Chemo 4

I saw my oncologist this morning during my chemo session and we discussed the problems I had been experiencing with extreme fatigue and I was starting to show signs of depression. My platelet counts were low and I began experiencing spontaneous nose bleeds over the past week. Cold sensitivity from the Oxialplatin lingered and the recovery window from chemo, days when I felt halfway descent was down to about 3 days between treatments. This was especially, disturbing since Oxilaplatin can cause neuropathy in the feet and hands and being diabetic already increases my risk of neuropathy. He changed my treatment schedule from that point on from every 2 weeks to every 3 weeks. Allowing me a little more recovery time. He also wanted to get some genetic testing done to rule out problems with DNA mismatch repair.

Downward spiral

Chemo has really been kicking me this week. I was able stick it out on Monday and work the whole day, but I had to go home Tuesday at noon. I had to stay home yesterday morning, except for a oncology visit and I wasn’t able to make it to work until 10:30 AM this morning. When I saw the PA at the oncologist’s office yesterday my blood pressure was still low, e.g. 102/60. She said low BP is typical with chemo and recommended that I cut my BP med dose in half, which I did last night. Three things are dragging me down, chemo, low BP and high blood glucose from steroids, which are given prior to chemo infusion. If it’s this bad now I can’t image what it’s going to be like 5 months from now.

Chemo 3

Cold sensitivity kicked in right away and I’ll be dealing with that for the next week. Felt pretty good yesterday, but wasn’t able to sleep well last night because of the steroids. Today has been going well so far, but I’m sure fatigue will begin to set in tomorrow after they remove the portable pump. I’ll probably be feeling drained this weekend, but such is life when you’re on treatment. I’m still drinking a lot of water and trying to walk as much as I can, which has been helping.

Dr. Oz’s cancer scare

Here’s a link to a Time magazine article regarding Dr. Oz and his personal colonoscopy experience. They say that doctors make the worst patients and Dr. Oz was no exception. He didn’t perform the colon prep adequately making it more difficult to perform the examination. However, a polyp was found during the procedure. He was supposed to have a follow up colonoscopy performed a few months later, but kept procrastinating even though as a doctor he knew better. It’s a interesting read.

Chemo 2

Chemo went well yesterday and I felt pretty good the rest of the day and today has been good too. I’ve been drinking a lot more water before and after treatment, which has really helped along with walking as much as I can. No nausea so far, but I didn’t notice any problems the first time until after the bag came off. We’ll see how it goes this time around. Right now my biggest problem is sensitivity to cold from the Oxaliplatin. My hands are especially sensitive and anything cold I touch feels like a hundred needles jabbing into my skin. I can’t wash my hands unless the water is warm, otherwise the pain is just too intense. Sometimes it feel like needles and other times it feel like big shock similar to grabbing an exposed electrical wire. Either way, it’s not very pleasant. As long as I stay warm and eat/drink things that are room temp or warmer there’s no problem. I’m thankful that the weather is warmer now. I can’t imagine going through this during the winter months. My cell counts have started to drop a little bit, but nothing too serious yet. Hopefully, I can squeak by without having to take Neulasta (bone marrow stimulant) as I hear this can cause the bones to ache. That’s two treatments down and ten to go.

Aftermath

Nausea and extreme fatigue had kicked in over the weekend and continued through Monday, but I was able to make it back to work this morning. Having been on 5-FU earlier in the year I didn’t expect the side effects to hit me so soon, but combined with Oxaliplatin it’s like a double whammy.

Chemo 1 - back in black

Treatment started at 8:00 AM this morning. The nurse accessed my port and started administering premeds, which included a steroid called decadron (dexamethasone), a powerful anti-inflammatory agent and aloxi (palonosetron), which is used as an anti-emetic. Next, an IV consisting of Oxaliplatin and Leukovorin along with 5% dextrose (D5) was administered over a two hour period. I got a bolus injection of 5-FU over a 2 minute period. Afterwards the nurse connected my portable 5-FU pump. This time I got the basic black European carryall instead of the burgundy colored bag I carried earlier in the year. Treatment lasted just under 4 hours and I would need to report back at 10:00 AM on Friday to disconnect the portable pump. The first treatment went pretty well, but I felt very tired afterwards and wondered if I was going to be able to work that afternoon, but I powered through it.