OK, you can all stop worrying about me. I survived my first chemotherapy infusion. I certainly don't expect the next 3 weeks to fly by with no side effects, but as for the infusion, it was a piece of cake. I got my own recliner right next to a window overlooking a garden, my own TV with HBO, a restaurant menu for lunch pick-up or delivery, visits & snacks from family and friends, and lots of texts and email messages. Seriously, sitting with my feet up for 4 hours was not bad at all. The port was great - no poking my arm to find a vein. I did feel the needle when my nurse first put it in the port, but that was only 3 seconds of cussing in my head. Then, I didn't feel a thing after that. The nurse first drew blood to run my labs. They would take about an hour to process, so I started with the Herceptin infusion, since it shouldn't affect my blood counts. That was 1 1/2 hours. By then my labs had come back looking good, so it was time for the hard core drugs. There was a 15 minute infusion of an anti-nausea drug (Aloxi) and then 1 hour of Taxotere (this is the drug that will make my hair fall out). If I was going to have an allergic reaction to a drug, it would have been this one, so it was given slowly at first, and then a bit faster once it was clear that I could tolerate it. Next was another anti-nausea/steroid (Decadron) - which I have been taking at home & keeps me up half the night, so if any of my night owl friends want to chat, this is the week to call. Finally I finished up with another hour infusion of Carboplatin. So, 5 drugs in about 4 hours. Then the port was flushed, the needle removed, and I was sent home with a blue Snoopy bandaid.
The infusion center was pretty cool. The IV was on wheels so if I wanted to roam around or visit the bathroom I was free to do that without disrupting the medication. Once I was in my chair with my pillow and blanket, I was set, so the roaming report will need to wait to the next infusion. Mom stayed with me the whole time and picked up lunch from the hospital restaurant and picked up my anti-nausea medications (3 different kinds, just in case) from the pharmacy. A friend came to visit with smoothies for the last hour for an extra special treat - thanks K!
Before the chemotherapy, I had a quick visit with my oncologist. He tried again to convince me to cut my hair. I tried again to convince him that if I am the one person whose hair is resistant to Taxitone that medical researchers will be thanking me for have extra hair to donate for studies. I also tried again to convince him that alcohol and chemo do mix, especially during the Chargers season. He made what I think was a sarcastic comment about how much I could drink during the playoffs on the Chargers road to the super bowl (my chemo ends in October). How did I end up with the booze-banning doctor with no love for my Bolts? He actually recommended O'Douls as an alternative to my tailgate margaritas! Outrageous!
For now, I'm planning to go on with each day and see what happens. So many of you have offered to help with the kids if I'm not feeling well, that I feel totally prepared for anything. My next infusion is in 3 weeks on July 14. Before then I see my surgeon who's going to pump up the expander so my foob will be even more spectacular! Thank you for all your good wishes and messages today - it made my day go by much faster.
No comments:
Post a Comment