Today, I finally got to start my chemo treatments! I say “got to”, because I’ve been wanting this day to get here since I was originally diagnosed and told that chemo would be needed. After weeks of tests, scans and appointments, we finally started active treatment to beat this thing. I cannot say how excited I truly am that we are moving forward. Not necessarily looking forward to the side effects…will I need Imodium or Senokot…only time will tell. LOL The great thing is that they have made so much progress over the past decade in managing side effects!

As I was packing for the day trip, I decided to go super comfy. These are the flowiest of flowy pants you’ll ever wear…that also look like a long slouchy skirt, apparently, when I’m sitting. So, ignore the bottom of the picture. The pants and shoes together look much better when I’m standing! Any-who…After we met with the MO (medical oncologist) this morning, we were escorted to the infusion room. We walked in there right at 10:00. The nurse hooked me up to an IV and started with fluids. Shortly after, they did a 15-minute drip of steroids and anti-nausea meds, followed with a 30-minute drip of another anti-nausea med. After those were all done, I did a 60-minute drip of my first chemo med, Cyclophosphamide. They can ramp it up to be done in 30 minutes, but it can cause a nasty headache, so I’m good to take the extra 30. Then finally, we wrapped up with two pushes of Adriamycin…AKA “The Red Devil”. I asked the nurse, “what’s next?”. She says, “Go home.” What? Wow, that went really fast! We walked out right at 1:00. Shout out to my sister. She brought me Mediterranean food while I was in there…that soup hit the spot!

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It’s called the red devil, because…well, it’s red. And because it’s just an ugly drug. However, I’m okay with these cancer cells being hit with the ugliest stuff they’ve got to get rid of it! So, bring it on!!

Now, we’re at home…and my focus is just to stay hydrated. Everything I’ve read says that when you think you’ve drank enough to drown an elephant, drink a little more. Ha! I’m going to going to the bathroom all day and night. Because of the toxicity of the drugs, no one else can use my bathroom for a few days. So, I’ll have my bathroom all to myself until the weekend…I feel like a bachelorette when I’m in there. I should light flowery candles or something in there and pretend it’s a spa day. 🙂

All in all, I still feel good. According to everything I’ve read, my steroid crash should hit around Friday afternoon, and I’ll likely sleep most of the weekend away. Although, every patient is different, this seems to be pretty common. It’s looking like rain this weekend, so I may spend it curled up in my chair sleeping to the sound of rain. Perfect timing!!

If you’re still reading this…bless your heart. That’s a lot of boring stuff. One thing that is strange is that I’m hungry! Several people mentioned being adverse to food (even water) after AC. Maybe that will hit later…Lord knows I don’t need to be the one girl that gains 50 pounds on chemo!! That would totally suck.

Proverbs 31:25