I wanted a stronger chemo. After I could start to feel the fingers of cancer under my ribs, I just wanted those cells to die. On Tuesday after infusing the first chemical, the second was inserted into a battery operated pump and hooked into my port for slow infusion-- 46 hours. I had to carry it around in a fashionable fanny pack and report back on Thursday to have it removed. This happened like clockwork. I heard the "all-finished" alarm going off while sitting in the chemo lounge waiting for my nurse. I did not recognize the sound and wondered where it was coming from until the nurses zeroed in on me. Taking it off only took moments and then I was back on the street. It was not that bad... until Thursday night. The nausea struck hard and is continuing as I write this on Good Friday afternoon. I think it is a good thing that I feel this sick because it tells me the chemo is working. I'm glad to have the day off from work because all I want to do is lie down. No chemo next week because this is an every other week regimen. Hope to get some relief!Friday, April 18, 2014
Bringing back the fanny pack
I wanted a stronger chemo. After I could start to feel the fingers of cancer under my ribs, I just wanted those cells to die. On Tuesday after infusing the first chemical, the second was inserted into a battery operated pump and hooked into my port for slow infusion-- 46 hours. I had to carry it around in a fashionable fanny pack and report back on Thursday to have it removed. This happened like clockwork. I heard the "all-finished" alarm going off while sitting in the chemo lounge waiting for my nurse. I did not recognize the sound and wondered where it was coming from until the nurses zeroed in on me. Taking it off only took moments and then I was back on the street. It was not that bad... until Thursday night. The nausea struck hard and is continuing as I write this on Good Friday afternoon. I think it is a good thing that I feel this sick because it tells me the chemo is working. I'm glad to have the day off from work because all I want to do is lie down. No chemo next week because this is an every other week regimen. Hope to get some relief!
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Ice cream and hot shower binge
Chemo was cancelled today because Dr. Scott wants to upgrade the regimen. "I'm not doing enough for you." he said.
The report from last Friday's CT scan confirmed what I suspected; the liver lesions are still growing and multiplying in the right lobe of the liver. I had a gut feeling. Literally.
Inspired by a recent talk from Memorial Sloan Kettering Esophageal Cancer guru, Dr. David Ilson, Dr. Scott wants to try me on a combination of Oxaliplatin and Fluorouracil (5-FU). The former is similar to what I am used to but the latter has some new side effects and a new delivery system. The side effects are mainly temperature sensitivity. No hot or cold foods or drinks, no hot showers or reaching into the freezer. It is delivered over 46 hours so it will involve an electric pump hooked to my port that I will take home with me for a couple of nights. These sound very unpleasant but one of the problems I had with the last regimen was that I was not feeling it enough. I did not have the sense that it was killing cancer, and that proved to be the case.
So I'm off to get some premium ice cream and hot fudge. I've got a week to enjoy these pleasures.
The report from last Friday's CT scan confirmed what I suspected; the liver lesions are still growing and multiplying in the right lobe of the liver. I had a gut feeling. Literally.
Inspired by a recent talk from Memorial Sloan Kettering Esophageal Cancer guru, Dr. David Ilson, Dr. Scott wants to try me on a combination of Oxaliplatin and Fluorouracil (5-FU). The former is similar to what I am used to but the latter has some new side effects and a new delivery system. The side effects are mainly temperature sensitivity. No hot or cold foods or drinks, no hot showers or reaching into the freezer. It is delivered over 46 hours so it will involve an electric pump hooked to my port that I will take home with me for a couple of nights. These sound very unpleasant but one of the problems I had with the last regimen was that I was not feeling it enough. I did not have the sense that it was killing cancer, and that proved to be the case.
So I'm off to get some premium ice cream and hot fudge. I've got a week to enjoy these pleasures.
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