Okay folks, the anticipation is over. I have one chemo treatment under my belt. And it wasn’t bad at all!! Of course the full effects take a few days to kick in, so I guess I shouldn’t be doing cartwheels yet (ha – like I can do cartwheels at my old age).
For those of you that want all the details – read on. If you don’t – just know I so appreciate all the calls, emails, texts and general good vibes sent my way. It makes me so STRONG!!
So the treatment started with a blood test to check all my blood levels. The most important thing we’ll check every week is my white blood cell count. Everything is normal and within range as of today…we’ll see how it is next Thursday. They took blood and hooked up the IV line at the same time (see pic below) by accessing my “port”. That was surgically placed under my skin and is where I’ll always have chemo and any other drugs administered. It’s nice because that way they don’t have to go through my veins – and it doesn’t hurt at all.
Then I met my nurse, Andrea. Who was amazing! She’s half Filipino with the most gorgeous long, curly hair. She’s due with a baby boy in September, so we talked about babies a lot (wheeeee!). Anyway, she gave me a tour of the treatment center – which includes a kitchen with all sorts of snacks and lunch for patients. Nice touch! Then she got me settled into my sweet, reclining chair to start the process. Oh, and Brian, of course, was sitting next to me the whole time. Good hubby.
So then Andrea started the pre-treatment drugs (all these were given through my IV line). She first started a saline drip. Then she gave me a dose of nausea medication. That should stay in my system for about 3 days. Next came the steroid – which helps with other side effects (er, I can’t remember what that helps) and then Aloxi which is another anti-nausea medicine. Then (we were about an hour in at this point) we started chemo. First Andrea inserted the Adriamycin by a huge syringe. She has to watch it go in to make sure it stays in the IV line and doesn’t get out. It can do serious tissue damage if it goes beyond my IV line. The “A” is BRIGHT orangish red – kind of like kool aid. It is secreted really quickly out of your body – so yep, my pee was also bright orange after treatment. More wheeeee!
Then we did a drip of the Cytoxan for 45 minutes. Once that was done they flushed out my line and for the best part – gave me a shot in the stomach! The shot is Neulasta and helps to grow white blood cells. Actually the shot didn’t hurt at all, but the side effects of Neulasta are achy back, hips or chest. For some totally unknown reason the best way to counteract that pain is to take Claritin. Go figure!
So now I’m home with my sleeping baby and wonderful husband. I have FIVE prescriptions for various things. I just took the nausea/sedative medication to help me sleep (the steroid can make sleeping hard first night). I have a little headache and my neck is really achy, but I think that’s from tension more than anything. It is SO nice to have the first treatment under my belt and know what to expect. Yay!
As always, thanks for being on this journey with me. Much love to you all!
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