Chemo Tuesday - 2 Down - 25% done!

So - I did the second round of treatment today. It went off without a hiccup!
Kristin and I went to breakfast at Papa Jacks Diner and then did some banking at ESL. When we arrived at Pluta - it was really busy. And I think I was a generation younger than all the others in the waiting room today!
Kristin and I were happy, chit-chatting, laughing about the magazines we were reading. Everyone else sat there so solemn. They were probably happy when I got called back.

I met the Physicians Assistant, Cecelia. She asked about how I felt since my last treatment, listened to my heart and lungs, checked out my port......She recommended that I take my steroid drug differently this time, to avoid the hard crash that I had last time on Day 4 (now coined "Movie Friday's"). I will take 2 doses on Wednesday, 1 dose on Thursday and 1 dose on Friday. Hopefully, that will work.

From there - they drew blood from my port. And in all honesty, this is the part that stressed me out most about today. I admit, I don't love my port. It still hurts a little, it's getting better, but still bugs me. I am just not a fan of knowing it's in there. I don't like IVs - they freak me out, and so does the port. It's a mental thing that I need to get over. Anyway - it did not hurt at all when they put the needle in my port - so I stressed (had clammy hands) over nothing. The nurse says I haven't gotten my "port pride"!

The bloodwork they are checking is to make sure my white cells and red cell counts are high enough to administer chemo. If they are not high enough, they send me home and we try again next week. My cell counts came in great! So - no problems this week. They say the potential for cell counts to be low will likely come later (maybe treatment 3 or 4) - it's a cumulative effect.

From there - we started into the treatment process. They offered us lunch (wraps, sodas, chips) and we declined (having just had breakfast) but then they offered homemade carrot cake that one of the patients made - we were all over that! Delicious.

We watched the space shuttle land - and announced it's landing safely to the other patients. Kristin worked on her Christy's Crew fundraising efforts (more on that later!) and I watched the stupid Brett Michaels reality TV show, CNN, Tyra Banks and other random crap that is on in the daytime.

When the treatment was over , my nurse, Marty, told me she was taking a leave of absence to take care of her elderly parents and would not be there for my next treatment. That's a bummer, but I, of all people know, you do what you gotta do. So, I wished her well.

Then she made Kristin cry. She told me that the reason I was doing so incredibly well with my treatments was because of my attitude. She said that she knew from the second she met me that I was going to be successful, because I had the "let's just get moving and get it done. tell me what I have to do and let's go" attitude. She went on to tell Kristin and I that I will go on to do great things to raise breast cancer awareness and that I just have an aura that says this is no problem, be happy!...... I thought that was sweet of her. Kristin cried, she was so touched (she does that). I just know that's who I am, and those who know me well, know that's just what I do. That's how I approach anything.

Also - she said that the side-effects that I felt (or did not feel) are indicative of how I will feel throughout the treatment. The only difference is that they find the fatigue to grow with each additional treatment. But - that only continues for the time I am on Cytocin and Doxorubicin. And I am only on those for 4 treatments. The next 4 treatments are Toxofin (or something like that) and the fatigue does not come along with that drug. So - I really only have a potential of feeling more tired over the next 6 weeks. That's like nothing! compared to 3 months of puking during the first tri-mester of pregnancy, this is easy! I obviously was a miserable prego!

OK - enough for now. Just wanted to let you all know, I have completed 25% of my chemo process! Feeling fine. Will keep you posted!

Christy