As excited as I was about starting to actually do something to this cancer, I also found myself unusually nervous about my first chemotherapy experience.
The unknown...it gets to you sometimes.
Brad's sister, Jill, offered to come out to Montevideo to watch the kids overnight for us, so Brad and I decided to go to the cities Tuesday evening alone. We stopped and had a late supper at Olive Garden (a date night!) and then headed to my grandparents house where we crashed for the evening.
On Wednesday morning we arrived for my appointment and had my labs right away. They did a large blood draw (for my oncologist as well as for the study)...I'm talking 8-10 vials. The tech said it was about a half cup worth, but boy, it seemed like she filled vials for a long time. I felt fine afterwards and made sure to eat a snack and drink water, and I never noticed any side-effects.
We met with my oncologist next, and went over a few questions we had. He also indicated that I will be getting an MRI scan before my next visit, to rule out any cancer spreading to my brain. We discussed the Neulasta injection I'll be giving myself 24 hours after each chemo treatment (to boost my white blood cell count, which will take a beating from the chemo drugs) and we planned out our next couple of visits.
When we were done with the oncologist, we headed into the waiting room to wait for my chemotherapy appointment. We were surprised and delighted to find Sandy, who works with my dad, in the waiting room, ready with a smile, a hug, and an offer to get us some lunch. So sweet.
When we were called in to the chemotherapy treatment we were assigned a nurse and we selected our seats. Our nurse explained the entire first treatment process and got an IV going in my hand. I was given some anti-nausea drugs first, followed by the nurse injecting two vials of the Adriamycin ("Red Devil", as it's a bright red color, and also leaves my body in a red color) and an IV drip of Cytoxan. The whole process took about two hours, so Brad and I ate a little lunch, and I ate ice chips and drank the chocolate shake Sandy brought me for a treat (I guess I'll do almost anything for a shake, huh? Actually, the cold helps reduce the blood flow to my mouth in order to prevent the Adriamycin from causing the mouth sores that are a side-effect.) We talked for awhile, Brad worked on the laptop and I read part of a book. It was kind of like a mini-vacation (minus the chemo drugs dripping into my arm!)
I experienced some mild side-effects right away...the lights seemed to get a lot brighter and I had a slightly-tipsy feeling (woozy and a slight decline in concentration) followed by some extreme exhaustion. I was trying to read Brad the directions to get to a pharmacy in Waconia for us to pick up the Neulasta shot ($4,800 per shot (per treatment)...doesn't that just make you shake your head?!) and I could not stay awake. It honestly felt like I was drugged. At the pharmacy, I got out and walked around, which seemed to help, and I made it the rest of the way home awake. We stopped at our local pharmacy to pick up some additional anti-nausea drugs and we headed home to a first chemo (me, obviously)/birthday (Gene) meal made by Brad's parents. They also stayed to help clean up and get the kids in bed, which was wonderful, as the nausea, headache, and bad taste in my mouth hit a lot harder right after supper (think really bad hangover....not that I've ever been hung over...well...maybe once...or twice...but it's all Angie Hall's fault, I swear! :) ) I wasn't sure if I'd get a good nights sleep, as one of the side-effects of the first treatment is insomnia, but I hit my pillow and didn't move until 5:30am when Emily woke up for a bottle.
I'm feeling well today...better than I expected. I have some mild nausea with decreased appetite and a slight headache, and I'm interested to see if I'll feel worse on Friday and/or Saturday. I guess we'll find out! I just keep picturing little red knights running around in my blood, lancing all those awful cancer cells. Go get-'em guys!!
The Future:
Looks beautiful.
When we were done with the oncologist, we headed into the waiting room to wait for my chemotherapy appointment. We were surprised and delighted to find Sandy, who works with my dad, in the waiting room, ready with a smile, a hug, and an offer to get us some lunch. So sweet.
When we were called in to the chemotherapy treatment we were assigned a nurse and we selected our seats. Our nurse explained the entire first treatment process and got an IV going in my hand. I was given some anti-nausea drugs first, followed by the nurse injecting two vials of the Adriamycin ("Red Devil", as it's a bright red color, and also leaves my body in a red color) and an IV drip of Cytoxan. The whole process took about two hours, so Brad and I ate a little lunch, and I ate ice chips and drank the chocolate shake Sandy brought me for a treat (I guess I'll do almost anything for a shake, huh? Actually, the cold helps reduce the blood flow to my mouth in order to prevent the Adriamycin from causing the mouth sores that are a side-effect.) We talked for awhile, Brad worked on the laptop and I read part of a book. It was kind of like a mini-vacation (minus the chemo drugs dripping into my arm!)
I experienced some mild side-effects right away...the lights seemed to get a lot brighter and I had a slightly-tipsy feeling (woozy and a slight decline in concentration) followed by some extreme exhaustion. I was trying to read Brad the directions to get to a pharmacy in Waconia for us to pick up the Neulasta shot ($4,800 per shot (per treatment)...doesn't that just make you shake your head?!) and I could not stay awake. It honestly felt like I was drugged. At the pharmacy, I got out and walked around, which seemed to help, and I made it the rest of the way home awake. We stopped at our local pharmacy to pick up some additional anti-nausea drugs and we headed home to a first chemo (me, obviously)/birthday (Gene) meal made by Brad's parents. They also stayed to help clean up and get the kids in bed, which was wonderful, as the nausea, headache, and bad taste in my mouth hit a lot harder right after supper (think really bad hangover....not that I've ever been hung over...well...maybe once...or twice...but it's all Angie Hall's fault, I swear! :) ) I wasn't sure if I'd get a good nights sleep, as one of the side-effects of the first treatment is insomnia, but I hit my pillow and didn't move until 5:30am when Emily woke up for a bottle.
I'm feeling well today...better than I expected. I have some mild nausea with decreased appetite and a slight headache, and I'm interested to see if I'll feel worse on Friday and/or Saturday. I guess we'll find out! I just keep picturing little red knights running around in my blood, lancing all those awful cancer cells. Go get-'em guys!!
The Future:
Looks beautiful.
2 comments:
I'm so proud of you for facing this with such a great attitude, Noelle! Are there things you can do, besides the anti-nausea drugs, to cut those side-effects, like teas, saltines, or peppermints? Still praying lots for you and your family. What a great support team you have! Love to you!
You are so strong! I can't even imagine going through any thing like that. My prayers are with you and your family!
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