The Long and Winding Road

Today is Friday, April 8th. It’s Day 2 of 12 chemo treatment days.  My treatments are every other week for 5+ months, with the last one falling on August 25th. To be exact, start to finish is 151 days including first and last treatment days. August 25th is asterisked, circled, highlighted, and any other thing I can think of to signify my last treatment, figuratively speaking of course (nobody actually uses physical calendars anymore).

My first treatment was March 28th. I was surprisingly not really nervous about what would ensue. I feel like I should have been though. I had no idea how my body was about to react to the chemicals that would course through my body.

I’m doing the ABVD chemo regimen – there are 4 drugs in total, starting with the 4 letters in the acronym and each one having like 19 letters. I already have my least favorites from the little bit I know. The A one is red, comes in a syringe, and requires the nurse to manually pump it through my port.  I have to eat ice for the full 10 minutes to prevent mouth sores.  It also has the interesting side effect of making my pee red (don’t care) but also is the reason my hair will fall out. It’s like I’ve been taking that one for years, ha. Preemptive strikes against my insecurities make me feel better about myself.  But seriously, I’m not ready for all my hair to fall out. Let’s call the A one the “Red Woman’s elixir,” in honor and excitement of Game of Thrones’ Season 6 about to start.  I also don’t like the D one, dacarbazine.  It’s the most likely culprit to make me nauseous and takes a full hour to dispense into my body.  Let’s call this one “Jack the Dripper.”  I swear, I’m staying super positive despite what these nicknames might indicate

The first treatment day was actually totally fine. I lounged in my chair, ate my packed lunch, and finally finished the last 5 episodes of Narcos.  That night was a different story.  My body had a very violent reaction to the drugs. I later found out that it was probably the physical manifestation of cancer cells dying inside me. Well there must have been a ton of cancer cells that went bye-bye then.  You name the symptom and I probably had it – headache, nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, dizziness, shivering….the list goes on. I was inches from passing out on the concrete floor in our downstairs bathroom, but somehow managed to hold it together.

Fast forward to today, April 8th. I woke up singing Sinnerman and Hozier Take Me to Church. Again, I should be more nervous, esp. after the last episode, but I’m just not. Plus I’ve got my friends, acetominophen and ibuprofen, in my back pocket to ward off those nasty symptoms after the treatment is over. Not to mention my anti-nausea drug cocktail.  So bring it!