BOSTON -- I've been plugging along with chemo doing the best I can to manage the nausea, strange tastes in my mouth and fatigue. I guess it's gone better than I expected considering some of the horror stories I've heard.

Mostly, I've experience one bad week then two good ones where I can pretend my life is normal. With each treatment, I have noticed the side affects seem to linger longer. I have been just trying to keep moving -- mostly walking -- working and enjoying my life.

Then I hit a low point.

Before chemo, I had been warned by my oncology nurse to call if I got a fever of 100.2. She said it so many times I could not possible forget that number.

100.2

She also told me 10 to 14 days after a chemo treatment, my blood counts would be at their lowest. I may feel tired and more vulnerable to an infection. So imagine my concern when nine days after treatment I woke up barely able to get out of bed. The thermometer delivered the dreaded news: a temperature of 101. I had to call Dana Farber.

It was Good Friday, and the car was packed for a weekend at my parents' house. First stop was to the lab for a check of my blood counts. Baby Cecilia and I spent a little more than an hour waiting for the results while I scrambled to see if Madeline could stay at extended day at school. Finally, we learned the counts were low normal. I was free to go. But I was warned to call in if the fevers continued.

They did. On Saturday, my temperature rose to 103. I felt horrible. I now had the worst cold of my life. I was coughing, congested and feverish. It was a nasty cold that had spread to our whole family. Only now I was getting seriously concerned about what this could mean for my health.

When is a cold not just a cold? When you have cancer.

The doctor on call at Dana Farber wanted me to head to the Emergency Room at Cape Cod Hospital as soon as possible. I needed another blood count.

According to what I read online, chemotherapy can kill off blood cells as they develop. White blood cells go first because they have the shortest life span in the blood. And you need white blood cells to fight infections.

I was miserable at the ER. I just wanted to be home in bed. I cried when the doctor told me I had to go to the hospital. Since my diagnosis, I have hated the idea of being too sick to care for my kids. It is one of the things I dread most.

I have tried so hard to stay mentally and physically strong through this treatment. But at the hospital, I felt so powerless and weak.

The nurses took so much blood to test I couldn't believe I had any left! They took urine samples and chest X-rays and started an IV to hydrate me. We spent four hours getting tests to make sure my body could continue to fight this illness as well as cancer. Finally, the doctor got my counts and said I was free to go. My counts were low, but not dangerously so.

I did spend Easter with family trying to avoid spreading my cold or catching anything else in the room. It was wonderful to see everyone, but I was physically exhausted and struggling to get through the meal.

I'm now on antibiotics and am finally starting to feel better. It has been a challenging week and a reminder of how things have changed since my cancer diagnosis. I can't wait to start exercising again and try to get my life back a bit.

I am looking ahead to my final AC treatment next week. It's a huge milestone for me to get through this difficult phase of chemotherapy. I'll be at the halfway point of chemo. The next drugs should not have so many side affects, and my hair will start growing back.

My husband better not get used to my one-minute showers and limited mirror time! I'll admit that is the one good thing about chemo and hair loss. I can get ready in five minutes flat.

Although I think I may need to start worrying about painting on eyebrows and gluing on eyelashes soon. That may require some serious mirror time. Bald and no brows or lashes. Oh boy.

I just keep trying to laugh so I don't cry!