I am halfway thru. Yeah!
Big or little victory in this journey needs to be celebrated.
As I was having a video call with the Nurse Practitioner prior to the infusion, after discussing the usual issues, I had a question about life after chemo. I prefaced it that I’ve got a long way to go but how does one know if a person has fully recovered from cancer. She said that with having a CT scan done along with the test results from CA 125 will help determine if the cancer is gone.
Although there will be follow ups to check up on these indicators, looking back, my CA 125 started at 48, first chemo at 10, second is at 8 and third is at 7. It's looking good and I'm very hopeful through Christ who gives me strength.
On this video call with the nurse, I discussed fatigue, allergic reactions, brown spots on hands and legs, pains and numbness in the surgical area, and energy/immune system booster shot or pill.
With fatigue and immune system improvement, per the Nurse, there is no such magic pill and the only 3 things that would help are:
1) exercise,
2) good nutrition, and
3) to fully hydrate.
As advised for the allergy reactions which included minor itchiness on the hands, I will continue to be administered with the Benadryl thru the IV.
After the second treatment, I was having numerous rashes on my head. I was expecting the rashes would be inside my mouth as explained as one of the many side effects. The rashes were treated with Neosporin, an OTC medicine since the prescription had an issue in filling it. The Neosporin helped heal and dry them out.
I see a lot of brown spots all over my scalp and I’m afraid that I’ll have those as bald spots when the hair grows back but that will be another story for another time. The nurse addressed it as folliculitis and advised to continue to use Neosporin or with the new prescription once filled. The brown spots are not rashes and should be monitored if they turned into rashes.
I’m on my second day after the third treatment and I’m beginning to feel the muscles/bones pains creeping up, so I’m starting the pain regimen earlier than before. The pains do not go away but they’re only diminished. Even with a higher dosage medication, it helps to fall asleep faster, but the pains remain
.
On this fourth day after the treatment, I’m still experiencing muscle/bone aches and allergic reaction has also set in. It’s advisable to report any unusual reactions to the doctor to enable them to help me help them determine what course of action to take and if any new medication needed to be prescribed. Although my bedside drawer is beginning to look like a mini pharmacy, the medications are mostly for managing the chemo side effects.
The word 'managing' struck me funny as I wrote it. My life has turned into something that needed to be managed instead of lived. How often we take that for granted?
But no, I refused to do that, my illness does not and will not define me. I will live my life the best way I possibly can, God willing. Are you still with me?