Chemo belly

I haven’t blogged in a while..mainly because I have a lot of photos I want to go along with it, and just don’t have the patience to upload.

I’m just going to write a quick blog about my first chemo treatment and then try to play catch up next week on everything else.

This past Wednesday morning Mom was with me driving me to my first chemo treatment at The Cancer Center of Indiana. Thankfully, my Mom was able to come back down and take care of my family and me again. As she is driving me, I feel myself getting drowsy. The nurse had told me to take tylenol and benadryl before I arrive to help nix allergic reaction. I was also prescribed dexamethasone, a steroid to prevent allergic reaction to the chemo meds. I take the dex the day before, day of and day after my treatment.

The whole treatment went fine. My treatment cocktail consists of the hormone herceptin (HER2+ breast cancer therapy designed to treat aggressive HER positive metastatic and adjuvant breast cancer..which I am positive for), Taxotere and Carboplatin. I fell asleep almost instantly from the anti-nausea medicine they gave me intravenously. Got in at 8am and left at around 1 or 2pm unscathed.

That’s about all I remember up until now.

I haven’t felt “right”. My mind feels like it has been taken over by aliens and I’m just an observer. I hear and see everything coming to me, but can’t act on them. I feel light and airy.

I’ve been sleeping a lot. Not necessarily because I’m tired, but because it passes the time. I have two mega anti-nausea prescriptions, but they just take the edge off. I have to stay on top before the bile starts to climb up my throat again. I woke up the other night to a dream that I was eating metal..my stomach was so curdled I almost threw up..and I don’t throw up.

I’ve figured out how to handle this metallic taste though. Buttered toast, jelly doughnuts, cold milk and jolly ranchers. I guess you can only prepare yourself so much to what chemo will do to you as everyone is different. To be honest, I’d rather be going through the physical pain of the surgeries than the nauseating chemo right now. Not sure how this diet will affect me as I have 5 more treatments left….but the nurses told me as long as I’m eating “something” I’ll be fine.

I have to go for weekly treatments of herceptin for one year, and every three weeks for chemo 6 times. My last chemo round will be around the end of June. I did get a skin rash on my stomach from the herceptin that started maybe yesterday and going away now.

Last night my boss Colleen threw me a benefit at Comedy Caravan over in Louisville. It was a great turnout and I’m glad I was able to make it! I wasn’t feeling well at all, but it was so nice to get out and see people. Thank you to everyone who came out.

I still need to blog about the Hurley Benefit! Thank you to everyone who came out to support me there and who helped as well. These have been nothing short of speechless to me. I am so thankful to have so many loving supporting friends and family.