My very first cocktail hour!

Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, I am writing this as I am sitting in my chemo recliner in the treatment room. There is wireless internet access here (although the system doesn't allow me to access blogger directly, I am hoping the email version works) and so I am connected not just to the tube that drips poison into my body, but also to the world outside. 

I don't want to jinx myself, but so far, the waiting has been the worst part of it all. We arrived at the Cancer Center at 1:45 p.m. for my 2 p.m. appointment, and it was almost 3:30 p.m. by the time they finally brought me back to the treatment room. My finger stick for the CBC was almost immediate (I'm so dissappointed they can't use the port for that!!!), but then there is always a wait until they've analyzed the blood to make sure I'm in good enough shape to take the chemo. But this wait was much longer than I had anticipated.

In any case, the nurse was VERY happy that I have a chemo port, as it makes both of our lives considerably easier. She got me in one stick, and started giving me saline, then steroids and anti-nausea stuff. Then, finally, my first meeting with Adriamycin (aka the "Red Devil"). It really IS red, and it comes in big fat syringes. The nurse just pushed it in over a few minutes, told me to chew on ice to protect my mucous membranes, and it went just fine. Then came the Cytoxan, which is a drip that goes in over 30 minutes. Then some more saline to flush, and a bit of heparin to keep the line free of clots. No big deal so far. Everything went smoothly -- no allergic reactions, no nothing. Now it's just a question of waiting to see whether I develop any side effects. It's almost 6 p.m. now, and the needle is out and I'm ready to go home. So I'll get this posted and then we'll see what hangover I develop from my first cocktail hour at the cancer center...