September 14
So I did make mention of some of my experiences with the Second Regimen of chemo in the blog labeled "The Move" earlier this month. But I really haven't gone through any details since then and have not provided updates, for which I apologize, seem to be doing a lot of that lately.
In any case, one thing that is really interesting is that for the most part, each of these chemo sessions has kind of played out in a similar way (which, even with some of the negative issues I'll describe, is a really good thing - essentially...no surprises).
So the three sessions were on August 5th, August 19th and September 3rd. Generally, here is how they go...
Pre- Chemo Session - I am a grouch. Because Day One has been somewhat stressful, I do get a bit cantankerous, but I am challenging myself to be better this week, when the 8th session occurs on Wednesday, September 17.
Day One - onsite at Dana Farber. Generally, Karla, Graeme and I go in sometime around 7:30 in the morning and wait a half hour or so before I get blood drawn. They then leave the needle in my cathport, where it will stay for the next three days. At this point, I am going to ask for your help. On only one day in all the chemo sessions I have done have I remembered to shave the hair in my chest area. This makes for Friday, when Karla removes the needle, which is firmly bandaged to my skin, a very painful day. If someone can just text me this Tuesday night and say "Kelly Clarkson", it would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your help. The worst thing that happens on Day One are the cold sweats which I have described to you in the past. They start as I am given the last round of chemo at the hospital. Heather, who has generally been my nurse throughout this process, gives me some medication that controls it for the most part while on site. Unfortunately, by the time we get to the car in the parking garage, I am dripping and it does not matter what temperature is outside.
What Karla has done is take the rocking chair and ottoman that she uses to feed Graeme in the middle of the night, and cover it with towels. I wear a bathrobe to keep me warm and essentially watch HGTV until I fall asleep. My brain is incredibly loopy after the initial sessions but returns to normal (for the most part over Day 2 and Day 3). The problem I am finding is that sweats come on the strongest when I am asleep, so I wake up in the middle of the night just drenched and try and do a changeover, and hopefully don't bother Karla and Graeme.
I just hate Day One and the way it makes me feel, but after seven sessions, it looks like this is basically what I can expect until I switch to a different regimen.
Day 2 and 3 are spent at home hooked up to the infuser. I seem to be doing much better on those days than in the past on Regimen 1. So I do get some work done when I can. On Friday, Karla unhooks the chemo infuser, and then hooks up a different infuser with a saline solution that gets delivered to us. I am on this for an additional four hours, and then, finally, I get completely unhooked (we actually have mini-medical waste box where we can drop the needle). And then...shower...Yes!!!! I feel like myself again.
Day 4, 5 and 6 are generally good days. I have to remember to pace myself sometimes, and take my medication at the appropriate times (generally I'm good in the morning and at night but sometimes I get so deep into a work issue that I don't take my mid-day meds at the right time, and it can really bring on the fatigue).
An aside here, I have been having some issues with my teeth and I'm not sure if it is chemo-related or just 48 years old related. Last year, I had all of my wisdom teeth yanked (one of them had an abscess and the dentist felt it was better to just remove them all). A few years ago, I also had a crown put on one of my back teeth by what can only be described as a "quack" in Montpelier VT. His equipment was old, the toupee that he had on his head needed constant adjusting ("Nurse, more suction, and can you move things down my forehead a half inch" - a little liberty with the truth to keep you entertained, although not with the toupee itself), and I never felt comfortable with the crown he put on (I changed dentists after that session).
It seems my teeth have moved a bit because flossing has become an incredible chore. I also feel some pain in a couple of areas that affects my eating (although things have improved big time in the last few days, pain-wise, so go figure). One other thing is that the chemo brings on these constant breaks in the skin where my lower lip and my upper lip meet. This has been pretty constant throughout the chemo, although again not as much in the current Seventh Session. So I am very apprehensive about seeing a dentist and having to keep my mouth open with these types of sores. One last thing is that I can only see the dentist on the week I have chemo, so they can assess, through my bloodwork, if there have been any issues. I am sucking it up and trying to see a dentist recommended by Karla's friend Rachel who lived in this area, but it may take a while given I can only do a Monday or Tuesday every second week.
Back to chemo - Day 7 SUCKS. Can't say it any other way. It totally knocked me out fatigue-wise this past Tuesday, and in general, if I am going to have any issues, they seem to occur on this day. It happens to coincide with going off the steroid they give me to maintain my energy levels and I think that pretty much explains it. Some Day 7's, I handle it well and others, not so much.
Each day following Day 7 (today is essentially Day 12 in this session) has some good parts and some bad parts. Honestly, the good parts far, far outweigh the bad parts as long as I am diligent with my meds. I am trying to start walking again and while I was not able to go apple-picking with the rest of the family (and my cousin Katie from Scotland, who had a symposium in Boston, was visiting from Scotland), I was able to get a lot done today.
Karla and our au pair Amarilis are well. Amarilis is really becoming a part of the family and she is so patient with Isla. When not dealing with Graeme, Karla has been resolving a lot of issues associated with the new house including getting all the utilities set up and evaluating the work that's being done. We now have full AC which is nice, and next we have to decide what we are going to do about our ancient oil boiler. Let it ride for another year, buy a new oil boiler, or explore other forms of energy generation (mainly geothermal because we have no link to natural gas in our neighborhood, solar would not give us a big enough footprint, and we don't even want to go down the path of wind power).
We had a landscaper in, which was awesome. He cleaned out what looked like an old climbing frame in the backyard, and it seems sturdy and strong enough for Isla to use which she does every day.
I'm planning on attending my company's annual meeting on October 1-2 in Providence. This will be a big step for me as I have not been on an office or client site in the past nine months. The good thing is that it is only 25 miles from our house, and if I feel bad, I can just go up and lie down in the hotel room (and I have several people that could drive me home if need be). Obviously, I miss out on some of the festivities around the bar, but it will be nice to see a lot of my co-workers in person again.
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