My First Chemo Completed!

truckingalong
truckingalong Member Posts: 445 Member
First of all, thank you, everyone for your supportive words - because of this, I MADE IT TODAY!! Thank you, thank you.

And so, when I arrived, I found that I had to meet with my onc. to check for questions and a quick check up on my lymph nodes and received info. that I am positive for the bone just in the area of tailbone and pelvic area but not positive for the marrow which is good. Then in the infusion room, it was hard for me to be "one of them" but people who were awake smiled and welcomed me there so that was nice. After the nurse started one of the meds in the IVs (15 min for this and 1 hour for that, etc. in sequence), I started to say "La,la,la - just sing me a song!" because there was nothing for me to do! Found out that I could not use the internet because hubby forgot to bring the wireless thing so watched the movie, Ratatoule (sp?) on my laptop - which really helped the time pass but learned that I need to re-focus on what is going on around me so to be easier to accept what I am getting into. I noticed feeling of waves - must be from the meds coming in me. A guy with the IV on was sitting next to his wife and pointed out that we should take anti-nausea meds on schedule even if we feel fine (guess I will have to put up with constipation!) so to avoid getting queasy otherwise it will be too late to combat it quickly with the meds. Back home, I am little out of it but hope the nausea won't be much tonight and tomorrow. I look forward to sleep well with the Activan because I am on steroids - it is not Prednisone but something else. Sue, I pray for your comfort tomorrow and Thurs. You will be fine too!

With good thoughts,
Liz

Comments

  • yesyes2
    yesyes2 Member Posts: 591
    One Down
    Hi Liz,
    Congratulations on one down. The first chemo is the hardest as you don't know what to expect. The infusions do get easier but I found the waiting to be frustrating. I finished 6 cycles of RCHOP in February and hope I don't have to do it again. I think that's everyones hope. You didn't say what type of chemo your getting, I hope you don't mind my asking. Some chemos are easier to tolerate than others. Did the doctor give you any premeds for nausia? I found emend to be wonderful and had no problems with nausia. Guess I'm just lucky that way, LOL. Just try to rest lots, naps are great, and drink lots of fluids to flush all those chemicals away.
    Sending you positive thoughts,
    Leslie
  • merrywinner
    merrywinner Member Posts: 626 Member
    Good for you!
    So glad to hear you are done with the first treatment. Seems to be the hardest. After the first one at least I wasn't scared anymore. Hopefully the nausea won't be too bad for you. All the best and God bless. Mary
  • COBRA666
    COBRA666 Member Posts: 2,401 Member
    1st treatment
    That #1 treatment can be a DOOZY!!!!! Hang in there for the ride. Hopefully you will glide thru it. Thinking about you. John
  • forme
    forme Member Posts: 1,161 Member
    On your way
    Hi Liz,
    Glad your home and made it through your first day. Seems like it went fairly well, considering.... I hope your first evening is also moving along without to much of a change. Hang in there, your doing great......
    Lisha
  • allmost60
    allmost60 Member Posts: 3,178 Member
    forme said:

    On your way
    Hi Liz,
    Glad your home and made it through your first day. Seems like it went fairly well, considering.... I hope your first evening is also moving along without to much of a change. Hang in there, your doing great......
    Lisha

    One down!
    Hi Liz,
    So glad to hear you are home and done for the day!!! "YES"..first one is done!!! I hope you do well tonight, and I'm shocked you don't have to take the prednisone...that is so wonderful! My day was not as productive Liz... I'm in a holding pattern...no chance of me getting in for the Mediport implant tomorrow, they are booked solid. Possibly Friday, but not a definite yet. Can you #*&%!#* believe it??!! Here we are down to the wire and we have to deal with scheduling issues??? The surgeon's office will check back with me on Thursday morning. Soooo no chemo on Thursday! I'm so disgusted, mad, sad, that I could spit! Well...I promised myself not to get anymore up-set than I already am, so I'll say no more...UGH! Anyways...thank you for telling us how it went and all of my good thoughts are with you, because they sure arn't with the surgeon right now...ha! (my head is sooo pounding right now) Take care, and rest.
    Love....Sue
  • dixiegirl
    dixiegirl Member Posts: 1,043 Member
    allmost60 said:

    One down!
    Hi Liz,
    So glad to hear you are home and done for the day!!! "YES"..first one is done!!! I hope you do well tonight, and I'm shocked you don't have to take the prednisone...that is so wonderful! My day was not as productive Liz... I'm in a holding pattern...no chance of me getting in for the Mediport implant tomorrow, they are booked solid. Possibly Friday, but not a definite yet. Can you #*&%!#* believe it??!! Here we are down to the wire and we have to deal with scheduling issues??? The surgeon's office will check back with me on Thursday morning. Soooo no chemo on Thursday! I'm so disgusted, mad, sad, that I could spit! Well...I promised myself not to get anymore up-set than I already am, so I'll say no more...UGH! Anyways...thank you for telling us how it went and all of my good thoughts are with you, because they sure arn't with the surgeon right now...ha! (my head is sooo pounding right now) Take care, and rest.
    Love....Sue

    Why?
    Oh Sue, I'm sorry to hear about your setback. Why on earth can't you just get the chemo by IV in a vein until you get the port in?

