Tomorrow will be my first chemo treatment. Emotionally, I am a healthy mix of:

• EXCITED that we’re about to finally embark on this journey of actually killing the cancer. Let’s get those cancer killing drugs into my system!

• ANXIOUS about the side effects! Hopeful that I will be one of those lucky few that experience mild or no side effects to chemo.

 

Prep So Far

DENTIST – I’ve been to the dentist three times on two separate days. A new patient consultation, a right side deep scaling, and a left side general clean and full mouth polishing. You can’t go to the dentist during chemo, so this all had to be done prior to the start of treatment.

WORK – I’m reorganized all of my upcoming January travel plans. I’m still hopeful of making both trips (Daytona next week + Las Vegas the week after) but we’ll see how I am feeling. At the very least, I’ve scaled back each trip to be just about 48 hours each, instead of the longer affairs I had planned.

CLEANING – My mom has really helped us deep clean the house. And she’s coming over tomorrow evening to give it one more deep clean before my body starts really reacting to the chemo. She’s also coming over tomorrow to do another deep clean and bring fresh laundry. Thanks, Mom! (& Dad for the laundry!)

 

Tomorrow’s Schedule

My chemo session is scheduled for 1pm. They’ve asked us to arrive at approximately 12:45pm, which means I intend to arrive about a half-hour before that.

The chemo actually takes place in my oncologist’s office. In the back, they have private chemo rooms. The rooms are small (I haven’t yet seen them) but large enough for me to bring back a guest. Luis will be accompanying me for my first treatment.

• BLOOD TEST – The first thing they will do is give me a standard blood test to make sure that my white blood cells and platelets are all in order. They should be this time, since I’ve not received a chemo treatment. But these will become more important at subsequent treatments, to see how my body is reacting to the previous chemo treatments. They expect this to take about 30 minutes.
• PRE-DRUGS – Next, they will hook me up to an IV and will administer the “Pre-Chemo” drugs. These include anti-nausea, steroids, and other drugs deemed important and symptom preventative. This should also take about 30 minutes.
• ACTUAL CHEMO – Finally, they’ll start the actual ABVD chemo treatment. Two of these drugs are injected via syringe by a nurse; the other two are administered by IV drip. The entire 4-drug process should take about 90 minutes.

After the treatment, I’m hoping that Luis and I have time to grab a bite to eat at Senor Iguanas (right across the street) before he has to go to a work meeting for the rest of the evening.

My mom is coming over to the house to sit with me for the evening so I don’t have to be alone; I’m sure I’ll be fine the first night after treatment, as symptoms don’t typically set in for a day or two, but you never know and I’m a little scared and would rather not be by myself. While she’s here, she’s going to deep clean the bathrooms again. And she’s also bringing over the first load of laundry that they’ve done to take that daily chore off our plates. 🙂

I’ve read that the steroids they give you before treatment lead to a restless night after treatment. I’ve already had some trouble sleeping, so I’m hoping I can get some Zzz’s tomorrow night.

 

Seviche

Tonight, Luis and I had our last pre-chemo meal. We chose to go to Seviche – our favorite restaurant and the place where we first met over five years ago. It’s also just a block away from our house now!

I’ve heard from some folks and read online that your tastes can change during chemo. And sometimes, I have heard, you may not enjoy food in the same way even years after treatment. I’m a bit nervous about that – so I definitely wanted to truly enjoy tonight’s meal!

I got the Churrascos de Argentina – a delicious steak accompanied by asparagus and mashed potatoes and topped with a garlic chimichurri. It’s “Oh My Goodness” good!  Luis got the Wild Mushroom Enchiladas.

Everything was great. Our first trip to Seviche in years. I’m looking forward to joining our cousins Nicki & Jeff there sometime soon!

 

SUPPORT KEEPS COMING

Thank you all again for the continued well wishes! Every single prayer or good thought means the world to both of us.

Yesterday I got two very cool items in the mail along with Get Well cards:

• My friends Krista & David send this very comfortable, very warm healing blanket. The blanket is a nice teal color and is full of positive thoughts and energy. I’ll be cuddling up with this tonight as we watch some I Love Lucy.
• My friend Susie send us a nice card accompanied by some delicious baked goodies!

Thank you to everyone who has reached out! I’ll be thinking of all the support we have tomorrow during our first treatment.

 

Much love,

Merv