Two Done!

I've just come back from my second round of chemunotherapy. Many, many thanks to all who sent me encouraging messages last night or this morning. They really helped!

Pumped full of offsetting meds, I don't feel too bad yet from being poisoned, just kind of weird. 

This time I asked to have my feet elevated before they tried to draw blood from my port (which they do to make sure I'm healthy enough to get the chemo drugs). So I didn't nearly pass out. Instead... nothing happened. The blood wouldn't even come out. They asked me to breathe deeply, raise my arms over my head, hold my breath, and stand up. Nothing worked. Apparently this happens sometimes. The port can clot up, which calls for the injection of a local clot buster, which delays the whole treatment by an hour or so. We were already running late from my pre-treatment appointment with the oncologist, so at that point I let them draw the blood from my arm instead and let the clot buster work to get me ready for the infusions while they were analyzing the blood.

A friend had thoughtfully sent me a fleece chemo jacket, shown in the photo. These jackets have zippers in the sleeves and chest to allow access to either veins or ports on either side. Warmie kept me company as a comfortable armrest throughout, and Anand and Gita took turns providing further support (they only allow one human at a time, and Anand had to go teach halfway through). 

My chemo jacket—the new hot style

It all took way longer than originally scheduled, but it's done. The offsetting meds are still pumping through my system, so I'll have insomnia tonight, for which I have some audiobooks checked out and ready. They've given me more anti-nausea medications for the transition off the IV drugs this time. So the insomnia is expected and prepared for, and the nausea may be better dealt with. The fatigue will just happen. And the strange body odor and the need to use a separate toilet for a few days. There are other things I hadn't realized were the chemo, like itchy eyes and a runny nose. This is apparently because of the loss of fine protective hairs in the nose and around the eyes. I haven't noticed any scalp hair loss yet, but the oncologist says to expect some with this treatment. 

We'll see how it goes. 

Warmie packed up and ready to go home