I expected today to be bad. I expected to feel awful. To vomit. A lot.
...but it hasn't been that bad.* I woke up with a terrible headache and body pain around 7am. I took a Tylenol, received my stomach shot (Lovonox), drank a big glass of water, and went back to bed till around 11am....Something I haven't done in forever.
Then, I felt pretty okay. My loving, wonderful mother made me some soup and a sandwich (Did I mention that I have the best mom ever? She's coming up to help take care of me during treatments.) Mom and I watched a movie, took a walk, went for a hair cut, made dinner, and went to bed around 7:30PM.
But...As soon as I start to lose it, I'm going to Britney that s***. It's getting shaved off...I can then live up to my bald blog name.
So, for now, this is me. It will likely also be me in November. There will be less hair and more hats in between now and then. My boyfriend said it's good that I don't have a really weird shaped head. Glad he's so sappy.
*They told me that you don't really start getting sick till 3-4 days after your first treatment. With your nadir period (lowest blood counts) at days 7 - 10. You start to recover around day 10-14. Then, you feel okay for a few days...before they start chemo again.
The chemo is supposed to build. It is poison. Oncologists are trying to kill everything inside you without killing you. As I said in an earlier post, chemo attacks rapidly dividing cells. But, chemo is dumb...and while killing cancer cells (that will hopefully not return), it also kills healthy rapidly dividing cells (that will return), typically those in blood/ mouth / stomach / bowel / hair follicles.
You bounce back sooner earlier in treatment. Later in treatment, it's harder to recover because your counts aren't as high and your body is more full of poison.
The break between AC and Taxol should really allow me to recover.
...but it hasn't been that bad.* I woke up with a terrible headache and body pain around 7am. I took a Tylenol, received my stomach shot (Lovonox), drank a big glass of water, and went back to bed till around 11am....Something I haven't done in forever.
Then, I felt pretty okay. My loving, wonderful mother made me some soup and a sandwich (Did I mention that I have the best mom ever? She's coming up to help take care of me during treatments.) Mom and I watched a movie, took a walk, went for a hair cut, made dinner, and went to bed around 7:30PM.
Hair Cuts
Getting my hair cut was pretty cathartic. It is supposed to fall out in 10-14 days. It was long. Too long really. So, I cut 10 inches off to donate it to Panteen Beautiful Lengths, who partners with the ACS. With hair this short, it should reduce some of the stress in having it fall out.But...As soon as I start to lose it, I'm going to Britney that s***. It's getting shaved off...I can then live up to my bald blog name.
So, for now, this is me. It will likely also be me in November. There will be less hair and more hats in between now and then. My boyfriend said it's good that I don't have a really weird shaped head. Glad he's so sappy.
Chemo Learnz
*They told me that you don't really start getting sick till 3-4 days after your first treatment. With your nadir period (lowest blood counts) at days 7 - 10. You start to recover around day 10-14. Then, you feel okay for a few days...before they start chemo again. The chemo is supposed to build. It is poison. Oncologists are trying to kill everything inside you without killing you. As I said in an earlier post, chemo attacks rapidly dividing cells. But, chemo is dumb...and while killing cancer cells (that will hopefully not return), it also kills healthy rapidly dividing cells (that will return), typically those in blood/ mouth / stomach / bowel / hair follicles.
You bounce back sooner earlier in treatment. Later in treatment, it's harder to recover because your counts aren't as high and your body is more full of poison.
The break between AC and Taxol should really allow me to recover.
No comments:
Post a Comment