What Chemo Means to me

I've been wanting to write this blog for a while, but it's never easy reliving one of the chemo days. Chemo is a very general term, but in the basic sense of the word it refers to the treatment of disease by chemicals that kill cells, specifically those of micro-organisms or cancer. (Thank you Wikipedia) Basically it's "medicine" that the inject intravenously and kills any and all cells that multiply at a fast rate & don't let them reproduce. Well that's how I understand it...

Anyway, I because every one's regime is different I thought I would outline mine.

Day 1

• Up early (well early for me) to shower and dress in sweats (the only highlight)
• Head to Rochester, MN about an hour Drive - oh yea and on day 1 I get a coffee treat
• Head to Gonda 10 E lab for blood work
• Hour break
• Walk over to Gonda 10 S (just a different desk) to see Dr. Allan Bryce - that visit usually takes about a half hour. We chit chat about the past cycle, whatever illness I had in between rounds and he always looks at my hands an feet
• Then it's back to Gonda 10 E to start chemo at about 11 a.m. And by this point in the day I've already verified my date of birth (yes that's how they say it) about 90 times
• I get a room with a bed and a TV and a warmer to put around my hand, helps to reduce the pain and make my veins bigger. They start an IV, which even though sounds simple can sometimes be a process.
• It takes a little while to get the first chemo drug because they can't mix it up before hand. Every patients drug amount is different and they can't chance wasting the drug because it's so expensive.
• A huge syringe filled with red liquid comes. That's called adriamycin a.k.a the red devil. They push that into my IV and I turn red and start feeling sick. Plus while this is going on, they want me to either suck on Popsicles or ice chips.
• Then they give me mesna. This is a small little bag of clear fluid that hangs and takes about 15 mins to go in. I have to take this one to help protect my kidneys and bladder.
• This is when they give me my second chemo drug, Ifosfamide. This also hangs and goes into my IV but takes 4-5 hours to drip in. I'm awake for maybe the first 1/3 of it and then usually I pass out to try to avoid feeling sick.
• After that all goes in, I get another bag of Mesna. Then it's into a wheel chair and heading home. Maybe a pit stop to throw up in the parking lot... just sometimes though :)
• 4 & 8 hours after all my drugs at Mayo I get more Mesna to take at home. If I can't keep it down for 30 mins I have to go to the ER to get more.

Day 2 - I go through the EXACT same process all over again.

I should mention that Day 2 is a little bit easier only in the fact that I don't do blood work and meet with the doctor again. I just start the chemo right away. There are more details too, like I have to use a wheel chair to get from the garage to the 10th floor, I pretty much sleep the whole day, and I don't get as excited about wearing sweats. But that's mostly just because I get angry that I have to stand up to put them on... Oh and no coffee treats the second day either.

I typically don't have visitors come during the chemo. Mostly just because it's so emotional and I never know how I'm going to feel. Plus it's just hard to have people see you like that and it's just easier to get through if there aren't any expectations... but I love when people want to hang out with me afterwards!!!

It's hard to even write this blog because just thinking about the 2 days in my head kinda makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. And I'm pretty sure I'm never eating a Popsicle again in my life!!!! Especially if it's red or blue - ICK!

So now you all know, that's what chemo means to me.