I usually post about education things on this blog, however, I have been wanting to share my journey and felt like this was the right place to do it. I mean, I am after all educating you about cancer, chemo, and all of the unknowns that go along with it.
One. More.
It is finally here. March 23 seems like so long ago. 15 chemotherapy treatments done. 1 more to go.
Here is an inside look at a treatment day... Vitals checked (temp, weight, blood pressure, pulse oxygen, heart rate), access my port, draw blood work and then wait and wait some more. Once blood work comes back, they determine if you get treatment that day or not. If yes, then they put in your orders to the pharmacy (this means even more waiting). First up is your pre-treatment medications. For me, this includes anti-nausea meds, Pepcid, steroids, fluids, and Benadryl. After you get all of these, then is time for your chemo bag(s). Each bag typically drips anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour and half. After the chemo is done, sometimes you get more fluids for another 15-45 minutes. Another vitals check, then they take out the needle from your port. My first 4 treatments took about 4-5 hours, my weekly treatments take about 2.5-3 hours.
This process started off very slow (probably because I started off with a harsher chemo drug, was getting 2 bags of chemo per treatment day, and had a week off.) However, the past 11 weeks have flown by.
I don't know if it has been my positive attitude, my younger age, a relatively healthy body, or a combination of all of them, but I tell everyone that I have been very lucky with this process. I have had very few side effects compared to the laundry list of things that COULD happen that I received in my chemotherapy class.
Speaking of side effects... they are weird. And as I have met different people throughout my journey, it is crazy how the same exact drug affects people so differently.
I lost my hair after the second treatment. No big shocker there, pretty much everyone does at some point. What is weird is that I have not finished my treatment yet and it is already starting to grow back.
Most people have to take medications to help with nausea, aren't able to eat because they feel so sick to their stomach, and tend to lose weight, which is not always a good thing when your body is taking in these very serious drugs. I have not had to deal with any of this and for that I am VERY thankful.
Another weird side effect, is my fingernails have turned rigid, hard, and are attempting to fall off. You don't realize how much you use your thumbs, until your fingernail is in a lot of pain and it hurts to use them.
Fatigue. Yes, chemotherapy makes you very tired. Especially when you are getting it every week. Your body doesn't have as much time to recover between treatments, so the fatigue seems to build up. However, fun fact, on treatment days I get a bag of steroids. My body loves to become wired when given steroids. So while I am exhausted on Tuesdays, my body is like let's go, I'm wide awake!
One thing that not many people tell you about is the emotional/mental side of chemotherapy. I try to live my life as I normally would, but some days it is hard. The kids don't fully understand what all I am going through, so they don't always get it when mommy is tired. I am not always the best at asking for help or communicating my feelings, so I have had to focus on explaining to people how I feel or if I need help. Some days I just feel like doing absolutely nothing and others I feel perfectly normal. I have tried reading and some days it is hard. It is like my brain just can't handle it.
Every week I sit in a room with 3-5 other patients. I listen to their stories. I have seen people get frustrated because their blood count, platelets, etc. are too low and they can't receive treatment that day. I've seen people have to get blood transfusions rather than their chemo treatment because their numbers are too low. I have learned a lot about blood work and all of the different things that they measure. Again, I am so fortunate with this journey. My numbers have always been great. There have been weeks where my white blood count may be low, but the other numbers are high enough that it doesn't affect my treatment. I had a couple of weeks where one of my liver enzymes was high, but never enough that it prevented me from getting treatment. I am a checklist person. I loved being able to go each week and mark off another treatment. I can't imagine showing up and then finding out that you can't get treated.
On top of all of this is getting cancer in the middle of a pandemic. This means no visitors. Not only are you going to sit at a treatment center from anywhere to 3-8 hours, you have to do so by yourself. Luckily the nurses are absolutely amazing and make you feel like home, but it gets lonely. Many of us just choose to sleep or read or play on our phones. The people that I truly feel sorry for are those that need people there to help them understand the process, or what it means when things don't go as planned.
While I am SO thankful that I am going to be finished, I am going to miss all of the nurses and patients that I have made connections with over the past 4 months.
My chemotherapy journey is coming to an end, but I am not quite done yet.
Next up is radiation therapy. 6 weeks, 1 session per day for a total of 30 sessions. Stay tuned!
