amy

       I did it. I finished chemotherapy. And so far, my side effects from Taxol have not been as bad as they were with Adriamycin. I felt very tired after infusion yesterday but seeing my friends gather for my bell ringing brought me a lot of energy. And today, the day after infusion, I’m feeling good! The main side effect I’ve had from Taxol is bone pain. I’m very much looking forward to my “No Mo Chemo” party that I’m planning for next weekend.      Yesterday was a long day at the West Cancer Center. I arrived at 7am and did not leave my infusion chair until 3:30. 7 rounds of chemotherapy have taken their toll on my veins. They had a hard time getting my IV in yesterday so that started the day off rough. They ended up putting the IV in a vein in my forearm. Knowing it was my last chemo definitely gave me some extra strength to endure.      This week was long and both physically and emotionally draining. I was at the doctors four different times this week. It was the last week of s

                                       Today was my seventh chemo! Which means I only have one more as long as everything goes according to plan. I am overjoyed at the thought of just one more chemo. Lately I have been noticing the cumulative effects of chemo (being tired all the time, not feeling great most of the time) and am looking forward to the day when I have more energy and feel well.      Today’s chemo was my first infusion of Taxol. I finished Adriamycin the last round and my final two infusions are Taxol. My treatments are still every other week so my final treatment is two weeks from today! This morning I was not feeling great before I even started chemo. My tolerance for the cold cap and the frozen gloves and socks has gone down. And, the Taxol infusion is 3 hours long, compared to the 10 minute infusion of Adriamycin. Not only was I physically not feeling the best going into chemo today, I was also nervous about potential new side effects that come when starting a new dr

     Lately the thought of chemo has been making me nauseous. So I haven’t wanted to write this post. Several times in the past few days I have tried to intentionally think of other things that make me happy so as not to think about chemo and feel nauseous. Any thoughts having to do with chemo, or the West Cancer Clinic, make me feel a bit nauseous. The smell of the West Cancer Clinic, the thought of how I feel when they flush my IV, everything about the process of receiving chemotherapy. My nausea and the things that make me feel nauseous has definitely gotten worse the more chemo I receive.      One upside to chemo round 6 was the fact that I was only at the center for about 4 hours. I only received Adriamycin so it was one of my shortest chemo appointments.      2 more treatments to go! I’m praying I don’t feel nauseous while receiving the last 2 treatments like I did during round 6.