Ready for chemo

Wednesday Aug. 28, 2013

Today I stayed home from school because my neck was really sore from the port surgery.

Thursday Aug. 29, 2013

First day of chemo.  I went to IU North in Fishers at 9:00 a.m. When I went back into the room, all of the chairs were overwhelming. Seeing all the chairs and chemo bags really caused all of this to sink in. They put me in a separate room because it was my first time there...that way they could talk and teach us a lot. They showed us a video that explained chemotherapy and the side effects. Then two nurses came in, Kathleen and Beth, and they went through paperwork and other potential side effects. While this was happening, they accessed my port for the first time. I used numbing cream but then they also used a freezing spray that they call "Nurse Ethyl" to numb it even more. The spray was really cold, so I didn't even notice when they put the needle in the port.

Dr. Morgan came in and she talked to us.  She told us that...

• I'm stage 2 and she explained that I have the cancer cells on both sides of my neck as well as in my chest.
• I will not have radiation because my cancer is above the diaphragm.
• My chemo will last most likely 4 to 6 months.
• I will have side effects and gave me more info on this.
• I will likely have my white blood cell count drop and as a result could get sick; however I am most likely to get sick from my own bacteria, not someone else's.
• I will have good days and not so good days, will get nauseous, and will lose my hair. I even got a prescription for a wig, but, I'm planning on using scarves and hats more than a wig.

I watched them put the nausea and chemo bags and syringes into the tube to my port. The nausea meds they gave made me sleepy, but I fought through that so I could watch them give me my first chemo round and have a tasty Qdoba lunch.  I slept on the way home and for about 2 more hours at home. I didn't have any appetite and ended up taking more medicine for nausea before the day was out.