Chemotherapy 1&2

 Sunday, May 18

I've just finished my second round of chemo. This part of my treatment is probably going to be the most difficult, even though surgery was incredibly hard. I was told that I will have 8 rounds of chemotherapy followed by 15 rounds of radiation, followed by 5 to 10 years of hormone therapy. I'm beginning to see why this is referred to as a marathon not a sprint. Sure wish it would have been a sprint in the surgeries could have been the end.

Chemo Remi

Aspen's wedding was on April 26th at the Mount Timpanogos Temple in American Fork. It was beautiful and amazing, the weather was gorgeous and she looked so pretty and happy. So many friends and family came to support us. The luncheon was at our stake Center afterwards, organized by Andrews parents. It was really nice! Then her reception was 2 days later at Highland Gardens Reception Center. It was pricey, but so beautiful! Again, so many kind friends and family came to help and support us. I couldn't have done any of it without their help! It ended up being picture-perfect. 

I told my cancer team that I had to wait until the wedding was over before I could start chemo. They agreed, and my first treatment was 3 days after the reception. Thursday, May 1. Since I need 8 rounds of chemo, I decided to do what my mother-in-law did and name each of my chemo treatments after one of my children. I've decided to start with the youngest and go to the oldest, finishing with Jim. So this was Chemo Remi.

I was intimidated going into the room where the chemo would be administered. Jim came with me. I remember looking around and being grateful that the room was mostly empty. The nurse, Jamie, was very compassionate and kind. She's gone through this herself a few years ago so she has been a great resource to ask questions too. They accessed my port and began administering medications. I thought kemah would be a one shot and then I was out of there, but there were so many different things they hung from the drip line, they gave me two injections in my belly, and two different types of chemo. One, the Adrimyacin, known as the Red Devil for its red color. The second, cytoxin, was administered through the drift line. I felt okay through the process other than watching them insert a very large needle into my belly which contained a Karo syrup cocktail that is supposed to be a delayed nausea medication. They also inserted a second medication into my belly which is supposed to boost my immune system. I was told I needed to drink as much water as I could, after the treatment, to help flush extra toxins and chemotherapy out of me. I remember coming home and feeling pretty good still. We went in around 9:30 and we were done by 12:30. About 3:30 in the afternoon I began to feel some waves of nausea but it wasn't too bad yet. I did take a nausea pill they had given me but within an hour was feeling very very sick to my stomach. I came up to my room and laid in my bed, on my left side, trying not to move because even movement brought the nausea on worse. It was pretty bad all through that evening and I wasn't able to eat or drink much. I was able to sleep that night, and woke up the next morning feeling very worn out but not nearly as nauseous. The next couple of days the fatigue and dizziness hit me which I was told would happen with the second chemotherapy medication. I did call the nurses that Thursday night and also on Friday spoke to them about the nausea and they all seemed very surprised that I'd had it that bad. By Sunday I felt like I was finally turning a corner. On Monday, I went to play pickleball in the morning. I was very worn out and had to take it slow, and had to stop between games but felt so good to get out there and play. After that, I still had days where I felt extra tired and sometimes felt the nausea come on but not nearly as bad as that first night. After one week I started to begin to feel somewhat normal and was able to have a pretty good week, getting out to play pickleball and getting to the gym to do weights class. 

May 15- Chemo David

When Wednesday night, May 14th rolled around, I was beginning to feel really sad about having to go back and do chemo again. I felt like I had gotten through that first round and was feeling normal again, just to go back and have it start all over again. I was worried about feeling really nauseous and sick again. I expressed my concerns when I went in, and they changed things up a little bit, causing the drip to go in more slowly and giving me extra fluids at the same time. That actually seemed to help because when I got home on Thursday after the second chemo, I didn't have the horrible nausea like at first. Still felt sick to my stomach, still couldn't taste food as everything tastes pasty and bland. It's 3 days later on Sunday now, and I've mostly felt tired and nauseous at times, but mostly just really fatigued. Anytime I take a pill for the nausea it makes me really sleepy. I don't think David liked me calling this round of chemo after him. It made him feel sad, but he did choose my pink and white minky blanket for me to take with. I think he was glad that his turn was over, as am I because it means I'm 25% of the way done. 

Yesterday I began shedding hair quite a bit. I hadn't had any hair loss up to this point and was hoping that by some miracle I could skate by without needing it. A week ago I went to a wig shop and purchased a couple of wigs to have ready. After I got home I was really unsatisfied with one of the choices I made, I tried to call the wig shop owner and ask if I could bring it in for exchange but she seems to be ghosting me and won't return my calls. That makes me feel bad. I do think the wig is pretty, it's a good length but it's a very layered cut and it hangs down in my face a lot. I pulled it back with some clips and left it on the wig stand and I'm hoping that it will fit me and my style better if I'm able to keep it pulled back. The second one I bought is very long blonde hair attached to a headband. It's much more comfortable because it doesn't have the mesh section on the front which is supposed to make the hair look more real, but I find to be quite itchy. I also have a ponytail wig, it's basically a cloth head wrap with a blonde ponytail in the back which is basically the style I wear all the time so that may be the one I wear most of the time, especially to play pickleball in. I just put a hat on top and it will look a lot like my normal hair. Losing my hair has been very difficult. Yesterday was a really hard day as every time I reach back to touch my hair, a handful of hair would come out with it. Jim has been very good and supportive but it's hard for him when he sees me struggle and it really affects him and his mood. Which makes that hard for me as well. Hope you and I can recover from this chemo treatment quickly and get back out playing pickleball and doing the things I love. Having treatments every other week is fast, and leaves me little time to recover in between but it will also mean that I can get done with this phase of treatment faster as well.