Chemo....Day One - This is My Kind of Turkey Day

Today was a long day, but I consider it a successful day.  I was nervous going into it because I didn't really know what to expect.  BUT, the doctor, nurses, volunteers, my hubby, & my mother-in-law took excellent care of me today.  I actually feel o.k. at this point.  I have a little headache and I feel super funky, a little tired, and drugged up (shocker, I know with 5 drugs coursing through my body)...BUT not sick yet.  I was at the cancer center for about 5 hours.
It has been so helpful for me to have the blog because..........
- It means I don't have to repeat myself a hundred times to people
- My friends & family can stay updated with as much or as little information as they want (I know some of my blog posts are LONG winded - I have a lot to say)
- It also helps me process my feelings and stay on top of all the information I get bombarded with
- I also think it is helpful for people to REALLY see what all is involved in fighting cancer.  I think there is power in the details. It has been an eye opening experience.

Sooooooooo, time for a long winded re-cap of the day (in bullet form - my favorite):
- Appointment started at 9 ended a little after 2.

 

1.  First, they did blood work.  It was the first time using my port....kinda weird, but super cool.  You can see the port in use above.  They numb & sterilize the area first.  They use a special needle that when it is taken out the port seals right up.  It is pretty nifty and much better than having to find a good vein over and over again (having flashbacks to college & donating plasma).  They also took an extra vial of blood to send it off for genetic testing for the breast cancer gene.
2. Then we sat down with the doctor for a LONG chat.  He went over why he thinks my chemo treatment is the best, the rare and scary side effects, test results, & some of what is in store for me.   I am not going to tell you everything, but here are a few things:

• One of the drugs I am taking can cause heart failure 2% of the time (but it is usually reversible)

• My blood work pre-chemo showed I am anemic and that I have low red blood cells,  low hemoglobin, & low potassium......no bueno.  This means I got preventive antibiotics today AND I will have to stay away from public places (more on that later)
• I have to take my temperature every day.  He got SUPER SERIOUS about this.  He said no matter what, if I have a temperature over 101 degrees I must immediately go to the emergency room.  He said there is a 1% chance of dying from chemo (he has never had a patient die from chemo).....and he said it is because people ignore this sign of infection.  If you get antibiotics for it right away they can save you.....if you wait - you are stupid and die. 

• The Onco test showed that I have a high re-occurrence rate (score 33 =  22% rate) for my cancer (this is for it showing up somewhere other than my breast - metastatic = super scary).  Chemo will significantly lower my chances of this happening AND it can kill any microscopic cancer cells that all the modern technology can't pick up with a test or scan.  There might be something hiding in my nodes or bones, etc.....He said he hopes I am in the 78% chance group of cancer NOT coming back and that we did chemo for no reason.

  3.  After the doctor chat they took me back to the chemo area.   Since it was my first time I got a private room with a hospital bed and TV.  It was actually pretty cozy.  I hung out and played on my phone while they waited for my blood results.  Then, they gave me antibiotics & 2 nausea medications through the port (Aloxi, Emend, Cortistat LA) &....this took awhile.  When this was done they did a saline flush and I had to wait 30 minutes before they could start the chemo drugs.  At this point I had been there 3 hours.  A volunteer brought me veggie lasagna & a salad (pretty good) & a nasty custard for dessert.  They also had lots of snacks & drinks available to me.  I had two cups of chocolate ice cream and a lot of juice....yum.  Ice cream always makes things better.  Everyone was SUPER nice.
4.  After lunch they started the chemo medications.  First up, Adriamycin.  It took about 40 minutes to infuse this poison cancer killing medicine into my body.  This is the one that makes your pee red, and sure enough my pee is orangy/red.  It is like I put food coloring in my pee.
5.  Then, another flush of saline and they infused the poison medicine cytoxan.  While they were administering all the drugs my nurse went over all the things I need to do, what side effects I need to notify them about, and what to do with my 7 prescriptions I was going to get
 - Decadron & Zofran to prevent nausea
 -  Levaquin, an antibiotic to start on Monday
 - Ambien for my insomnia
 - Lidocaine to numb my port before each appointment
- Peridex, a mouth wash - He doesn't want me to brush my teeth AT ALL next week.  Each time people brush their teeth the introduce bacteria into the blood stream.  Wow....this is going to be nasty.
 - Naproxen for my arthritis and pain that can occur......he told me to use my oxycodone if I felt it was necessary
6.  Then, I was done.....I had taken my iPhone from 100% down to 3%.....that meant time to go home :)  I got A LOT of parting gifts, but my favorite was the CRAZY turkey blanket.  Only one person a month gets a themed blanket that a super sweet lady makes.  LOVE that there is a wild, crazy, funky turkey.....just like me.  I told my friend today that when I first saw it all folded  up  I thought what a pretty, neutral colored blanket.  When I opened it up I gasped....what a crazy surprise.  It is like me.  I look like a nice and normal-ish gal, but sometimes I let my crazy, funky side out (well maybe I let the crazy out more than sometimes).

7.  On the way home I grabbed a veggie burrito at Taco Time - Oh man it was the tastiest burrito ever.  Now I am home relaxing, eating, feeling mediocre, & the chemo brain is already starting.  Just took a preventive nausea pill.
8.  I go back tomorrow for a shot of Neulasta.  This will help my body make white blood cells to fight off possible infections.
9.  Around Monday my blood count will probably drop.  Because it is already low he wants me to start another antibiotic on Monday and avoid public places Monday - Friday. He gave me masks for people to wear.  I also have gloves that need to be used when cleaning up my puke or bodily fluids for the next 48 hours.  The chemo drugs can be absorbed through the body fluids. I meet with the PA next Tuesday to check on me and do blood work.
10.  In exactly two weeks I do this all over again.....so excited....

THANKS for all the love I have been shown today.  My facebook and inbox are blowing up. My mother-in-law is here helping take care of me and my family.  My husband stayed with me the whole time even though he was super busy at work and had a big budget approval presentation to his board at 4 pm. My house cleaners that my rad sister-in-law arranged came today too.  It was amazing to come home to a super clean house.  I didn't know I had so many people in my corner.  YOU ALL ROCK!!

So I am going to rest now and kick some cancer butt.  Remember: A positive attitude is contagious and powerful AND you have the POWER to choose your attitude.

- The One Boob Wonder