Chemo Treatment #10: Finally!

Howdy!  Sorry it's been a while since I've posted anything.  I've felt so/so, but I've had other neurological issues and quite frankly, haven't felt up to it.

So, I was able to have chemo last Thursday.  Woo hoo!  Because of the lingering neuropathy, though, Dr. Nelson decided without batting an eye to move me to the FAC portion of my treatment. FAC stands for 5-Fluorouracil (F), Adriamycin (A), and Cytoxan (C).  The "A" is known as the Red Devil or Red Death.  Good times.

I had two nurses on Thursday - Sarah and Tracy.  I do like both quite a bit, fortunately.  My infusion is basically the same process as it was with Taxol.  My premeds are somewhat different since the side effects are different.  This means... (wait for it).  No more Uncle Benny.  It breaks my heart. I won't lie.  I now get a cocktail of two different anti-nausea meds along with more steroid.  I was down to 4 mg with the Taxol, but I'm up to 12 mg now.  I also get Ativan, which is nearly as good as the Benny, but not quite.  Good lord.  My PIC (partner-in-crime), Jenny came to visit, which was huge.  She brought along some Andes candies cupcakes that were delish, too.  Mmmmmm...  I love her to pieces.

Anyway - I was started on the Red Devil first.  Sarah told me that she takes offense to this term and likes to refer to it as the Red Angel. Okay, sister.  I'll call it whatever you want as long as I can get it over with.  It looks like cherry Kool-Aid through the IV.  She yelled at me for watching it snake through the line up to my chest.  I laughed and kept on watching.  If I'm going to be poisoned, I'd like to watch, thank you very much.

It was basically a non-event.  I didn't feel any differently with this than I did with the chemo except for being a little more out of it physically.  I was told to take my anti-nausea meds for three days as prescribed - every six hours - whether or not I felt sick.  I took my Compazine like a good girl.  It's strong stuff and I basically slept for a day and a half.  I slept more than my cat does.

I haven't taken Compazine since last night.  In fact, I haven't taken any since Saturday.  I've only had very mild nausea and it's been very manageable.  I haven't wanted to sleep around the clock, although, some days, it seems like a terrific idea since I don't sleep well at night.  I'm very uncomfortable. I have horrible restless leg syndrome and it seems like it's a side effect of damn near everything I take. Fucker. I have a pretty signficant loss of dexterity in my hands, so texting or typing or anything takes far more effort than I thought it could.  I feel like my fingers are meaty little sausages.  They're still numb and tingly and that hasn't really subsided much at all.  I don't have pain associated with it, which is good, though.  My brain is still very foggy and I can't concentrate for shit.  I lose my train of thought very easily and get bored with things quickly, too.  While I may not be throwing up or feeling like a bus ran over me (yet!), I have enough other issues that I wish would stop.  In all, I'm doing okay.  Just okay.

I have my next treatment on Thursday, July 5th.  My blood counts could plummet around the 7-10 day mark, which is in just a few days.  Since I haven't been outside or around other people, hopefully, my risk of getting sick is very low and I'll stay fairly healthy.  I'm thankful that I haven't been worse, but this still sucks great big donkey balls.  Big hairy ones.

Thank you to everyone that continues to support me and ask about me and pray for me.  I know I say this all the time, but I appreciate it immensely. This is a tough journey for anyone and I'm happy that I'm nearing the home stretch of this stupid fucking chemo.  I hate it.  I love that it's killing the cancer but hate that it's messing me up in the meantime!

I'm adding my Jennys and Matt as contributors to this blog because I suspect that I may not feel up to it more often than not in the coming weeks/months.  I'll add where I can because I know you'll miss my colorful commentary! Haha...

This is the Red Devil/Angel flowing up through the IV to my awaiting port.  Yummy.

xoxoxo