1st Round of Taxol

 

MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2010

1st round of Taxol

My good friend and confidant Tamy Scheurn picked me up at 9 am to head to Scottsdale Mayo for round 5. I felt so anxious and not looking forward to my stay at the Mayo Suites, haha. I love that I can be "real" with Tamy and tell her what is on my mind. Actually, I don't hold back much with anyone, do I? I guess that is just who I am, I think for most of my life, I held so many secrets that now, as an adult, I have learned to express myself, and sometimes it is to my dismay I fear I hurt people with my words and that is the last thing I ever want to do, I promise I am working on that one !!!
OK, so back to Tamy, I love her, and I can really get down to the nitty-gritty feelings. Other than my husband, it's always been difficult for me to open up to people. It has been so good for me to rely on someone to take me to chemo, Eric has to be at a mandatory meeting every Monday, plus I do not think he could handle it. He has a hard time seeing what I go through when I get home, let alone the access to the PORT and the side effects during the actual chemo infusion. He takes me to MAYO on Thursdays and Fridays when I get labs drawn or need to actually talk to my doctor or PA.
The needle they use to access my PORT is the size of the circumference of a nail, and it is excruciating going in. It is still important to have because it is accessed at least once a week, it is much better than them poking around for veins, and after a while, those become hard to find and can collapse. I will usually put a cream on the PORT about an hour before it is accessed. This helps to numb the area, but even with the cream, it is painful, and when I took Kayla with me on Friday to get some labs done, the look on her face was not fun to watch. She almost fainted when she watched them access it and then pull out vile after blood. She said it was the most blood she had ever seen at one time. I myself don't watch because I am a fainter also.
I have Tamy there. She is a trained scrub nurse and has seen much worse, she too has a port and knows the pain, so I rely on her for strength and support.
My oncologist told me that I would have 4 rounds of Taxol, a new chemo drug they are trying on me. Today was my 1st round which puts me past my 1/2 mark. Whoo-hoo.
Taxol is an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug. It is used for people who have breast, ovarian, lung, bladder, prostate, melanoma, esophageal, and other tumor-related VILLAINS.
Taxol side effects:
-Low Blood Counts (white, red, and platelets may temporarily decrease, putting patients at high risk for infections, anemia, and bleeding.)
-Continued Hair Loss (it can't get much worse)
- Pain in the joints and muscles (already experienced those with the Neulasta shots)
-Pain in the lower back ( this started today)
-shortness of breath (been there, done that)
-pressure in the chest (I never experienced this)
-abnormal heartbeat (I had a bit of this too)
-Nausea and Vomiting (with Taxol, it should be mild, but I have experienced the puking, NOT FUN)
-Diarrhea (oh yeah....embarrassing but I have experienced sitting on the toilet while puking in the trash can)
-Mouth Sores ( I have these all along the way, nothing new)
-Fever, facial flushing, chills, shortness of breath, or (hives within the 1st 10 minutes of injection--I did not experience this)
-Swelling of the feet or ankles (so far, so good)
-Foot and hand tingles or sores ( I experienced this for about 4 days. It felt like I was walking on glass a couple times)
-liver problems (so far, nothing)
-low blood pressure (blood pressure has been normal)
-darkening of the skin (none)
-nail color change (I had the red fingernails the 1st and 4th week of chemo)
-you may experience drowsiness and dizziness (I have fainted a few times)
-wash your hands often (yes, I do, my hands are so dry from the antibacterial wash)
-avoid direct sunlight. YOU MUST WEAR SUNGLASSES AND SPF 15 WHEN EXPOSED TO SUNLIGHT (WOW)
-Get plenty of rest (I do)
-avoid alcoholic beverages---(DANG IT HAHA...I'm proud of the fact that I have never tasted alcohol in my life, and I am not going to start now) (however, I have been in so much pain that there have been days I wished I had some "special brownies," but if you bring them I don't want to know the ingredients, because I have also never tried that either hee hee)
- avoid contact sports and keep your workouts to walking only a minimum, down the block and back (I look forward to the day when they say I can run to the end of the block)
**YOUR RISK OF INFECTION IS MUCH HIGHER THAN BEFORE
**YOU MUST AVOID CROWDS OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH COLDS AND THOSE NOT FEELING WELL

Today I felt the Taxol entering my system like the black plague, and every drip penetrated me immediately. I was sleepy, my back ached, and my legs were so restless that I could not sit still. My nurse Tina called Dr. Northfelt to see if it was OK to give me some Ativan for the restlessness, he agreed, and that seemed to help me. It was a long day, but I am excited that we are 1/2 way through. 

Tonight I feel tired, and my stomach is aching. I think I will take a long hot bath and get ready for a long night along with my back and legs. Tina told me that if I was restless during the chemo treatment, I would be restless during the night, nothing new a lot of the side effects are what I have already been experiencing, so I will just put on my gloves and get ready for a continued fight.
I heard from Dr. Kremerman. He called me just to see how I was doing. It was surprising, but that is the type of Doctor he is. He cares about his patients even when they are not seeing him regularly. (I will not see him until chemo is over) I have still been experiencing extreme pain in my breasts. I asked Dr. Keymerman about it because I wanted to ensure this much pain was expected.

Dr. PK said that the aching will not disappear until after chemo and radiation because I have no tissue in my breasts. The lymph nodes were removed under my arm, and I am not like a normal woman. My breasts are tough (like a brick wall), which causes pain, especially if I use my arms a lot. He explained that because of the low blood cells being divided and taken away from my body, there is nothing to protect my breasts from the aching and pain. He is such a great doctor. Just one more tender mercy in my life, I will always have a special place in my heart for him and doctor Northfelt.