Hellooooo Taxol! What treats do you have in store for me?

Happy Holidays! 

Due to popular request (and in recognition of my tardiness), I am quickly updating this blog on Christmas Eve Eve to let everyone know I'm doing fine.

Here's the latest:

When last you heard from me, I was gearing up for my first chemo treatment with Taxol.  I will have a total of 4 treatments, one every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. 

I arrived last Thursday morning promptly at 9 am.  I saw my beloved nurse, Sheryl, and her sidekick, Dr. Wasserheit.  They congratulated me on finishing with the Red Devil and being half-way done.  I'm thinking, "Yeah, yeah, let's save the congratulations for the end. Let's get this over with" so admittedly I wasn't paying full attention when my sweeties were going through the new side effects to be expected from Taxol.  Something about joint pain, taking tylenol, numbness in my fingers, eyebrow and eyelash loss (which is already happening). Most of what I heard was "It won't be nearly as bad as the Red Devil".  My white blood cell count was sky-high so they decided I should not have the neulasta shot.  Ok, so I bebopped up to the chemo suite all ready to go.  I even sent David off to do Christmas shopping instead of wasting time sitting around with me watching chemicals drip into my body.

BTW, chemo "suite" is a very generous term.  It's basically a large room with recliners (but not really the cozy Laz-E-Boy kind, more the hospital "let's pretend this is a recliner" kind).  Each recliner has a chair next to it for the visitors (no need to give the visitors recliners - they don't need to be comfortable).  There's a fridge (big sign "For Drinks Only, No Food") and a basket of snacks on top (another sign "Please take only one per patient"). Then, each recliner has a TV near it which annoyingly only shows Memorial Sloan Kettering advertisements and/or shows.  A patient once turned it on and the whole thing was about cancer patients telling their stories:  "8 years ago I felt a lump and went to a doctor.  He kept telling me it was nothing. 3 years later I finally went to Memorial Sloan Kettering and they determined it was a tumor..."  Basically the underlying (not so subtle) concept is that Sloan Kettering is the best and you should be suspicious of everyone else. 

Oh, I should mention the Sloan Kettering pets.  Some of the waiting rooms have huge fish tanks filled with gorgeous, unusual fish.  My favorite is a big, yellow, chubby one that has one snaggle tooth hanging out - no other teeth to speak of.  He always looks cranky - like he wishes he were in a more prestigious tank somewhere - Mystic Aquarium, maybe?

Ok, back to the story - I bebop up to the chemo suite.

DID SOMEONE, ANYONE, MENTION THAT IT WOULD TAKE 6 HOURS FOR MY TAXOL TREATMENT??!?  No. No, they did not.

First I had to have the benadryl drip.  Then another steriod drip.  Those, combined with the 5 steroid pills I had to take the night before and that morning finally prepared me.  It was time for the Taxol. 

Now apparently Taxol can cause a severe allergic reaction in some people to the point where they can't breathe.  So the nurse explained that she had to watch me for the first 15 minutes and if I felt ANYTHING, no matter how small, I should tell her.  I told her I'd play my online sudoku game b/c if I didn't, I would definitely feel something.  You always feel weird things if you pay attention to your body - try it.  Suddenly that little jabbing pain on your shoulderblade seems suspicous. So I played my game and she kept asking me how I was doing and if I felt anything.  I never did.  Finally the 15 minutes were up and she moved on to someone else. 

Well, I was up there quite a while.  David got tons of our shopping done.  But before we knew it, the kids were going to be coming home from school and I wasn't nearly finished.  David rushed home to get them and then they all had to come back to get me.  I arrived home around 3:30.  More than 6 hours later!  Sheesh! 

I felt great the next day.  Well, not great for normal people, but great for a cancer patient.  No comparison to the Red Devil.  Saturday was great, too.  Then Sunday, DURING THE STEELERS GAME of all things, I started to get very bad muscle and joint pains.  Stabbing pains that made me writhe on the couch.  I couldn't even focus on the game!  Horrible!  I took tylenol and advil, remembering that my sweeties had told me I could alternate.  I thought for sure there must be something severly wrong.  I could barely move.  This must be how arthritis feels!

Quick research on the internet revealed that this is a very common side effect of Taxol.  93% of people experience it.  Monday I called my doctor and she said it happened right on schedule - 72 hours after treatment.  It usually lasts 5 days. 

So, today is the 5th day and I'm feeling almost back to normal.  Cancer-normal, that is.  Just in time for Christmas.

Merry Christmas to All!