It's Not So Bad

My first chemo session was last Friday. Keith and I met local friends and family downtown at Mac’s for a last cocktail or two on Thursday evening before I’m off the sauce. I made sure to limit my martinis though since I didn’t want to go into treatment feeling crappy the next day.

My treatment went off without a hitch. I was a bit surprised to find out that my port is under the skin, not under the steri-strips covering my incision. So they basically poke through the skin (no biggie now that I’ve done it) to access the port, then go through the series of drugs and saline flushes. First, they give me an anti-nausea injection, which is what has really changed the face of cancer treatment from twenty years ago. Then they gave me a steroid—I can’t remember right off if that is also for nausea, I’m going to have to look in my binder. Then they gave me my four chemo drugs. Then they flushed me, added some coagulant to avoid bleeding out of my port, and I was done in about 3 hours. Keith and I read magazines and watched The Princess Bride—I was astounded that nurses actually had to ask what movie it was when they came in—isn’t it permanently imprinted in the back of everyone’s mind by now, or is that just me? When I got home I slept a bit, but otherwise I felt okay.

On Saturday I was pleased to feel ok, with just some nausea, but I rested while I could. We went to the cheapo movies to see Surf’s Up (don’t bother!) and came home to cook a lovely Spaghetti Pie that Jenny dropped off earlier. I felt mostly the same on Sunday thinking that I would be ready to work on some of my projects on my list on Monday.

On Monday I felt a bit crummy, but the gals and I went on a wig shopping trip. I kept waiting for the “right” one to happen, but in the end I kept making comparisons to bad wigs/hair in movies: Whoopi Goldberg in a blond wig in Jumpin’ Jack Flash, 9 to 5, Tootsie, Wayne’s World, Hairspray. They were all too wiggy, but she ordered one for me to see next week. Did you know that Raquel Welch only wears wigs? We are going to try another place here in town and consider looking further out if necessary. I think I might be more of a scarf and hat person day to day than I thought. I left with a headache because the only one I remotely liked was too small.

I feel about the same today. Some of the side effects are catching up with me now. I have a lack of appetite, but I have to eat anyway, even though I have a dry mouth. My insides are not right, but nobody needs to hear about that. I am fatigued and I can’t seem to get interested in anything for very long. I think some of that is the emotional part of waiting for more side effects to appear: it’s like I am my own lab project for observation. Once I get through this first cycle I’ll know what to expect to some degree which will help me focus and move through it the next time. Thank goodness I am an educator and have this time to deal with it all before school starts up.

Keith takes care of me and makes sure that I eat something. He is also enjoying Asteroids and Shark Week during this time of caregiving. He is downstairs on the wheel now, so look forward to some beautiful things from the kiln for this Fall sale. He has already promised himself to make coffee mugs for all of the nurses and my doctor—it is already a very long list of wonderful people.

Tomorrow I will take a few things to my desk at Neil Armstrong Elementary to get myself situated, then I have some software training to attend in the afternoon. I am looking forward to getting settled in my new job.

Thanks again for all of the happy thoughts and cards. Our shrine is building on the buffet, and is therefore a pleasant reminder of all of my support every time I wander aimlessly to the kitchen. Soon I will get a blog up and running to make news sharing easier. We are going to Chicago for a quick getaway Sunday to Wednesday, catching a Cubs game while we are there. It will be a nice distraction for both of us.