Thursday, December 9, 2010

Only 1 1/2 hours of chemo today!

Apparently Herceptin doesn't make you nauseated, because all I got today was a bag of Benadryl and the Herceptin... no anti-nausea, and THANK THE GODS, no Decadron, and no Pepcid.  So, it was a very quick chemo session.

Oh, and today was definitely NOT social chemo day.  Everyone was quiet, but actually, it wasn't as crowded as it has been.  I'd say not more than half the chairs were taken.  Most folks were sleeping.  I have NEVER been able to sleep during chemo, myself.  Of course, everyone is getting different stuff, so it's hard to say how anyone will react.

There was a woman there today who was TERRIFIED of every little thing that was happening to her.  Remember how I got that port implanted in my chest so that my chemo goes directly into it, instead of them having to find a vein every week?  Well, she had the same model as mine.  What scared her was when the oncology nurse accessed it, and didn't get any blood back following the initial flush of fluid into it.  Well, I haven't had any blood flowback in weeks, and mine is fine.  The oncology nurses know it's working because you can taste and smell whatever it is they use to do the initial flush.

So, I dragged my drip holding contraption over to where she was and told her that it's NOTHING to worry about; that I havent had blood flowback in weeks, and I'm fine.  I actually saw her get tears in her eyes, she was so relieved.  I just wish there was a way to take all that fear from people; it's not healthy.

Anyway, I know I used to post to the blog a couple of times during my chemo, but this went by so quickly today, I didn't have any time. :)

I don't have to go ANYWHERE tomorrow... no doctors, no labs, no chemo and no radiation... YAY!  Dr. Fastenberg says he wants my body to start recovering from the chemos I've already had.  Let's just see how Saturday and Sunday go, my historically worst days.  I don't think Herceptin is really like the other two meds.  And to tell you the truth, I haven't read anything about it.  I'm just at the point that I'm not going start scaring myself by reading the 72 possible side effects... que sera, sera, baby.

Love to all!

3 comments:

  1. Tequila - that is wonderful how you alleviated that woman's fears. I would love to have you by my side in stressful times. You are a saint.

    <3,
    D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Favorite Aunt,

    You truly are an amazing person. You make the world a better place.

    Ben

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dean and Ben, thank you both, but wouldn't anyone have done the same thing? Fear is the most useless thing on earth, and seeing it in someone else... you have to try to help.

    I love you both very much. :)

    ReplyDelete

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