Bullet points:
IV port to be put in me sometime this week (probably Thursday or Friday, I'm guessing.) It will be an all day affair and I will be sedated (not intubated, but sedated) so I've got to have someone drive me and stay with me; I'm trying to line that up.
Chemo to start most likely next Tuesday. They prefer to do chemo Mon or Tues and I have dental appointment Mon, so there you have it. But Dr.'s assistant will call me with the actual dates.
I will be on an every fourteen-day regimen for 12 doses (so about six months). I will go in and on my Infusion days, two of the three drugs will be given there at Infusion center, should take several hours or basically the better part of a work day. It is highly encouraged that I have someone drive me to/from my chemo appointments. I've got 12 appointments to sort out, who wants to volunteer? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? You in the back hiding your head, how about you?
Then I will go home with a 'bag' about the size of an iPhone that will have the third drug which will drip through my port for the next 46 hours. At the conclusion of the 46 hours, I go back to the infusion center and get it disconnected from the port. Lather, rinse repeat every 14 days for six months.
Then I will go home with a 'bag' about the size of an iPhone that will have the third drug which will drip through my port for the next 46 hours. At the conclusion of the 46 hours, I go back to the infusion center and get it disconnected from the port. Lather, rinse repeat every 14 days for six months.
The chemo cocktail I will get includes: Leucoverin, Oxaliplatin, & Fluorouracil (this one is the "46-hour iPhone" drug).
Common Side effects: nausea, vomiting, mouth sores, fatigue, diarrhea, numbness &/or tingling in the feet/hands (neuropathy is what they call it and this motherF side effect can last for as long as two years after chemo or forever even...)
Rare side effect: hair loss
Blood will be tested every chemo appt. I will see Dr. the day before each chemo appt. No scans or colonoscopies until after chemo is done. Then I will see him every three months, then six months, then year etc... etc...
No alcohol during chemo b/c the chemo drugs go through the liver and alcohol will just impede/negatively affect the liver while it's trying to handle the chemo. (Hence the word SOBER in the blog title.)
Dr. said that with chemo I should be cured of my cancer. He said that with the surgery and chemo in all likelihood all will be good and cured. He said in about 7-15% of the cases who do NOT do chemo the cancer comes back and in that situation, it basically is a death sentence and not curable. He feels good about my chances b/c the lymph nodes were close to the tumor and he said he could see some activity in the lymph nodes on my PET scan, so he anticipated that outcome. He also said that my surgeon did a great job of 'harvesting' enough lymph nodes to get an accurate measurement of the cancer. He said they have to have a minimum of 12 to compare and my surgeon got 18. He also said we are at the perfect time to start the chemo... those who wait too long after surgery don't have as good of an outcome... etc......
He suggested that if I didn't want to work during chemo that that would be okay. I laughed and said, yeah right. I have to work. I have bills to pay (thinking, especially medical ones). He asked if I could go on disability and I laughed, again, and said "well short-term only pays 50% of my salary and long-term, 66.3%, so no that will not cover my bills. " Thank god I have my "sedentary desk job" (to quote Dr.) and not a physically demanding one like being a dockworker at UPS, you know?
Dr. also responded to my question about sex during chemo as "they advise against 'close contact'" during chemo because basically I'm walking poison. I kept pressing him for more explanation. I think I made him uncomfortable being so direct with my questions. It was probably a cultural thing; he is Indian. I finally got him to answer my "no penetration?" question with a nod. I wanted to know who was at risk if I did have sex, me or my partner? He wouldn't answer. I said he could just talk straight with me. Now that I think back on that conversation, he was really uncomfortable. I guess it's a good thing he didn't go into obstetrics and gynecology.
Now you understand why I have the words CELIBATE & TOXIC in the blog title.
But I'm confused because I have read other blogs written by people with cancer and they have either endorsed having lots of sex (I think because of the life affirming nature of sex) or not counseled against it. So I'm thinking as of writing this post at 1:23 p.m. on 9/3/13 that I will listen to my body and go from there. However, if I am so lucky to see my Fox during my six-month chemo time, I will enjoy him to the fullest even if I have to wrap him up in hospital, cold-war, industrial-complex grade latex... although he says he's been nuclear qualified for many, many years now....
Dr. did say I could hug and kiss my kids because they are old enough that I shouldn't be too harmful to be around them. Well that's a relief, I thought. Because otherwise, they were going to have to start treating me for insanity along with cancer.
So there you have it. One step closer to the end of my cancer journey. It's going to be interesting. But at the very least, I will be cancer free before I turn 45. And that makes me smile.
Thanks for reading and keeping up with me, dear readers.
-the Philosopher
No comments:
Post a Comment