first chemo day, sent 8/29/7

Soldiers,

Well, today was my first chemo. It went well overall. It was a long day. I got in early, around 8 am and did blood draws and such. Then around 9:30 my mother, uncle and I met with Dr. Shaw who answered some questions I had and talked with us for awhile. I have not yet told you my SIGN FROM GOD I got this week about Dr. Shaw. She sent me an email that said “Your email address (the hotmail one, not the work one) is from “The Hitchhikers Guide, isn’t it?” She is literally only the second person in about 10 years of me having that address who knew what it was w/out me explaining it. I almost fell out of my seat. She told me that she has been reading those books with her daughter and they both love them. When Dr. Shaw came in today she brought me a towel that she and her daughter had painted “Don’t Panic” on with fabric paint, and her daughter also insisted on a little pink ribbon on the bottom (she’s 5 btw). I was extremely touched and amused by the gesture.

I also got a second visit from a woman I met yesterday named P-----. She made a special trip to give me a care package that included a number of pretty scarves and bandanna’s, some Danactive and Activa. She told me that she consumes one each of these a day and she so far has not gotten a cold or anything from the lowered white blood cells/ immune system issues. There was also a booklet and (TMI ALERT) about a half bottle of a stool softener. She said “They don’t tell you about this so much, and I recommend you take some now.” I first met P----- yesterday while I was having a really dreadful morning getting blood drawn for an exercise study I agreed to be in. The phlebotomist tried to stick me twice in the hand and each time said “Oops, almost blew your vein honey!” and while I was sitting there looking at my two bandages I almost fainted. I actually think it was squeamishness, which I am not prone to! I was very surprised. I had fasted the night before and also had not drank enough water, so they helped me to a bed and put an ice pack on my neck which revived me, and after TWO more attempts (and allowing me to eat a banana and drink some water) they got the blood drawn. Then I had to get a PET-Scan which required a 5th needle stick, but this was after food and copious amounts of water.

Anyway, while I was laid out on the bed the research coordinator Miranda brought P----- in for me to meet. She had just finished up the exact study that I am starting. She introduced us and I got really emotional and cried, which made P----- and Miranda cry (it was a total girl moment). She is the first local person I have met face to face going through this, she is half way through her treatment and she looks great. It gave me a lot of hope. She loved the exercise study and talked it up and she offered to have me over to her horse farm to pet her ponies and just have someone that’s going through it to talk to. She is so nice, and her care package nearly elicited another bucket of tears. Good ones!

The research study (minus the horrible blood drawing start) is really cool. I was in the athletic lab (K-Lab I think it’s called, named after the Duke coach) and I was hooked up to an echo-cardiogram machine, and this huge awkward thing they put on my head that I had to breath through my mouth into while peddling a bike at higher and higher resistance. The test measures your gas exchanges and can determine your exact level of fitness, which allows them to tailor an exercise regime that is specific to my body exactly. It’s something the average fitness person would not have access to due to cost. The funny part was that the two girls running the study kept giving me affirmations like “That’s good work, M.J.! You’re keeping a great pace! Good Job!” I told them later that I wanted them to come to my house and do that when I like, get my dishes done. “You washed your dishes, Good Job!!” They called me later to let me know that I was randomized into the exercise group (yay!) so 3 times a week I am supposed to go in and meet essentially a personal trainer on the bike. The purpose of the study is to see if resistance training, which opens up your veins and increases blood/oxygen flow will help chemo to shrink the tumor faster. It’s pretty cool, and actually offers a small compensation of up to $100 in Target Gift Cards. This is big, b/c 99% of studies offer no compensation at all. I would have done it either way, but that’s a nice perk!

But back to today: So after my visit from P----- and Dr. Shaw, Dr. Shaw’s nurse came in. She examined me and talked to me about what was going to happen in the treatment room and gave me lots of information on the drugs I am receiving as well as a stack of prescriptions for possible side effects.

Then we checked into the treatment area, got a pager and walked to the Pharmacy to get my prescriptions started. Then we went and ate lunch. Then we sat in the waiting room for probably another hour or more before they got us in. The treatment room is not what I expected. I thought I would be in a semi-private area like behind a curtain in some relative quiet. But the room is actually open, with recliner style chairs for the patients, flat screen tv’s everywhere and chairs for relatives. You are treated in an open area along with other cancer patients. Nurses, techs and volunteers mill around. It’s a very busy environment. A really sweet older volunteer came over and talked with us for awhile and gave me a book and some other useful tips and such and just generally offered moral support. She was treated there several years ago for breast cancer herself.

After my treatment (which was preempted with anti nausea meds) I really felt pretty normal. I went to the store afterward with my Uncle, but half way there he took over driving b/c I was starting to feel tired. Then we got to Target and I discovered I forgot my wallet, so when we went back for it I sent him back without me and took a nap. Then I ate some dinner and logged onto work for a few hours. I did get a bit of nausea during this that lasted about 10 minutes and I did throw up (TMI again); I took one of the meds they gave me and I have been fine the rest of the night. Tomorrow I go in for a shot to boost my white blood cells, but so long as I still feel like I do now I plan to work a full, hopefully uninterrupted day tomorrow…woo!!

That is essentially it. It was not a bad day at all, just long.

Much love to you all. It’s lights out for me. Goodnight!

M.J.