Chemo #4 started off like normal - I get to the cancer center around 9AM and get my vitals taken and blood drawn. They run a CBC while I see my nurse practitioner, Michelle. I claim a comfy chemo chair and start to settle in while Terri-Lynn start my premeds. About 20 minutes later, she comes back and stops my premeds. She says my neutrophils count was very low and she had to consult with Michelle before I could continue with the premeds and chemo. I eventually got the okay from Michelle, phew. Delaying my treatment is the last thing I want. Chemo proceeds, I fall asleep, I wake up, and I listen to the other patients talk. After treatment, I was STARVING and craving Mexican. I ended up eating 2 enchiladas and all of the sides of beans and rice. I usually don't finish all my food when we go out to eat, but the premeds (steroids?) make me really hungry for a few days after chemo. While we're on the topic of food, my eating habits have taken a turn for the worse. I crave fried foods, pizza, and hamburgers alllll the time and we usually give in to those cravings. Mom, do you read my blog? Please don't get mad :x
Day 2 consisted of getting the 1st of 2 neupogen shots and a heart echo to see if chemo has affected my heart. Spoiler - it hasn't! Neupogen is very similar to the Neulasta I got after cycle 1 but shorter lasting, which is why I had to get another shot on Day 3. After arriving at the hospital for the shot, I started feeling dizzy and weak. The nurse ends up giving me IV fluids and I do feel better afterwards. I'll probably start getting fluids 2 days after chemo now to help me feel better faster. On Day 7, I had a CBC again and it showed my neutrophils were way low again. I had woken up that morning with a tickle in my throat so my oncologist had me get another Neupogen shot to boost my immune system just in case I was coming down with something. Either my immune system kicked ass and stopped me from getting sick, or it was just allergies. I'm leaning towards allergies because I am allergic to everything in Austin - mold, oak, cedar, ragweed, cedar, dogs, cats.
We had dinner with Damien's sister-in-law (my BIL's wife) and niece one night and watched the Game of Thrones premier with the Game Night Crew another night. It is always so great to catch up with friends and family. The rest of the 10 days were pretty uneventful. My days were full of working, walking, and watching Daredevil on Netflix. Everyone should watch Daredevil - it's so well done and the fight scenes are interesting. It's a little (okay, a LOT) gory and there's a lot of violence and sometimes, I turn away, but it's good. My hair is still falling out but it's not noticeable since I'm bald anyway. My eyebrows and lashes are still mostly intact so when we do go out, I rock a full face of makeup with a bald head.
I have a PET scan scheduled for tomorrow 4/16 to determine how many more cycles I have left. I have to cut out carbs and sugars 24 hours before the scan, which is fine by me! I had steak (prime ribeye YUM) and broccoli smothered in cheese for dinner and it's basically the perfect meal. Cycle 3 begins this Friday! I feel like I'm making great progress in getting rid of this cancer crap and we'll know whether this is true medically after the PET scan results. I CAN'T WAIT!
And here's a pic of the most wonderful husband in the world doing his part:
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