Aug 29, 2021
I’m not really writing these posts for anyone else but myself so that I can remember the experience. Perhaps when I publish these publicly, they may help another woman, just like me, who is about to take her own journey. I just need to vent and while I do occasionally with friends, I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer constantly dwelling on this situation over which I have zero control. I try to keep things light even when I honestly haven’t felt lighthearted very much the past three months. However, I do have much to be grateful for, especially considering that my body has responded incredibly well to the four drugs in my regimen, Taxotere, Carboplatin, Herceptin, and Perjeta. The first two drugs are the chemotherapy given to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. The second two are antibody therapies that target and block the HER2+ proteins from growing in the body. So, if there is anything left in the body after the chemotherapy infusions, any micro HER2+ proteins that could grow into cancer, the Herceptin and Perjeta will get them.
Many patients have a difficult time with reactions during their infusions. I am very grateful that I have not experienced a negative reaction during or any major side effects after. Having said that, the first cycle was an experience. First of all, the initial cycle of chemotherapy is a very long one. This is the longest infusion as it drips slower into your system so the medical staff can keep an eye on you to ensure you don’t have a bad reaction. I was given premeds to help with this including an anti-anxiety med (at my request for the cold capping as -35 Celcius is freaking cold on your head), Benedryl, and a steroid. That takes about 40 minutes. Then each IV is given separately and can take up to one hour to drip. So, about 4-5 hours total time at the treatment center is spent. Because I am given the anxiety med and Benadryl, I’ve been pretty much knocked out, can’t keep my eyes open and my husband wakes me every 20 minutes to change my cap.
Cycle 1
Returning home the day of is pretty much more sleeping it off. The day after my first cycle, I began to get very bloated. I could barely eat. I couldn’t tell if it was all the water I was drinking or the drugs. On days two and three I began to bloat even more feeling like I had a balloon in my belly. It was the worst. I got more awful side effects too you can see in my dailies of my chemo week below:
Day 1 chemo: Slept during. Arrived home and slept the rest of the day on the sofa in between capping. Lucky for me, when I woke, I had these beautiful flowers to look at that my sweet niece Liz brought me along with some healthy snacks.
Day 2: Bloating began and stayed on the sofa all day sleeping on and off. Neulasta shot (to boost white blood cell count) kicked in so began taking Claritin to ease bone pain. Again, read about other’s painful experiences, mine was not bad at all.
Day 3: Still suffering from bloat and digestive issues still. Today, I have a massive headache. Making sure I drink at least 100oz. of water to flush my system.
Day 4: My legs were really aching from the Neulasta shot. I was popping 2-24 hour Claritin allergy pills a day.
Day 10: Got a bad rash on my face that my oncologist says is from the steroid withdrawal. I am using Neosporin, hydrocortisone cream, zit cream and nothing is working. I look like I’m a teenager in high school and humiliated. Got an RX for Clindamyacin but the thing that actually helped me was getting some Thayer’s Natual Witch Hazel with Aloe. Had my check-up and blood drawn one week after my first infusion and my blood count was normal. White blood cells looked good and I was not anemic.
I definitely had the energy to do things by the second week and the third week I felt my normal self. I did feel short of breath the first week of my infusion. We are supposed to walk at least 20 minutes a day which I’m glad I have a dog that makes me go walk. I did do some of my lower body exercises as much as I could and when I felt like it. I had a short client session and did great. At this point, my port was still not fully healed and it bothered me.
Cycle 2
The second infusion was much faster. We got home a couple of hours sooner. I think we finished the capping process around 8 pm the first cycle, but this cyle we finished at 6 pm. I was out on the sofa the rest of the day. Port’s looking and feeling better but I still can’t sleep on my right side.
Day 1 chemo: Sleeping in 20-minute spurts all day.
Day 2: I was up and bee bopping around the house. I put on make-up, was dancing, did some client work and was in high spirits! I had no bloating happening. Now, this could be because I fasted on chicken broth the day prior to chemo and fasted during chemo. I only had like a hummus snack in between, and just drank lots of water. It could ALSO be that my body is acclimating to the treatment. Who knows? But I’m going to fast again next time in case it helps. Neulasta shot kicked in during the evening.
Day 3: Woke with a massive migraine headache. It’s the white blood cell booster shot. It’s the worst. I had enough energy to make myself a coffee, 2 toasts, and eat my little yogurt cup. Then it was sofa time for me ALL day long. I had ZERO I mean, LESS than ZERO energy. I ate again around 5 pm, some chicken and a little pasta that my friend dropped off, and was SO happy to feel normal. No bloating here! Then went back to the sofa.
Day 4: Energy level was ok. Mild headache, made breakfast, did some client work, walked the dog.
Day 5: It’s Saturday, I woke up feeling chipper and wanting a big ass pancake breakfast, so made my husband take me out and snarfed. Then went to pick up a few groceries, got home, and didn’t do much but was feeling pretty good. I washed the dishes and bathed the dog. Those were my only goals for the day. Mission accomplished. Ate dinner and was having a little acid reflux and went to bed early.
Day 6: Sunday, no problems. Mouth feeling agitated by some lemon used in a lemon bread recipe. Had to rinse with Biotin. Probably gonna eat less acidic foods from now on, overall feeling well, have no major issues, and expecting my energy levels to bounce back for the next two weeks. Yea, I had enough energy to make some beans and some zucchini bread.
I should probably do more exercise. At this point, my scalp is mildly sore around the sides of my face and nape of my neck which is making me anxious because they say after it gets sore you can expect some shedding. Crossing my fingers that doesn’t happen but we’ll see. I go in to see my oncologist for a one-week post-chemo follow-up on Tuesday. This is to check my blood counts and see if I’m having any issues. I also have a PET scan scheduled for Thursday to determine once and for all if a spot on my liver is benign or not. If it is, we keep doing what we are doing. If it is not, this will change the staging of my cancer and the course of my treatment.
Keeping faith that there won’t be any more bad news. For now, I’m just happy my body had a good second cycle.
