The Beginning of Chemo

Yesterday was my first chemo treatment and although it was a long day I would chalk it up as a success. I brought my entourage (my Mom, Gabi and Theresa) with me. We met with Dr. K2 first. He continues to be very optimistic about my outcome and foresees a 90-95% remission rate - I'll take it! We then moved into the chemo room which was PACKED! It was a bit of a gut check realizing how many people are in need of chemo and that this is where I would be every other Monday for the next four months. We had to wait quite awhile to get started so Gabi entertained herself (and those around her) by putting my hair in baby braids tied with dental floss. Yes, dental floss. My hair smelled minty fresh when she was done.

I had a nice nurse named Shirley who had a great sense of humor. She's lucky I liked her because I wanted to punch her in the face not once but twice within the first 10 minutes of meeting her. The first attempt at accessing my Power Port didn't go too well. (If you get queasy you may want to skim down the page.) She cleaned the area and put a freeze spray on me so I wouldn't feel the stick. It's true I didn't feel the initial stick, just pressure, so I was happy about that. That happiness faded quickly when Shirley told me that because of the swelling and a hematoma on top of the port the 1" needle didn't get into the port. She drained the hematoma and we moved into a private room so I could lay horizontal and she could bust out the 1.5" needle. She recleaned and resprayed the area and we tried again. Just before I thought I was going to lose it she breathed a sigh of relief and in turn so did I. I told her she was 2 seconds away from a "Coming To Jesus" meeting then we laughed and had a discussion about my chest size. Thanks Shirley, I was unaware of my large chest! :)

As I walked back into the chemo room with Shirley I got what I call "sympathy smiles". I continued to get them as new people entered and exited the room and on my way to the bathroom. Geesh! I wondered why they were all looking at me like that. I thought it was maybe because of my age. I was atleast 30 years younger than most of the other patients. Or maybe it was because I was holding my chest in addition to wheeling my iv pole to the bathroom. I continued to comtemplate the "sympathy smiles" until I looked in the mirror. The dental floss dreads were the answer. All of those people were feeling bad for me because I had dental floss hanging from my hair. I laughed as I took each string out. When I walked back to my recliner the "sympathy smiles" weren't as prevalant. Thanks for the laugh Gabi!







The chemo regimen I'm on is called ABVD. Instead of explaining it all I'll refer you to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABVD). It's basically four medications. Three administered as "pushes" and the fourth as an iv drip. It took about 3 total hours yesterday. It took a bit longer because it was my first treatment and because it was so busy. It will normally take about 2 hours.

I felt fine when we left but last night was a little rough. I had a tough time falling asleep and once I did it didn't last long. I will never make fun of menopausal women again. I experienced no less than 6 hot flashes throughout the night. Temporary menopause is a potential side effect of the chemo and unfortunately I may have drawn the short straw on that side effect. I also experienced what I can best describe as the feeling of having "Pop Rocks" crackling in my mouth. It wouldn't be so bad if it tasted good but I've had a nasty chemical taste in my mouth since the first medicine was administered. This is not unusual either. I did alot of mouth rinsing during the night. My mouthcare arsenal now includes mouthwash, gum, Tic Tacs and Lifesavers. We'll see how tonight goes.

Today I have felt better than anticipated. I was able to eat breakfast and take a shower without much nausea. I had to go back to the doctors office to get a Neulasta shot, get my blood pressure and temperature checked. Neulasta will help my body produce more white blood cells so I will always get that shot the day after chemo and the other two are just to keep tabs on my vitals. I also had to go give more blood for some additional baseline numbers. I was able to do that in addition to a trip to Target before I hit a wall. We came home to eat lunch and take a nap. The nausea is definitely there so I'm just learning how I'm going to manage it. After my nap we ran one more errand and then I was done. It feels like the flu is coming on but I know it's just the chemo. Shirley strongly encouraged me to rest when needed but try to be upright as much as possible. I think I was successful today.

Tomorrow I anticipate being back at work and look forward to a nice walk outside. Thank you all for your cards, flowers and calls. I feel very loved.