June 15, 2006: Stacey’s Report from the Chemo Cafe, Visit #3

An e-mail from Stacey, who says she is feeling “pretty pukey” today. Trip to the yarn store is postponed — they tend not to love it whe you puke on the pricey hand-dyed nubby silk. (On the other hand, a little puke on the Red Heart One-Pounders at Walmart might get you a 10% discount! Just thinking out loud…)

Stacey’s report:

Started with blood work et al. Dr. B said that everything looked great, but I ended up having to get a procrit shot for low iron. I didn’t have to last treatment because I was above the magic number. Must remember to take my supplements.

As I mentioned, she asked about mouth sores. I told her about one spot, but I think it’s more of a bitten cheek that swelled up and kept getting bitten. It’s mostly healed now. She didn’t see anything else and said that she’s just about run out of things to check out. Which is a good thing.

Then, on to the big fun. I got a seat in my favorite room again. Yay. Only about 3 hours now. I realized something, which I’ll call

Things I Learned from Chemo, Thing the First:
Don’t look when the Adriomyacin is being delivered. This is the nasty drug that can burn if it touches the skin. The nurses have to inject it into the tubing by hand from 3 big vials. They push it in at a steady rate, and have to stop every now and again to check that there is good blood return. The first week I watched it going into the tubing (and, from there, into my body). The second and third weeks I didn’t watch and I think that’s the better option. Watching made me feel more queasy. If I don’t see it going in then I can pretend that it’s not in there. So, lesson learned.

Things I Learned from Chemo, Thing the Second:
When my hair was falling out by the handful, I noticed that it was the thicker (older?) hair. Now that it’s pretty much gone the hairs I see coming out are very fine. Newer hair? Not as likely to give up the ghost? Not sure, but it’s interesting.

Today I had to go back for my neulasta shot. Got through vitals very quickly, then on to see one of the Nurse Practitioners. I told her about the sneezing and post nasal drip which is not dripping post nasally, but pre nasally. She said to keep an eye on it to see if it develops more. I also showed her the infection on my finger. Again, I’m to keep an eye on it to see if it gets worse. She didn’t want to give me any anti-biotics yet, with which I concur; don’t want to mess up other things if I don’t have to.

Things I Learned from Chemo, Thing the Third:
At this point in chemo the body stops healing itself as quickly as it does normally. Thus, my legs are full of small dots from acupuncture. They’re not infected or anything and I get the same kind of thing from when they do blood draws, but it’s kind of interesting that my body can’t even heal such small things as quickly as it used to. That’s why they warn you about keeping away from sick people and protecting yourself from getting cut/injured. Even small things can be a big deal. Scary.

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