Round One

Well, it was a day.  We arrived a little before 10AM and a blood draw was taken to use for future comparisons.  The infusions take place in a large room where there are lots of chairs and I can pick which one I want to sit at.  They are comfortable chairs that recline, so that's nice.  They also provide pillows, warm blankets, basic snacks and different types of juices to drink.

The RN who was working with me went through a folder that was given to me, telling me all about the infusions I was going to have, what the side effects are, and the medications I can take to counteract them.  

I will be given the regimen TC, which stands for Taxotere and Cytoxan, the two drugs I'll be given.  They are both given through an IV.  They will disrupt the growth of the cancer cells and will then destroy them.  Unfortunately, the drugs can't distinguish between cancer and normal cells, which is why there are side effects.  Both drugs will decrease my white blood cell count, increasing my risk of infection.  I was sent home with an antibiotic and told that if my temperature rises above 100.4 I am to call them and begin the antibiotic.  Both infusions will make me lose my hair, but I already figured that one.  Bone pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, mouth sores, fluid retention, and fatigue are also common.  So you know, just a few things to look out for!  We are now a pharmacy with all the over-the-counter drugs we had to buy for these possible side effects!

The nurse put my IV in and shot me full of anti-nausea medication.  The meds will stay in my system for 3 - 5 days.  I was happy to learn that.  The infusion of that drug took about 20 minutes.  During that time I grabbed my ear buds and ipad and began watching stuff to keep me entertained.  

After the anti-nausea meds we began the Taxotere, which should've taken about an hour.  My immune system is strong, and within about 5 minutes of this drug going into me, my immune system was NOT happy and began trying to counteract it to get that crap out of my body!  The best way to describe it is that I began feeling pain down all the veins in my body, and even into my chest.  It was as if I could actually feel the medication going into me.  They had to stop the infusion.  I was given oxygen to be safe, my blood pressure was checked, and after "flushing" the IV to get rid of the Taxotere, I was given Benadryl to counteract the drug.  There's no other feeling like that of a drug going into your system through an IV.  Within 5 minutes of that Benadryl going in, I was almost slurring my words and ready to fall asleep.  15 minutes later the Taxotere was restarted, however, it was being pumped in at a much slower speed.  I didn't have any other problem with it.  I will now be given Benadryl before each infusion of this drug, and it will take longer than an hour, which is just fine.  My body trying to fight the Taxotere is something I hope to never feel again!  My second infusion was the Cytoxan.  Luckily, I had no trouble with this one.  The nurse did pump it in slower, so it took about an hour.  

All in all, the next three rounds of chemotherapy will take about three hours.  I go back in two weeks for another blood draw and they will look at what is called Nadir (pronounced "nah-deer").  This is the point during chemotherapy when a patients blood cell counts are the lowest during each round of treatment.  During this time I will feel the most tired before the blood cell counts go up, just in time to start the process again.  They need this information to make sure my dosage is correct, and to basically keep me as healthy as possible.

The day of each infusion I will have my blood drawn to check my white blood cell count.  If it's too low, the infusion will be rescheduled.  Since the medication will already lower my white blood cell count, they can't give me more if it's too low.  Fighting off diseases and infections would be even more difficult.  I plan on continuing to work during all of this.  I'm grateful for a strong immune system because I'm going to need it working with 6th graders!  

So far the only side effect I'm feeling is the bone pain.  Of all things, Claritin is a drug that helps this.  Where it's an allergy pill, it has an antihistamine which decreases the amount of inflammation and swelling in bone marrow and helps reduce the pain.  I was told by the nurse that keeping myself hydrated will help keep side effects away.  I'm now drinking enough water that I'm make multiple trips to the restroom each hour!  It's annoying, and I wonder how I'll do this when I go back to school after spring break next week!  Oh well.  One problem at a time.  If doing this keeps the other DISGUSTING side effects away, I'll take it!

I know it's too early for my hair to be coming out, but I'm finding myself running my fingers through my hair just to see.  I will most likely buzz the rest of it off this weekend.  I just don't even want to deal with losing it in chunks and finding it everywhere.  My sister and I found a wig last Saturday that will be here next Monday.  Wigs are RIDICULOUSLY expensive, so I'll just have the one.  It will also cost me $30 each month to have it properly cleaned.  Just add that to the crazy amount of money I've already spent on cancer.  I have caps and hats that I'll also use.  I'll definitely post pictures of the wig and other head pieces.

So there's round one.  I'm glad I chose to do this during spring break so that I could see how my body will react.  I have a thermometer with me and I'm checking my temperature often.  I've never worried about getting sick before, but I'm very aware of it now.  The next, and last round that will happen during the school year will be on a Friday, giving me the weekend to recover.  I managed to schedule my 3rd round to happen AFTER my NKOTB concert in June, so I should be feeling great for that!!  If all goes well, my last round will be on July 1st and then radiation will begin soon after that.