Well, I had my first dose of chemo yesterday: a drug called Rituxan. Rituxan is a monoclonal antibody which will hopefully eliminate the cancerous B-cells that are multiplying in my body. Before I was given Rituxan, I went over to the hospital for my PET scan. This was an interesting experience...
I arrived at 6:30am and was given and IV which injected me with radioactive fluid. I then waited in a room for about an hour while the fluid circulated through my body. It was bizarre being radioactive...all the doors to the rooms I was going in had big hazardous materials signs warning people not to enter. The nurse Teresa was very nice though, and she set me up in a big reclining chair with tons of blankets and pillows and my very own TV! I watched a few episodes of Family Matters and drifted in and out of sleep.
When it was finally time for the scan, they took me into a room with a giant machine similar to a CT scan but bigger. It was somewhere between a doughnut and a tunnel in shape. I was placed on a flat sliding board and they propped up my head and legs with foam pads specially shaped to hold me in place. Then they strapped Velcro over me to keep me totally still. So I was basically in a cocoon. For someone who is claustrophobic, this experience would have definitely been traumatic, but I'm thankfully not!
For the next half hour, the machine moved me slowly into the tunnel, taking pictures of sections of my body. Then suddenly it stopped and I waited for what felt like ages. Finally Teresa came in and explained that the machine had broken! Good grief. Just my luck! Apparently that happens once every four months or so. This meant they had to do the entire scan all over. So I had to stay strapped in the bed for another 30 minutes....::sigh:: I counted the minutes in my head, and then it was finally over.
After grabbing a quick bagel and smoothie in the hospital cafe, my family and I rushed over to HGCC for my chemo counseling. I sat in a room with my parents and a nurse who explained the drugs I would be given and the various side effects I should expect. She also gave me tips on how to stay healthy and minimize negative side effects. In order to avoid getting sick, I'm not allowed to eat fresh fruit or vegetables for a while, especially during certain stages of my treatment. I also have to rinse my mouth with baking soda and water 4-6 times a day to prevent mouth ulcers from forming. I will be receiving treatment once every 3 weeks. The first 2 weeks after treatment I will probably feel sick or tired, and then the 3rd week will be my recovery week to prepare me for my next round of chemo. I should expect to lose my hair about 3 weeks from today :(
Then it was finally time for chemo. Dan arrived and stayed with me for most of the process, which took about 6 hours total. The drug is administered through an IV, and they start the drip really really slow on the first day of treatment because many people have adverse reactions to it. I was fine for the first hour or so. I sat in my easy chair with an afghan and my pillow and Dan and I worked on a crossword and watched the movie Happy Feet on a portable DVD player. Then I started to feel achy and nauseous. The nurses gave me some sedatives, but I started cramping up in my stomach, and had to be moved to a bed. I felt HORRIBLE. Luckily I had Dan there to hold my hand. He sat by the bed the entire time. Finally I dozed off and when I woke up, my dad was there and my stomach cramps were gone. At around 5:30pm, I was finally done and free to go home. I was so tired.
I felt pretty good for the remainder of the evening, though. Dan came over and we watched Night at the Museum, which was surprisingly really good. My mom made us blueberry muffins and we just relaxed. I'm so lucky to have such a supportive, loving boyfriend. I felt so gross yesterday, and he kept saying "you look beautiful". The nurses were all saying what a great guy he is, and they're right. My family is so great too. They spent a very long day at the hospital with me yesterday. I was lucky enough to be asleep for most of it. I also ran into Mrs. Torgerson, my friend Jenny's mom, at the hospital. She bought me a little stuffed kitten :) It means a lot to me to have so much love and support around me all the time.
Anyway, this is getting long, and I have another appointment at HGCC today for my second round of chemo. Today I will get the CHOP drugs: Cytoxan, Vincristine, Adriamycin, and Prednisone. I actually already took the Prednisone. It is a steroid and I take 5 pills of it each day. I'm headed out now for a 3-hour stay in my easy chair in the chemo room.
Lots of love,
Laur
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