My First Chemo Treatment, The Clown Lady, And A lovely Gift ( 9 )

I had my first Chemo treatment yesterday, October 6th. Was I anxious? Well, my blood pressure when it was first taken was 155/85.  You bet you could say I was anxious. A lot of yesterday was kind of a ... blur. 

My IV was put into a vein on the top of my right hand.  Great start. Got it right away. Then came the nausea med and then some Benedryl and 2 Steroid pills - can't remember the names. Then my first chemo drug CYTOXAN. (I looked up the name for you). No problems. The nurse told me the drug would run for a little over an hour. She covered me with some warm blankies and off she went, but came back frequently to check on me. She brought us water and crackers to snack on. My hubby, my rock, sat beside me in a chair and we watched TV, some old movies on TCM. 

Chemo drug number #2. Taxotere. (looked up that name, too.) My nurse told me this one could sometimes cause a reaction for some people. She placed a blood pressure cuff on me that regulated my pressure as the drug entered my bloodstream.  The drug was administered slowly at first. My nurse, what a sweetie, told me she would be staring at me for awhile to check my reactions.  She bumped up the speed on the IV, 3 times I think, until everything was deemed fine. This drug would also run for a little over an hour.

Things became a bit foggy after that. The Benedryl really kicked in and I dozed off for brief periods.  But I do vaguely remember the nice Clown Lady who came to visit me. She had on baggy colorful clothes and a multi-colored bushy wig. She asked me would I like to hear a joke?  Sure, Ok.  I don't really remember the joke ... something about money and a buck?!

I also had 2 other visitors - two very nice social workers bearing a gift from one of the Cancer Center's former patients. It was a pretty gift bag filled with assorted things like a scarf, colored pencils, coloring books, a journal, candy, hand lotion, and other things. The former patient (who wished to remain anonymous) requested that it be given to a new patient on the day of their first Chemo treatment. It happened to be me! I was so touched. Here is the little note that was in the bag.

When my Chemo was finished, I was handed my scripts for further bloodwork. My next Chemo appointment is October 27th. I also had an appointment to go and get a Neulasta shot the next day. It's recommended to help with possible infections that may occur after Chemo.

All in all, things went well. I have filled prescriptions for nausea pills as well as Steroid pills. 

Today, October 7th ... I feel pretty good.