I have now completed two rounds of IV chemo and 6 doses of trial drug. After the first round, I felt ok. Any nausea that I felt was quite mild, nothing worse than I had experienced on previous chemo drug.
Today marked Day #3 after second infusion treatment, administered June 1. I can definitely say that I am feeling the effects today. I have been quite dizzy and "loopy" all morning and I am experiencing stomach upset and some nausea. It feels strange to have no appetite and yet to hear my stomach grumbling for food. In spite of feeling bouts of mild nausea and dizziness, I decided to force myself to consume a healthy and substantial lunch. So far, so good. I do have anti-nausea meds and will take them if need be.
So far no loss of hair. But it's still early in the game.
My biggest problem is still a chronic cough, exacerbated by talking and attempting to sing (which I did too much of yesterday at a church gig). By the end of a typical day, I am exhausted from coughing. My oncologist is hopeful that the steroids I am being given in my pre-chemo cocktail infusion might help alleviate the cough; so far, this has not been the case. No one seems to be able to get to the cause of the cough; my doctor wonders if it might have something to do with the cancer (lymph?), but nothing has shown up on scans or x-rays. Meanwhile, I avoid conversations with people, either on the phone or in person -- the coughing is an embarrassing annoyance. And of course, not being able to sing is a huge deficit in my life.
Meanwhile, I try to find joy wherever I can.
I saw my first goldfinch feeding at a new bird feeder outside my dining room window this afternoon. Beautiful.
I also bought some new "sexy" silver shoes to wear to my niece Jessa's upcoming wedding.
Pretty birds and pretty footwear -- hallmarks of the day. :-)
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