Round 1 - Done!

I am 25% done with chemo. That's the first quarter. Two and a third innings. Round 1 - done!

My Dad flew down for this treatment and I loved having him with me. We spent the first couple of days watching March Madness and enjoying the sunshine and pool. I think the Arizona weather convinced him of possible future snowbird days, finally. His last trip was a bit traumatizing as the mercury reached 115 and he managed to smear sunscreen in his eyes (that deserves a blog post of its own!). He had sworn off the great state of Arizona but I think he may have flipped after this trip.

As I mentioned in a previous post there were problems accessing my port during my first treatment. Shirley (my first nurse) was not working the day of my second treatment so I knew to warn the next nurse of what was needed - the 1.5" needle and me in a reclined position. Check and check. Except it didn't work. I didn't go into another room this time so my Dad was sitting next to me the entire time she was trying to get the needle into the port. Although it doesn't feel good, I'm sure it looks way worse than it feels. I really can't feel the needle (they spray me with a numbing concoction) so the part that hurts me is the port moving around inside my chest. He got a little antsy after a few minutes of missed attempts but held it together. The nurse finally caved, took out the needle and called for backup. The second nurse re-cleaned, re-numbed and jabbed the needle in - success! There was no shame in her game and in cases like this it's actually what is needed. We spent the next couple of hours chatting, watching tv, cruising the internet and then we were done. Now that I know what is going to happen it's not as scary. I like that.

The side effects of this treatment were similar to the first in some ways and worse in others. I don't think I'll ever get used to the nausea but I was able to manage it a little better this time. I armed myself with saltines and watered down Gatorade and woke up earlier than usual to partake in that lovely feast before my feet hit the floor. This little ritual seemed to keep my stomach stable for the morning hours. The taste that is in my mouth for days after treatment is indescribable. I suppose I could try though - it tastes like what I would imagine the inside of a muffler on an old, crusty pickup truck would taste like after boggin' through a stale, fishy creek on a hot summer day. Mmmm, tasty. Sometimes I wake in the night and I find myself brushing my teeth with the lights off, trying not to become fully coherent, so I can pretend I'm not really tasting it and go right back to sleep. The side effect that seemed to be worse this time is the pain in my ears. Yeah, no one told me about that one. Last treatment I thought maybe it was just a weird coincidence that my ears hurt a couple days after chemo. Well, unfortunately, it happened again this time. I now know why babies and little kids pull on their ears and cry and cry and cry. That's what I wanted to do (and still do a little bit) the last couple of days. I guess I rolled the lucky number when it comes to fluid in my ears as a result of the chemo cocktail I receive. I am now putting drops in my ears to try and relieve the pressure and pain. It seems to be working but I'm hoping Dr. K2 and I can be a little more proactive for my next treatment. I am not a very happy person when my ears hurt.

The side effects can become a little much when I allow them to be but when I take a step back I am able to get a grip and realize it could be alot worse. I find that if I acknowledge that I'm not going to feel 100% for a few days every couple of weeks it's easier to accept and move on. So that's what I'm doing, moving on. I have a week and a half of feeling good and I plan on soaking up some time with friends, their kids and the sunshine.

"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever." - Lance Armstrong