#7 Chemo Treatment Today

My life is ticking off in two week chemotherapy increments.  At least every other week is easy to keep up with.

Today was the 7th chemo treatment on the new regime. Checked in at 9:15, checked out at 2:45.  I had six treatments with the previous cocktail that did not work as anticipated. Thankfully, today, my blood numbers were normal, blood pressure still up a bit, and I had lost 1 1/2 lbs.  We will have another scan after the 10th treatment.

I had lots of things I needed to talk with Dr. Mahajan about.  He makes it easy for me and I do so appreciate his knowledge, compassion, and quiet caring demeanor.

So here's an update on my collateral damage, starting at the top.  Repercussions from chemo for a lot of patients, are often worse than the disease.  But it is the wagon we must bravely pull.

My hair continues to thin out.  I know most people will not notice, and that is a good thing.

The chemo dries out my nose, eyes, mouth and throat.  It even changes my voice and I sometimes sound like I have a cold.  It gives me hiccups, too, and usually at the most inopportune times.  The drugs attack cells that divide quickly.  Unfortunately, that can be good cells along with the bad cancer cells, so it becomes a delicate balancing act.  For the dry nose, I have ointment that I put on a Q-tip and gently swab the inside.  So far that has helped.

For my mouth, lips, tongue, and throat which swell after treatment, and have tiny bumps and sometimes big bumps and sores, I use Magic Mouthwash.  It is a compound mixed up at the pharmacy just for me, not all Magic Mouthwash is the same.  So far, it has helped some, but sure not fun to use.  The swelling and irritation in my mouth affects my taste.  But, after the horrible reaction I had with the previous batch of drugs, this group seems like a cakewalk!

Oh yeah, and then there is the nausea.  That is very inconsistent, and just when I think I have dodged the bullet, it will jump out and go "BOO"!  I do have medication for that, just sometimes hard to keep it down when you are already having problems.

Moving on down to my chest, my port still gives me problems.  The port is in the left side of my chest and that is how the chemotherapy is administered.  The nurses plug me up using the port and the chemotherapy drugs are sent via the port to a main artery in my heart where they are quickly diluted.  And yes, it hurts to get hooked up, so I have cream that I apply several hours before to numb the area around the port.

Not all chemo patients have to have a port, some, like John, have their chemo administered through their arm, just depends on the regimen whether you will need a pump.  One of my meds must be administered over 46 hours.  After the other drugs are given, I am fitted with the travel pump and sent home. So, every 90 seconds, it squishes out a dose of the drug. In quiet of the night, the sound of the pump is easily heard, constantly reminding me it is there, and why.  It is about the size of a small purse, and I wear it around my waist.  It makes for fitful sleep on Tuesday and Wednesday night.  Plus, taking a bath is like doing the Hokey Pokey, cause the port site and pump can't get wet.  When I lie down in the bed at night, pump in or out, the tube that runs under my skin from the port entry, up over my collarbone and down to my heart, pops up and looks like something from an alien attack.  It initially scared me, thinking something was awry and I would have to have it removed and another put in.  But, it seems, all is okay, the tube just kinks up, causes a little pain, and gets my attention when my body is in certain positions.

Seems I also have "white coat" syndrome.  My blood pressure is always higher when I go to the doctor, but considering the life altering events I have encountered at the doctor's office, it is easy to understand.  Like the old Mark Twain saying, "The cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid, will not sit upon a hot stove lid again. But, he won't sit upon a cold stove lid, either."  I'm always expecting a hot stove lid, and my blood pressure reflects it.  And, one of the chemo drugs I take has the nasty side effect of raising blood pressure, so I monitor my pressure at home frequently, and most of the time, it is just slightly higher than my normal readings.

Well, I've made it almost half way down and will finish tomorrow.  Tuckered out from my chemo treatment today.  Unintended consequences. Collateral damage you know.

PCQ