Day 21 - Round 1

Let me first say, Thank you everyone! Thank you for your support and concern as I go through this chemo crap. Secondly, I'm soooo tired right now (more on that later).

So I went into work today. I took a half day because my chemo appointment wasn't until 10. Got to OHSU and got in right away. They took my vitals, weight, blood pressure and temperature. All good. :) Then Dr. Luoh came in to talk to me. We talked about the chemo that was about to be injected in me. We went over side effects that Angie, his nurse had gone over with me the night prior. I also had a few questions for him... could I take tylenol or ibuprofen? Tylenol it is. I asked him to fill out a FML(A) claim for me and we talked about wigs. He said that he can write me a prescription for it. I told him that I needed a letter stating it was a medical necessity in order for my insurance to cover it. Whoop! Then he had trouble because the medical assistant who took my vitals weighed me wrong. So I had to get re-weighed. Then I had to get measured. See, in order for the perfect mixology of my chemo, they dose it according to height and weight. They don't want me under medicated or over medicated. Following that debacle, I had to undress so the doctor could take a look at the lump in my boob, armpit and neck.

Next... I moved to the treatment side. It was about 11. I got to meet John who was a hoot and holler! He took my vitals again. Following John, I got Net. She was sweet. She put my IV line in and also took my blood. While I was waiting for the results to come back, she started pushing saline into my vein. After that, it was anti-nausea medication. That was pumped in my IV. Then it was time for my chemo. I also took a whole bunch of pills for anti-nausea as well. (yes, all that was prep work). The first one was the adriamycin. It's red and it turns my pee pink. She started pushing it in (by hand). About 1 minute later my arm started itching. Uh-oh. She stopped immediately and called Dr. Luoh. I was having an allergic reaction to it. So then they put 50mg of benadryl in my IV. Uh-oh. That made me feel really really really light headed. I didn't feel so great. So then they let me wait about 20 minutes before resuming treatment. I had to take two vials of the stuff. The second time around it was better. During this reaction time, I was told that I should have a full stomach when I take the anti-nausea medication. Uh, that would have been helpful! So I ate my lunch while sitting there. After about another 15-20 minutes the nausea went away. Following the adriamycin, it was time for the cytoxin. That was through my IV. That was only a half hour. Dr. L came back to check on me to make sure I wasn't having a reaction again. He told me that I should start taking Zyrtec regularly for the remainder of my treatment to help stop the allergic reaction. If it doesn't work he may have to change my treatment. I was then told that I had to wait another hour after the cytoxin was finished because they wanted to observe me to make sure I was okay.

During my one hour wait, I got a foot massage. There's a wonderful lady who volunteers and gives massages to people getting treatment. We chatted for awhile and she told me that she's certified to give treatment for people who have lymphodema. Interesting. Lymphodema is a risk to patients who have their lymph nodes removed. The lymph nodes work to removed fluid from where ever and to filter the bad stuff out. So if it gets backed up, the arm could swell.

When my hour was up, I was ready to go. Since I was hydrating like crazy, I think I went to the bathroom about 4 times! My next treatment is on 2/16 at 12p. We'll see what happens then. We will also see what's to come in the next two weeks.

Oh yes, I did shed some tears while I was there. My IV was bothering me and I didn't know if it was bad. I became a hypocondriac. Every twitch is now a menace because it could lead to something else. My nurse was so nice though. She said it's okay. And when I left, she said that she took my chemo virginity! Wish I could take it back! I will celebrate Round 1 complete when I make it to 2/15.

Right now I am feeling really really tired from the benadryl, but other than that I am feeling good.

Tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment at 3p to get my Neulasta shot to boost my bone marrow to produce good healthy blood cells.

Well, I am pretty much pooped out... so until tomorrow....