Well, here I am nearly into my third week of my second chemo cycle, and I have to say I think I am handling chemo extraordinarily well (touch wood, cross my heart, etc etc).
I’m having six cycles, three weeks apart. For the first three treatments I am having FEC (which are initials for different drugs, so I am having three different chemo drugs). Then for the following three treatments I have D. Whatever that is. Just another drug to get used to. After that, I pretty much immediately go south for four weeks of radiotherapy (three weeks plus a booster week). I had the option of having it in four or six weeks, with the same amount of treatment. Being that I have to stay down south while I’m having it done my radiation oncologist suggested I have the six week treatment squashed into the four weeks. More uncomfortable, but less time. After THAT, I go onto some form of hormone treatment. Probably tamoxifen, but it hasn’t been talked about yet.
So. Chemo. It hasn’t been the awful big scary monster that was looming over me in my brain. I’ve had absolutely no nausea (except for a tiny bit here and there) and no vomiting. The feed you three mega strong anti nausea drugs (one of which is a steroid) while you are sitting there having chemo, and you continue them over the next two days. Takes care of it all. The first treatment made me glow bright red like a lobster for a week, and I felt as hot as I looked. I also had hot flushes. Fair dinkum hot flushes. (This chemo forces you into early menopause and infertility.) Lots of other really unpleasant side effects which I won’t go into, about the digestive system and reproductive system. I was burping like a redneck the entire time, which was really embarrassing, with awful heartburn and reflux, but again … some prescription drugs have taken care of that. You get side effects from chemo, they give you drugs to take care of the side effects, which gives you more side effects … I’m scared for my poor liver!
However, the fatigue is the killer. It’s impossible to explain the extent of it to someone who hasn’t been through it. You tell someone, and they say back to you “yes, I’ve been tired lately too”. Nooooo idea. Getting up to have breakfast is too much for the body. You eat, then have to go straight back to bed again, out of pure exhaustion. Having a shower makes you shake hard … it’s like running a full marathon. I’m not kidding here. I’m out for the count for the first two weeks of each cycle. The third week I feel quite a bit better, though still get tired VERY easily.
This second round of chemo has been so much easier. Basically all I’ve had to deal with (besides my bowels not being able to decide whether they are constipated or, um, a storm water drain), is the fatigue, which was even worse this time around. What were disgusting side effects the first time around settled into minor side effects. Still get the hot flushes and the night sweats, I lose my appetite the first week, but it’s all okay. Oh except that my mouth is starting to break down. My tongue and mouth feels burned most of the time. Lots of brushing and bicarb soda mouth washes helps. And I’ve got a great big box of lemonade iceblocks for the next cycle *nice to have a reason*.