Last Dance with the Red Devil

It's chemo eve.  Tomorrow I dance my last dance with the Red Devil. I'm dreading it but am also eager to get it over with. Onward and upward to Taxol!  New side effects to look forward to!

For those who have never heard of the Red Devil (and lucky you are), it's the breast cancer patients' affectionate term for adriamycin. Its side effects include nausea, vomiting and life-threatening heart damage.  Well, that all sounds familiar, doesn't it?

The Red Devil got its name because it's red in color and needs to be administered by a nurse "by hand" a small bit at a time.  I get 5 huge syringes full during each session and it takes about 45 minutes to administer the whole dose.  It makes us patients feel terrible, hence the devil reference.

Well, tomorrow is that last time I have to deal with the Red Devil.  Coming up are 4 more chemo sessions with a different drug, Taxol.  My oncologist will tell me all about the new side effects tomorrow.  I know one of them is the loss of eyebrows and eyelashes and numbness in my fingers.  That should make typing at work interesting. 

I'm feeling good - physically and emotionally.  I'm almost chipper!  But you know that won't last and you'll have to be read a bunch of cranky, complaining posts.  My last chemo session was brutal.  I felt sick for over a week, and didn't really get off the couch until Saturday AFTER Thanksgiving.

We shall see how this last Red Devil session goes.  Hans (my brother) and his wife, Joanne, are here to help so that will be a nice highlight.

As a side note, I love my oncologist, Dr. Mary Wasserheit and especially her nurse, Sheryl!  They always make me feel like I'm their only patient and they've been eagerly waiting two whole weeks for me to come back!  Once again I can't say enough good things about Sloan Kettering and its staff - they are the absolute best!

Next time you get cancer, consider paying them a visit.