Miracles and Wonders
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to chemo I go
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I have my chemo treatments done at the local hospital. It’s actually quite convenient. I
know of other survivors who have to drive hours to other cities, but I’m lucky that I
only have a 20 minute commute. My regular oncologist's office is on the 2nd floor of
the hospital and the chemotherapy room is on the 5th floor which is also where they
draw blood for my lab tests. So most of my required visits are to the same basic
location just to different floors depending on whether it’s to see my doctor, do chemo,
or just go in for blood tests. All of my chemos are scheduled for Monday morning, so
I still hate Mondays, but now it’s for a totally different reason than getting up early for
a work day after a nice weekend. Instead, Monday now means needles, nurses,
boredom and side effects.
This is the story of my third or maybe fourth treatment and its mostly taken from
emails that I sent to friends and family at the time.
The morning of chemo, my husband busily prepares for my hospital stay. No, I’m not
actually admitted to the hospital. It’s just that I have to stay there for so many hours
for my chemo session that it feels like it’s a hospital stay. This time I saw my doctor on
Thursday instead of Friday so I didn't get my blood tested before this session. So that
means I need to go in even earlier to get that done so that they can verify that I'm
healthy enough to be poisoned. That's another 45 minutes added on to the usual 6-7
hour chemo day.
So that’s the routine. Every 3 weeks go in to see my doctor Thursday or Friday to go
over my last chemo and then go in for another chemo the following Monday. You do
get used to the routine after the first couple sessions. It’s sad that it’s all become a
routine for me. So I will be there with my husband at the hospital all day. I’ve come
to accept it and plan for the day. Chuck packed a huge lunch box full of snacks just
for me (actually I think it's supposed to be a small picnic cooler) and I've taken a
week's worth of old newspapers and magazines to read while Chuck has a novel and
the usual thick notebook binder for taking notes about the treatment that we can review
later on. It's like he’s packed a suitcase for a weekend getaway. I wish.
Lately I'm so forgetful. Maybe it's lack of sleep or having to get up in the middle of the
night to take the steroid pills to help to prevent some of the chemo side effects. I feel
like I have ADD, because I can't concentrate on anything. I worry that it's a side effect
of my chemo, but Chuck reassures me that I'm no worse than I was before all this.
Don't know if that makes me feel better or worse. I suppose it'll be another week of
bed rest. That chemo is strong stuff and my side effects are mostly fatigue, joint pains,
headaches, and runny nose and other cold-like symptoms. I literally spend most of the
week following a chemo treatment in bed. A good day is when I can enjoy tv. A bad
day is when I’m so fatigued and achy that I can only lie in bed praying to make it
through the next 20 minutes or hopefully sleep. But I’m lucky in that the chemo is
working on my cancer. At each blood test, they monitor my CA 125 which indicates
the amount of cancer remaining in my body. I can't wait to see what my CA 125 level
is from the blood test this time. It usually takes a few days to get the results. The white
blood count is measured right there, but I think they have to send the CA 125 out to a
special lab. I hope, hope, hope it's even closer to normal. Chuck being the sweet nerdy
geek that he is, did a chart plotting the dates and my CA 125 measurements and
extrapolated what it should be this week if it keeps dropping like it has. And he says it
should be in the normal range.
Better get my hair on so I'm ready. I know one of these days, I'm going to head out and
realize that I forgot to put on my wig!!
know of other survivors who have to drive hours to other cities, but I’m lucky that I
only have a 20 minute commute. My regular oncologist's office is on the 2nd floor of
the hospital and the chemotherapy room is on the 5th floor which is also where they
draw blood for my lab tests. So most of my required visits are to the same basic
location just to different floors depending on whether it’s to see my doctor, do chemo,
or just go in for blood tests. All of my chemos are scheduled for Monday morning, so
I still hate Mondays, but now it’s for a totally different reason than getting up early for
a work day after a nice weekend. Instead, Monday now means needles, nurses,
boredom and side effects.
This is the story of my third or maybe fourth treatment and its mostly taken from
emails that I sent to friends and family at the time.
The morning of chemo, my husband busily prepares for my hospital stay. No, I’m not
actually admitted to the hospital. It’s just that I have to stay there for so many hours
for my chemo session that it feels like it’s a hospital stay. This time I saw my doctor on
Thursday instead of Friday so I didn't get my blood tested before this session. So that
means I need to go in even earlier to get that done so that they can verify that I'm
healthy enough to be poisoned. That's another 45 minutes added on to the usual 6-7
hour chemo day.
So that’s the routine. Every 3 weeks go in to see my doctor Thursday or Friday to go
over my last chemo and then go in for another chemo the following Monday. You do
get used to the routine after the first couple sessions. It’s sad that it’s all become a
routine for me. So I will be there with my husband at the hospital all day. I’ve come
to accept it and plan for the day. Chuck packed a huge lunch box full of snacks just
for me (actually I think it's supposed to be a small picnic cooler) and I've taken a
week's worth of old newspapers and magazines to read while Chuck has a novel and
the usual thick notebook binder for taking notes about the treatment that we can review
later on. It's like he’s packed a suitcase for a weekend getaway. I wish.
Lately I'm so forgetful. Maybe it's lack of sleep or having to get up in the middle of the
night to take the steroid pills to help to prevent some of the chemo side effects. I feel
like I have ADD, because I can't concentrate on anything. I worry that it's a side effect
of my chemo, but Chuck reassures me that I'm no worse than I was before all this.
Don't know if that makes me feel better or worse. I suppose it'll be another week of
bed rest. That chemo is strong stuff and my side effects are mostly fatigue, joint pains,
headaches, and runny nose and other cold-like symptoms. I literally spend most of the
week following a chemo treatment in bed. A good day is when I can enjoy tv. A bad
day is when I’m so fatigued and achy that I can only lie in bed praying to make it
through the next 20 minutes or hopefully sleep. But I’m lucky in that the chemo is
working on my cancer. At each blood test, they monitor my CA 125 which indicates
the amount of cancer remaining in my body. I can't wait to see what my CA 125 level
is from the blood test this time. It usually takes a few days to get the results. The white
blood count is measured right there, but I think they have to send the CA 125 out to a
special lab. I hope, hope, hope it's even closer to normal. Chuck being the sweet nerdy
geek that he is, did a chart plotting the dates and my CA 125 measurements and
extrapolated what it should be this week if it keeps dropping like it has. And he says it
should be in the normal range.
Better get my hair on so I'm ready. I know one of these days, I'm going to head out and
realize that I forgot to put on my wig!!