Chemo #5 is in the books
Good news, mostly-good news, and not-so-terrible news from the chemo doc today:

• The masses are smaller now than they were in January, some as much as 80% smaller.
• I am going to see a urologist about having this stupid, inconvenient, easily infected nephrostomy and its accompanying drain bag removed from my kidney and replaced with a stent after chemo ends.
• All of the fluid in my lungs and abdomen is gone.
• My blood work continues to look good.
• My kidneys are working pretty well in spite of the chemicals, but showing some reduced function. The doc is not concerned.
• I will have one more treatment in June, but then will probably have some time off. If the masses begin to grow again, there will be more chemo at that time.
• There is a mass on my spine. I'm having an MRI in a couple of weeks, and may have some radiation at that spot in the future, but the doc did not seem too worried about it.
• I am somewhat anemic, no real surprise, and will be getting some fresh blood tomorrow. The doc promised to dig into the SPECIAL blood supply and give me only the very best.

I feel pretty well most of the time. Each chemo treatment has gone a bit easier that the previous one. I'll have a few days of nausea next week, but I have drugs to treat it and it will pass quickly. I'm fatigued all of the time, but the transfusion will help with that. I am back to work just a few days a month for just a few hours a day, and it feels great to be out of the house, see what a wonderful job my coworkers have done with the store, and visit with some of my favorite customers. I have had zero hair loss this time, and have a full head of curly, graying hair. Since the end of January, I've lost between thirty and forty pounds that I truly needed to lose, but the weight loss has slowed down and is much less alarming than it was in March. Only another hundred or so to go!
To those of you who wait until I walk away and then ask Rich, "So how is she REALLY doing?", I think I am doing REALLY well, all things considered. My attitude is much more positive. I think that I will not die in the immediate future. I am mostly incredibly bored with being home all of the time, but I am enjoying my alone time so much that I am giving serious consideration to becoming a hermit (not really).
I am unbelievably tired of talking about cancer, but I'm glad to answer your questions because I know that you care, BOTH of you who read this blog. I am unimaginably tired of
living with cancer, but it's what I have to do at this point.
So, not such bad news this time!

I've knitted a lot but not finished much. 
My Tuesday-night knitters wanted me to teach them how to do stranded fair-isle-type colorwork, so I've started these:

 

I'm calling them my "Very 80s Socks" because these colors were incredibly popular in home decor in that period. Who DIDN'T have a little country blue and pink in their home in those days? Don't judge me. This is the second attempt. Colorwork has a strong tendency to pull in as it's knitted, and there was no way these socks were going to go over my ankle and heel. I added a couple of repeats of the pattern to make them fit better.

I finished these in April:
They are affectionately called "Clown-Barf Socks" for what I hope are obvious reasons.

These were started AND finished in April:

Pattern is "Lake Ontario" from the Day Trips pattern. They need a good washing and drying to pull them together, but they are going to be very warm and cozy socks!

There is a 'new' Big YellowBike in the garage. It's a 2010. Anyone interested in a silver 2002?