I woke up this morning with a 99.5 fever, flushed, and a sore throat. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to be treated for my first chemo. I spoke to my doctor and she said to come in anyway. By the time I got in there, I didn't have a fever, but my throat was red. The doctor said she thought it was a little virus, but if my throat still felt sore, I should take the day off the next day.
So, I went in for the treatments with Elliott, and my parents with me. I packed everything but the kitchen sink since the treatments were going to take a long time for the first one. (The nurses go slowly to check for allergic reactions.) The first IV they gave me was full of steroids, saline and anti-nausea medication. After that was over, I received the first chemo drug in a syringe, adraimycin. It is red in color and it makes the person pee red for a day or so afterward...No reaction from that one. After that, they flushed me with saline and I began the second drug called cytoxin . While having this drug, I have to suck on ice or popsicles so that I don't get the chemo in my mouth. This could cause painful mouth sores. Again, no reaction. After each drug, they put saline in my port to wash out the previous meds. The final drug called tacitere, gave me a bad reaction. During this drug, I have to wear frozen booties and frozen mittens to keep from getting neuropathy or severe tingling and pain in the hands and feet. This was particularly uncomfortable. I ended up getting up after just a few minutes to use the restroom. When I came back, I had this huge pain in my stomach and a knotting up sensation in my abdomen. Right after that, my whole head felt like it was placed in the microwave..I felt like I suddenly had 110 degree fever..after that I couldn't breathe...I kept saying, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe!!" I remember my mother yelling, "Get a fucking doctor!" The nurses came in from everywhere and put ice on my face, gave me oxygen and took me off of that medicine fast!! My oxygenation never dropped below 97 percent, so that was good. After that, I was loaded up with more steroids, and benedryl.
Because of this reaction, my chemo regimen has been changed. I will continue to have the adriamycin and the cytoxin...Instead of the tacitere, I will have an alternative drug called taxol that will be administered differently. The chemo process will take longer, but I should have fewer side effects and the success rate should be the same. So, I will have 3 more treatments of the adriamycin and the tacitere administered every 3 weeks, and then I will just have the taxol once a week for twelve weeks. This will make my treatment last 6 more weeks than expected. When I came home yesterday, I slept for about an hour, ate dinner and took a short walk. I felt better after the walk and I slept great through the night.
This morning, I woke up feeling very bloated and flushed!!!! I gained 4 pounds in one day in what I hope is just water...I don't feel queasy, but I don't want to eat either...Next blog, I will talk about the surgery...
Have a wonderful weekend my friends!! Love and peace to you!!!
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