Well I made it through my first two days of chemotherapy! I have to admit I was super nervous on Monday prior to the infusion. As I've talked about before….the thought of the chemotherapy drug running through my veins is a bit scary to me. I said a prayer before infusion, took a deep breath and I was fine. Monday was my Taxol day which was given through IV. Im a little nervous with IV's because I have fairly small veins and at times nurses have had some trouble hitting my vein on the first try. I had a great IV nurse Monday and she got it straight away…..Sheeeeew sigh of relief from me!!! The nurse administered nausea meds and fluids prior to the chemo to hopefully counteract any side effects. I tolerated the Taxol Chemo very well and only felt tired afterwards. This whole process took about 5 hours. Yesterday was my IP Chemo day. This consisted of fluids given through IV for about 2 hours which did take the nurse two tries for the vein. ICKY! But I was fine! Next I was given more fluids through my IP port which has a tube that travels straight to my abdomen cavity. Once the fluids were in she started to administer the Chemo drug Cisplatin. This drug is much harsher than the Taxol and causes more side effects so I was geared up in GI Jane mode yesterday. This took about three hours and once it is done you feel like a stuffed turkey literally. My stomach was sooooo swollen I could hardly even sit up and move. It causes a little shortness of breath because there is so much fluid in your belly it pushes on your diaphragm causing breathing to be a little difficult. Once they filled me with the Cisplatin they turn me over to one side for 15 minutes, then the other side for 15 minutes then the bed tilts my head down for 15 minutes and then last feet down for 15 minutes. This is done twice for 2 hours total. Then I was done, and soooo ready to go home.The whole day lasted about 9 hours. I waddled out of the hospital like a turkey and once I got home I was pretty tired. Luckily by today my abdomen has absorbed most of the fluid and the swelling has gone down. Im just achy, like the flu and my belly hurts a bit but Im staying strong. Going to go down to my jewelry studio and try to get some new pieces made for the holidays to get my mind off feeling a little sick. Mind over matter! Im still early in on this journey but Im just taking it one day at a time. If there is someone reading this that was just diagnosed with cancer or knows someone who was, I hope this blog will help with the journey. I know it helped me to talk to others who had experienced it and know some of the details of the experience because it makes it less scary. My number one source of strength is my faith. I know God is with me through this journey. I am in constant talks with him everyday and it offers much comfort. God promises to walk with us through this life of trials and heartache. He is in control and he has a plan for me through this! I know it! Jesus suffered for our sins on the cross so we could have eternal life with him. In this life there is suffering but, in the next if we follow Jesus, it will be better than our human minds can even comprehend! But for now, I know I still have a purpose in this life and thats why I know Im going to beat this evil called cancer!
Memarie