Chemo & Port

Cornbread Tastes Like Cornbread  

My chemotherapy started Friday October 3rd.  My doctor saw me for a few minutes beforehand and informed she had some of the biopsies retested from the surgery.  Rather than being a rare case enigma, what she suspected was now true, I have two separate cancers occurring in my right breast.  One is the slow growing tumor that was removed and the other a wildly aggressive cancer that took over all my nodes and breast tissue.  Well, how 'bout that?!  This will mean an additional chemo drug, Herceptin, that I will be on for a year.  I'm just, you know, going with the flow... "like water off a spinning ball..."

My port was not in yet but they wanted to get the show on the road... me too... so they set me up in this nice suite, in a comfy reclining chair, and I had my friend Abigail with me for this first visit.  We watched other folks come and go.  First the infusion of saline- 30 min, a steroid- 30 min, anti nausea- 20 min, Adriamycin- 30 min, Cytoxin- 1 hour, saline again 20 min.  Abigail and I chatted off and on throughout.  I went to the bathroom (only for toxic avengers) which was a beautiful sunny bathroom and noted a mosquito flying around and landing on the wall.  I smiled.  When I walked out I said there a mosquito in there... a really stupid one!

I did fairly fine, noticed my tastebuds going off relatively quickly, mild nausea only that night.  Saturday, and already the "tireds" were kicking in.  A little more nausea but had meds for that, not too bad.  Sunday very tired.  Really didn't do much and doc said to take it easy this weekend.  

Never, ever, ever get your port in after you start chemo!!!  Big tip here!

The Port   

A port is a device for easy entry into a big vein for chemo or to draw blood.  It's placed under the skin on your chest.   So when you go for your appointment they just hook in and do everything from this one port.  Spares wear and tear on your veins.

Monday was port day at the hospital outpatient surgery.  So... okay, when you're dealing with nausea it is not a good idea to go without food or water!  Or, have a surgery!  I started retching and vomiting on the surgery table, they were trying to get IV meds in me as fast as possible, but nope!  I am the queen of vomit!  Actually, retching since there was nothing coming up.  It was cool, the surgeon was waiting patiently for me.  After the port went in and surgery done I was parked in the hall vomiting, er, retching again, over and over.  Finally they got it under control, good thing too because I had maxed out the medication.

David finally found me so we could go home and I slept, and slept, and slept...

It's now 3:35 on Tuesday and I'm just starting to feel semi-normal, and conscious.  My eyes have not wanted to focus much, at least for reading up to this point.  I went to the grocery store earlier, and that was an assault on all of my senses.  

Everything tastes so, so weird.  Indescribable.  Protein is important but the very least thing I'm interested in.  I go with whatever I can get down at the time.  Thank you to all my Facebook friends for you input, strength, and wisdom during this very trying time of mine!  It's all appreciated!  For my sister, I love you!  Finally David, who makes it all a little more bearable.