CHEMOTHERAPY

Tomorrow is chemo day (every other Thursday). It will be my fourth visit and I can tell I am a newbie as I still dress well, coif the hair (I am lucky as this round of chemo should not take my hair) and arrive happy and ready to sit for 5-7 hours while poison is slowly dripped into my body! I am in the company of nearly 50 other patients at the Cancer center, all of us migrating to our own special recliner for the hour(s) or the day. It is not a happy place. People often come in sweats and socks with hair (if any) pulled up in a quick ponytail, wrap themselves into a blanket cocoon with nary a word to anyone. I know that for myself and others, cancer and its respective treatment is no party and many of those people probably do not feel well at all but taking care of our soul while we are ill is paramount. I often wonder if it might help moral if I hired a band or something to make people smile.

Chemo, for me, does not hurt. I generally read or munch a cracker or sip on tea or nap. I am hooked by a tube to a pole on wheels which I carefully wheel to the restroom a zillion times as I receive about six bags of chemicals when I go there. Way too much fluid. Others receive the same or less depending on their own personal treatment regime. So far I have been the last to leave each time I go. I am fortunate to have a most supportive family which I will touch on in another post. My husband refuses to let me go alone even though I can drive before and after. He sits with me and reads the paper, holds my hand, or chats. Around midday he goes home to check on the cat or get the mail and then brings me lunch. Now I pack snacks and water and could pack my lunch, but he likes to bring me something and generally it is a double cheeseburger, no fries or pop from Burger King. I should not eat it as it is a no, no according to my Anti-Cancer food regime I have been incorporating into my life, but he gets so much joy out of this task, I let him. Perhaps I can convince him to hit Subway next time. Lol! He then sits with me the final hours in the afternoon and drives me home. He is a sweetheart, who, after 38 years of letting me pamper him, has stepped up to the plate and is taking on tasks he would never had done years ago. Once home, I am hooked to chemo with a portable tube/bottle which I wear 24-7 till empty which is around 2pm on Saturday. Sleeping while wearing a fanny pack is cumbersome. The only bad part of this process is I cannot bathe and sponge baths do not feel sufficient. I feel no effect while wearing the tube (more continuous poison) until it is removed. By Saturday evening, I am hit with a general yucky feeling all over and fatigue that is so heavy it is all I can do to stay awake……so I sleep and sleep and sleep. By Monday afternoon, (seriously, I only rise to use the bathroom or eat a little), I am done sleeping but now must deal with colon issues for the next three days. I also cannot touch anything cold else I get an electrical shock…so it is mittens while in the fridge or handling anything cold. I look pretty wild in the store when the weather is sunny and I wear mittens to grab milk or butter. People stare and I don’t blame them. By Wednesday, I awake feeling great, have energy and am ready for normalcy…cleaning, cooking, computer stuff, pay bills etc. I am good for the next week until we start all over again. So, that is my chemotherapy course for now. We will monitor its effectiveness on my Cancer at the end of month two (coming soon) to see if we continue on this course or jack up the meds…. I am also scheduled in California for a second opinion. Not so much for diagnosis, I do not doubt that, but treatment options.

To date, I have been lucky with chemo…as my side effects are minimal: sleep, yucky, electric shocks at fingertips, spontaneous nosebleeds and colon problems over a period of about 5 days out of every 14. Not bad at all! My heart goes out to those who suffer more than I and tomorrow I will say a prayer for all who recline by my side, especially those who are so very young.

Stay positive, live life well, honor the needs of your body when it cries for help and eat healthy. Thanks for all the prayers, I remain active in my positive pursuits.