I had my fifth chemotherapy treatment Monday, December 19: this one with a different drug: Paclitaxel (aka Taxol). I slept through most of it.
Beforehand, David and I had an hour with a nurse-educator who answered a lot of questions for us about this drug and about the overall scope of the treatment planned: three more does of Paclitaxel over the course of six-seven weeks, another MRI to determine the size and the shape of the tumors (Which we hope will have shrunk), surgery (most likely a lumpectomy and removal of the affected lymph node), targeted radiation, and a long-term course of an estrogen-suppressing drug. Looks like I will be on this treadmill for a long time.
The treatment itself did not start off well. When the technician inserted the needle apparatus into my port, it hurt a lot...which was something new. The stinging persisted and there was talk of doing a reinsert, which was just about the last thing I wanted to hear. The apparatus was functioning OK, however, and the theory seemed to be that some of the antiseptic applied topically had gotten inside. A saline flush mitigated the problem.
By that time, I was not a happy camper, and I was given some Valium...evidently a lot of Valium, because I fell asleep, and stayed asleep throughout the rest of the process. (David even left for a while to go home and walk Pixie.)
After more than five hours at the clinic, I was released to go home. I was still very loopy, and David tells me I was saying some odd things. That Valium must have indeed been a heavy dose!
Once home, I went to bed and back to sleep. David woke me up in the evening to have some lentil soup, and I fell asleep again. I woke up around 10:00 p.m., thinking it was morning. I had a protein shake, and right now I feel pretty good with no nausea. Let's hope things stay that way.
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