I had my 5th round of chemo yesterday and first round of the Taxol. It was a long day as it took hours to administer. The immediate risk of the Taxol is allergic reaction so they gave me an IV bag of benedryl before they start the chemo drug. The nurse said it might make me "a bit sleepy". Well I was pretty well snoring in 15 minutes. I had a good little nap and then watched some TV. I felt fine (just tired) while I was getting the Taxol but no burning of my nose or nausea. Kurt went to the hospital cafe and got brought us up lunch. I ate a sandwich and some fries and the fruit salad that I had packed. So I felt pretty good. I came home and slept off the rest of the benedryl and then ate dinner. After a good night sleep, I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. So here's hoping this stuff is better and easier like the tell me. The main side effects are bone pain and numbness of my hands/feet. So they gave me good tips for how to manage that and I am equipped with pain killers if needed. So I feel ready! The BEST part of yesterday was coming home from chemo to a spotless house and ALL my laundry done and folded thanks to my friend Lorri - who has been an amazing help and support. Lorri comes every chemo Friday to clean my house while I'm at the hospital so I can come home to a clean and germ free house. What an amazing friend!!!
When I went to see my team before my chemo to get my blood done etc. my red blood cell count was down to 84. So I am having a blood transfusion on Monday morning. That should take about 4-5 hours and I should feel better. Right now I am really exhausted, light headed and cannot walk up the stairs without having to sit down. The oncologist tells me that's my red blood cells being low and thus the oxygen is not getting through my body effectively. As a result my heart rate is high and that can cause its own problems. So the easy fix is a blood transfusion. So hopefully by Tuesday I'll be feeling more energized. I'll get 2 bags of blood which, won't even bring my cells up to "normal" but it will help me to feel better and not miss any chemo for my counts being low. With only 3 more treatments to go I don't want to miss anything.
On Thursday I went to talk to the Social Worker at the hospital. She was really good and helped me to put things into perspective and validate that what I was feeling was normal. I feel like I came "unglued" last week so it was good to go and talk to someone who is not emotionally invested. I am sure I'll go to see her again at some point and she said that as long as I am still a patient at the cancer centre I can see her. It's a great service there.
The boys are with my parents this weekend so I'm resting and helping Kurt pack for Boston. He leaves tomorrow for a week in Boston for a Physics convention. It's an exciting time for him to be able to network and meet other physic "geeks" like him. He's got his business cards and grown up cloths and he's ready to blow people away.
Only 3 more rounds to go.....I can't believe that the end is in sight. Once March is here I will feel like I am SO close. It feels good to be able to count on one hand how many treatments I have left. **sigh**
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