Here I am back at the Cancer Center again. I must be hooked or something... Oh wait, I am hooked indeed! Hooked up to the poison pump, that is, for today I am getting round two of my AC cocktail. For right now, all that's dripping into my vena cava is lots of saline with a bit of dexamethasone, a steroid, to combat nausea and prevent an allergic reaction. So I am hooked indeed, awaiting the little poison soldiers adriamycin and cytoxan to be pumped into my bloodstream to ferret out those pesky remaining cancer cells that may be hiding somewhere in my body. I'm so excited that after today's treatment, I will actually be halfway done with my AC chemo, and a quarter of the way done with my overall chemo treatment. Since I'm doing dose intense chemo (i.e. chemo every other week, rather than ever three weeks), I'll also be done sooner than other cancer patients. Yay!
When I came in to the treatment room again this time, the friendly nurse L, who had already poisoned me so nicely last time, welcomed me back with a big smile. It is so nice to see a familiar face when I come for treatment. This time around I'm not being quizzed by the research study nurse, and actually have more time to read, watch TV (thanks again guys for the neflix subscription -- I love it, particulary the streaming content!), listen to music, and write this blog entry. Somehow it feels more peaceful this time around with fewer probing questions about my pain and nausea levels.
As for my hair, the shedding is clearly accelerating. I'm wearing a hat already, not so much to make up for missing hair, but to contain the shedding and keep from leaving a trail of hairs falling to the ground as I pass by. Interestingly, the loss does not yet seem obvious on my head, but I find my hairs everywhere at home. Just running my hand through my hair will produce about two to three dozen hairs today. I definitely think that this weekend I'll have to shave it all off. I just have to make sure that the wigs or haircoverings I wear do not look as fake as some of the ones that my now better trained eye spotted in the waiting area today. By the way, I do not want to sound mean with this comment. It is just that I've learned a bit about wigs and such, and now know to recognize lower quality ones by their unnatural sheen (and the grey hairs sticking out at the nape of a chestnut brown wig...).
Nurse L has now finished pushing in the adriamycin. Last time I sucked on ice chips, but the icy water seemed to upset my stomach. So this time, we brought Klondike bars (with dark chocolate, yum!), which made for much a more pleasant cooling experience. I'm gradually learning the ropes of chemo treatment, I think! Now the cytoxan is going in slowly together with some more anti-nausea meds. I'm on my way to being done with chemo #2! More later.
Update:
It is past 9 p.m. now and I'm resting comfortably at home watching Netflix. DH made dinner for us and keeps feeding me like a baby bird. So far, only small twinges of nausea and aversion to the cooking smells. But that is easy enough to combat by hiding behind a closed door. Sadly, I didn't get to go an evening walk tonight, as it has been pouring almost incessantly today. Instead, I settled on the more prosaic task of doing a load of laundry. Overally, though, I have high hopes that I might manage to make it through the second round with as mild side effects as during the first round. Keep your fingers crossed that the first time wasn't simply a fluke.
2 comments:
Congrats on finishing Round two!!! Rest up and eat lots of "baby-bird" meals (just no worms!!) :-)
Congratulations on now having more rounds of chemo than trips to the er!
I guess it makes sense that you would feel hair coming out, although it has to be an odd sensation! I wonder if the sorts of non-people animals who shed feel it. In any case, at least it's well timed to be over the summer, and I'm glad you're prepared with spiffy headgear. We're sending you good and non-nauseous thoughts from southern CO.
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