2nd Chemo Treatment Today

I had my second chemotherapy treatment today and all went smoothly.  My friend Nancy kept me company and the time went by very pleasantly, thanks to her. 


The blood work looked pretty good.  A few things are just slightly above or below normal range, but Irene, my oncology nurse, is "0%" concerned about any of the results, so nothing to worry about.


Irene said my reaction to the chemo should be the same as it was for the first one.  That means I will likely feel some fatigue starting this Wednesday midday and continue to have some midday fatigue Thursday and Friday.  By Saturday, I should feel totally normal.


Next chemo, May 19th, will also include a CAT scan of the lung so we should get a sense at that time for how the cancer is reacting to the chemotherapy treatment.  Hopefully, we will see some reduction in number and/or size of the cancer lesions.


Stay tuned!

A Good Weekend

The last of the chemo fatigue wore off by midday Friday and so I had a very nice weekend with normal energy and activity.  If this is what the other cycles will be like, I can live with it.


I never had any nausea.  The fatigue I felt during the week was pretty mild and typically occurred midday and then went away by evening.  My sleep is also improving.


So a good weekend overall!

1st Chemo plus 3 days

OK.  So today I finally felt fatigued right around noon for the first time.  In spite of that, I still managed to walk the dogs for a couple of miles and ride the recumbent stationary bike for 45 minutes in addition to a couple of naps and couch time reading.


Up until this afternoon I was feeling pretty normal, other than some fitful sleeping.  I blame the steroids for that.  Only one more day on a steroid for this cycle and then I'll be done with them until the next round.


I'm hoping the fatigue subsides a bit for tomorrow as I have a lot of activities planned. I will cancel some of them if I need to but I'd rather not.


So it hasn't been bad so far.  Let's hope it doesn't get any worse.  :)

First Chemo Treatment is Done

Today I had my first chemotherapy treatment.  It went pretty well.  I had no discomfort.  The needle went in smoothly (hopefully, that means I won't need a port); there was no nausea or other effects I felt.  I am tired, but that may just be the stress of the day.


The real test of how I manage will be over the course of the rest of this week.  The fatigue and potential nausea supposedly kick in around Wednesday and may last as little as a day or as long as a week.  The drugs they gave me today included a couple to prevent nausea and boost energy.  I also will be taking pills over the next three days to do the same.


I will post at least once more this week to let everyone know how I'm coping with the side effects.