan of soul-sucking chemotherapy. I was finally not exhausted at the end of the day yesterday, but I was still tired. I am not feeling nauseous, I do not feel like I am going to pass out when I get up in the morning anymore, and my creativity level is still good. I am however, moving very slowly, and I still cannot eat. Living in slow motion is why I decided to nickname chemotherapy treatment number three soul-sucking chemotherapy.
Every task is taking me twice as much time to complete than usual. Okay, probably not really, but it feels like the truth. I did not finish my Tuesday tasks until Thursday morning. I still have very few completed journal entries since the first week of May, and most of those unfinished entries are blank. Those journal entries may stay blank if my body keeps refusing to move at a much quicker pace. I did attend a two-hour Zoom networking meeting for one of the businesswomen’s groups I belong to which did take some of the time I devote to Tuesday tasks, but I only edited, uploaded, and scheduled three videos, so I should have been able to finish the other tasks, but I keep getting slower as the day moves on and my productivity evaporates. I think about opening a journal entry page and decide writing is too much effort.
Today, my significant other, Donald, and I have eye exams scheduled. Donald needs to pay big bucks for his glasses because he wears bifocals. Donald needs to get at least two pairs because he needs prescription safety glasses that are impact resistant, progressive, photosensitive, and whatever else they throw at him. Donald usually ends up spending approximately 150 dollars for his regular glasses and 400 dollars for his safety glasses. Because I do not drive, I simply get one pair of computer glasses and one pair of distance glasses. I can get two pairs of glasses for approximately 70 dollars.
It upsets Donald that we are both old and would need bifocals to see up close and far away from the same set of lenses, but I never need to see both distances at the same time so I spend 500 dollars less than him. Actually, Donald usually pays for my glasses because we go at the same time for our appointments so you would think he would be happy not to be spending another 150 dollars. I did not get new glasses last summer because chemotherapy drugs affect your eyesight and I was waiting until I finished chemotherapy treatments.
Now that I know I will never finish chemotherapy treatments, okay not never, I will stop chemotherapy treatments when I die, I need to simply accept I must spend 70 dollars for new glasses each year as the chemotherapy treatments hasten the degradation of my eyesight. It is time to go now so I will see if all goes as expected at the eye care store.
Yes, cancer is killing my eyesight. I have a thick cataract now in my right eye, instead of a slight cataract. Fortunately, my left eye is still clear. Since I saw the eye doctor a few months before my initial cancer diagnosis, we did not discuss how chemotherapy specifically affects your eyes. The side effects listed for the chemotherapy drugs are general such as “worsening eyesight”. Today, the eye doctor told me chemotherapy drugs can cause cataracts which is why my cataract has gotten so much worse in just two years. The eye doctor said cataract surgery does not require a long healing time, so whenever I take my next chemotherapy break, I can contact an eye surgeon to schedule surgery. The eye doctor told me my cataract is still soft, so removal is not time sensitive simply vision sensitive.
My piece of advice to you is to get regular eye exams. I can barely wait seven to ten days for my new glasses to arrive. Because of my cataract, my distance vision is not spectacular, but when the eye doctor put the chart 18 inches away, I could see quite clearly. I am so excited to read my computer screen easily again!
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
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