First Day of Chemo

We all got dressed in our pink gear, took a bunch of pictures to post online, dropped Hudson off at daycare and then began the drive to the infusion center.  Surprisingly I was calm.  No major doctor shits, no shaking hands, no racing heart, nothing.  Just some normal back pain which was dulled due to the lovely distraction of reading all the pink Facebook posts from everyone!

We arrived a few minutes after 9am (the fastest drive so far), checked into the oncologist's office, walked down the hall and checked in at the infusion center.  Then waited about 15 minutes for my blood work (of course I was in the bathroom when they called my name!). They took my vital signs and then we waited another 10 minutes for the nurse to come over to access my port and draw my blood.

The port access was much easier than I expected. The port is located in a vein that leads directly to your heart, so it has to be a very sterile process   The nurse wears a mask so that she doesn't accidentally breath onto your port.  I had to turn my head away and she cleaned the entire area with stinky alcohol, which made my nostrils burn and eyes water.  Once the area was clean it was time to stick in the needle.  During the drive down today, I applied the Lidocaine cream all over the area to numb the skin.  Man did that work well.  I did not feel ANYTHING!  Thank you very much Lidocaine, you finally came through for me.  After failing me during so many procedures you actually did your job, you numbed me.

After the labs were drawn we went back down the hall to the oncologist's office.  We were put in a room right away and waited about 5 minutes for the doctor.  She listened to my heart and felt my lymph nodes and answered some of my questions.

Then, we went back down the hall again to infusion (good thing I am able to walk without too much of a problem).  They gave us booth 10.  It is equipped with a recliner for me, chairs for my family, a TV, small built-in desk, roller table to eat from or type on and an IV pole.  The walls go half way up for some privacy but the front is open to the rest of the room.

We waited for about a 1/2 hour before my nurse, Helen, came to explain everything to me.  Then she hooked me up to my first drug, Emend.  That is the anti-nausea drug.  It will last for 2-3 days and should help me stay on top of the side effect so I will not feel sick.  They gave me another anti-nausea drug and a dose of steroids.  My back has not felt this good in months.  We think the drugs possibly took down the swelling therefore helps to ease the pain.  Apparently these drugs give people so much energy that the day after treatment they are scrubbing their entire house or out running every possible errand.  I will keep you posted on how they make me feel.

It is 1:06pm and we are once again waiting.  This time we are waiting for the nurse to come and administer the Adriamycin.  This is the red chemo drug.  Not only does it cause your hair to fall out, but my pee can also turn red!  Only for a day or two, but it is pretty funny.  Before they can actually give you the drugs, 2 nurses need to check your ID bracelet information against the information on the chemo medicine.  I am glad they do that because I would be EXTREMELY pissed if they gave me someone else's drugs.

Adriamycin was pushed through in about 20 minutes.  We talked to the nutritionist the entire time and it was done before we knew it.  I had to chew on ice the entire time to help prevent mouth sores from forming.  Helen said if I were to have a serious reaction to the drug it would have happened in the first 10 minutes.  Nothing happened, so that is a good sign.  I went to the bathroom afterwards and my pee was a bright shade of red-orange.  Good thing they warned me about that.  I could see how that would be an alarming surprise.

It is 2:27pm and I am getting my final drug, Cytoxan.  This is through a IV drop and takes about 30 minutes. The weirdest thing that could happen today is lots of sneezing or watery eyes because it can irritate your sinuses.  So far, no sneezing!  Dealt with a slightly odd, hard to identify smell, but it's wasn't too overwhelming.  A little tightening of the sinuses but that has already calmed down a bunch.

It is 3:47pm and my port is out.  They flushed my port with some saline (yucky taste) and Heperin to prevent a blood clot and then covered with a bandaid.  I could not feel a thing.  Maybe that nurse was right.  Maybe I will love my port.

I am leaving today with a plethora of knowledge, tons of pamphlets and lifted spirits.  This process was easier than I thought.  I know I still have the side effects to worry about, but the hardest part is done.  The first trip down here is finished.

I can check one treatment off my to-do list.

 Here I am in my cubicle, typing away to keep everyone updated.

*PS. I have been checking Facebook, email and texts all day.  The pink pictures REALLY kept us (me, Frank and mom) going.  We are so moved by the amount of people who are sending their love and support.  THANK YOU!

For those of you wondering, it is now 7:04pm.  I just went to the bathroom and my pee is back to its natural color.  Oh, and because mother-nature doesn't care if a person is getting chemo...I got my monthly visitor!  (Sorry guys, told you this blog might make you cringe, ha).

On another note: Hudson is now walking around the coffee table and removing his hands to balance himself.  This chemo and soon-to-come radiation better heal me quickly.  I have a baby to chase around.