Not much to add for Saturday and Sunday. Just normal days of laying around, conserving my energy for important things, like Sunday night dinner with the kids. Hubby and I decided that would be tree trimming day with the Grandson, so we got everything set up for his arrival. He could immediately start hanging the ornaments on the tree.
We told the Darling Daughter 4 PM would be a good time to show up so we had time to decorate the tree and then order pizza for dinner when The Boy and his girlfriend (the SO) would show up to join us.
They arrived at the appointed time and The Grandson did not disappoint, he was ready to lend his decorating expertise to trim the tree.
At the end there was one very light ornament to hang that the Grandson had picked out last year from the store, he hung it on the front of the tree and we noticed the tree was slowly going to topple over. Hubby quickly went to the rescue and held the tree up and pulled that oh so very light ornament off and sure enough the tree stopped wanting to topple over. It was the straw that broke the camels back. Hubby rearranged some of the ornaments and they were successful in placing that last ornament without bringing the tree down. And of course none of us got a video of this hilarity!
After dinner we broke out my newly expanded game of Cards Against Humanity. We will not be able to play this with the Grandson around any longer. He’s starting to pay way too much attention to what is going on at the table with the adults. Figures, I just received 5 out of 7 expansion packs recently ordered.
Monday I was ready again to go for my chemo, bag packed, new temp tattoo in place, pills taken, ready to go.
After several of the chemo nurses and Deborah the Nurse Practitioner all took a look at my port to make sure it was not still too inflamed to use. We were a go! Kissed Hubby good-bye and we started the premeds. I try to always pick a seat near the window, and Monday in room 3, I had the best window seat.
Nurse accessed my port no problem, and we started the pre-meds – Olanzapine and Emend.
From there they do the push on the Adriamycin, they have to make sure there is plenty of saline fluid diluting the drug and check every 5 to 10 minutes for good blood return still happening from my port.
Once that is done I am given the drop of Cyclophosphamide. This is an hour and a half before it’s done.
One of the girls from my support group also was in for her Taxol/Carboplatin infusion. This will be number 5 for her, so we share notes as this will be the next phase for me as well. She said being tired is her worst complaint. She also has a two year old, so I can totally relate to being tired! It was nice to have another face I know in the treatment room with me.
Once that was done, the Neulasta timed release application is put on the back of my arm. This will be my last treatment of phase 1. Glad to be done with this portion of my treatment plan.
Hubby was waiting for me when I was done, and we made a stop at Costco to pick up a few items, then headed home. I was already feeling very tired, so made myself a quick omelet than took a good nap. Was back in bed by 9 PM. This cycle really seems to be knocking me out.
Tuesday morning was Chemo School to learn about phase 2. Taxol will not contribute to nausea, but it will be a cumulative effect on peripheral neuropathy. I am to keep them informed of the advance of any neuropathy. Taxol will keep my hair falling out. There is also the possibility of adverse reaction to Taxol, rash, swelling, possible respiratory issues. Carboplatin on the other hand will contribute to nausea, and hair loss. Deborah did say about week 4 or 5 I will really start to feel more fatigued than I do now. They are also worried about my kidneys on this drug regime, so that will be monitored closely. I will not receive Neulasta during this phase either, as the bone marrow is not affected as much as it is in the phase 1 drug regime.
My new pre-infusion regime will be for me to take Dexamethasone the night before and the morning of treatment. Take Zantac the night before and the morning of treatment, Benadryl 1 hour prior to treatment and Tylenol 1 hour prior to treatment. I can also take Olanzapine instead of Zofran the night before treatment and 2 days after treatment. There will be no pre-meds administered through my port.
Taxol will take 1 to 1.5 hours to administer and the Carboplatin will take 30 to 60 minutes to administer.
Deborah did recommend acupuncture to help deal with the neuropathy. There is a gal in my Support Group that highly recommends a acupuncturist that is very close to where our group meets. I got her information and will try there. The neuropathy can last up to 6 months after treatment ends, and there are over the counter supplements I can start taking after treatment ends – B6 and Alpha Lipoic Acid. She also said adding cushions in my shoes may help with nerve damage prevention.
She also said day 3 or 4 body aches and pains may set in, I can take Advil for short periods of times to help with combating the pain. And last but not least, the Carboplatin may cause ringing in the ears. Like I don’t already have that!
Phase 2 is still set to start on December 7th. Another run to Costco to pick up the new Rx’s will be in the plan.
We did have to run to Costco again after the teaching appointment but not to pick up new Rx’s as they would not be ready yet. We did pick up some Turkey for the Toothless Wonder cat, more honey to be used in honey tea and a couple of gifts.
Once home I ate lunch and then took another nap. This cycle has really worn me out. We went to Support Group on Tuesday night, and Hubby was glad I didn’t fall asleep during group. I was back in bed shortly after we got home, and asleep soon after that.
Life is dealing with the tired and shaky