    Congrats on one down!! Hope your evening goes well for you. Get some rest. Hopefully you won't have any side effects!

    Thinking of you both!
    Beth
  • allmost60
    allmost60 Member Posts: 3,178 Member
    dixiegirl said:

    Why?
    Oh Sue, I'm sorry to hear about your setback. Why on earth can't you just get the chemo by IV in a vein until you get the port in?

    Congrats on one down!! Hope your evening goes well for you. Get some rest. Hopefully you won't have any side effects!

    Thinking of you both!
    Beth

    Why?
    Hi Beth,
    I asked that question and was told by the nurse at the clinic...quote.."This is not a do or die situation, and your doctor wants the fusion in the port. Delaying your first treatment by a few days or a week will not put your health in jeopardy"..un-quote..
    I guess my "mental" health doesn't count for anything...ha! The surgeons office will be calling on Thursday morning...maybe I'll luck out and they will put the port in on Friday. Just another bump in the road..you would think a person would get use to these bumps... I need to wise-up.
    Take care Beth...I'm fine...Love...Sue
  • truckingalong
    truckingalong Member Posts: 445 Member
    allmost60 said:

    One down!
    Hi Liz,
    So glad to hear you are home and done for the day!!! "YES"..first one is done!!! I hope you do well tonight, and I'm shocked you don't have to take the prednisone...that is so wonderful! My day was not as productive Liz... I'm in a holding pattern...no chance of me getting in for the Mediport implant tomorrow, they are booked solid. Possibly Friday, but not a definite yet. Can you #*&%!#* believe it??!! Here we are down to the wire and we have to deal with scheduling issues??? The surgeon's office will check back with me on Thursday morning. Soooo no chemo on Thursday! I'm so disgusted, mad, sad, that I could spit! Well...I promised myself not to get anymore up-set than I already am, so I'll say no more...UGH! Anyways...thank you for telling us how it went and all of my good thoughts are with you, because they sure arn't with the surgeon right now...ha! (my head is sooo pounding right now) Take care, and rest.
    Love....Sue

    What a Bummer for you!
    Hi, Sue,

    well I am up now.. must be from the mixture of meds including cortocosteroid which I understand it has similiar effects as the Prednisone. Will research on this tomorrow for more info. I am following the medication regimen of ABVD - 4 different meds for HL with B symptoms Stage IV. Next treatment 2 weeks from now. Still headaches but little less now..

    Sue, I relate to you about the hell of waiting again. My appts. were delayed several times and I felt stuck and then felt the symptoms of HL worsening due to stress. So what I did to minimize that was having my daughter's friends over and made dinner for them which distracted me from kvetching!!

    Hope you find yourself taking day by day with peace -
    I will be thinking of you..
    Liz
  • tcvine
    tcvine Member Posts: 174
    allmost60 said:

    One down!
    Hi Liz,
    So glad to hear you are home and done for the day!!! "YES"..first one is done!!! I hope you do well tonight, and I'm shocked you don't have to take the prednisone...that is so wonderful! My day was not as productive Liz... I'm in a holding pattern...no chance of me getting in for the Mediport implant tomorrow, they are booked solid. Possibly Friday, but not a definite yet. Can you #*&%!#* believe it??!! Here we are down to the wire and we have to deal with scheduling issues??? The surgeon's office will check back with me on Thursday morning. Soooo no chemo on Thursday! I'm so disgusted, mad, sad, that I could spit! Well...I promised myself not to get anymore up-set than I already am, so I'll say no more...UGH! Anyways...thank you for telling us how it went and all of my good thoughts are with you, because they sure arn't with the surgeon right now...ha! (my head is sooo pounding right now) Take care, and rest.
    Love....Sue

    No Port?
    Sue,
    So sorry to hear about your port. In another thread this morning I wished you well for today - before I just read about the delay. Frankly, that sucks. I don't know where you live, but it seems that the resources might be pretty limited there. Beth's idea of just doing the IV route might be an option, if your doc will do it.

    But, in the meantime, enjoy the day as much as you can. I'll be praying for you to get started this week.

    God Bless,
    Tom
  • tcvine
    tcvine Member Posts: 174
    One down!
    Hi Liz,

    Congratulations on the first one done! I had my first one just one week and one day ago. My first week was very good. I never got sick - just tired. Had some sensations that were later attributed to tumor shrinkage (I hope), but very little sickness.

    I hope that your first week is even better than mine!

    Good luck,
    God Bless,
    Tom
  • merrywinner
    merrywinner Member Posts: 626 Member
    allmost60 said:

    One down!
    Hi Liz,
    So glad to hear you are home and done for the day!!! "YES"..first one is done!!! I hope you do well tonight, and I'm shocked you don't have to take the prednisone...that is so wonderful! My day was not as productive Liz... I'm in a holding pattern...no chance of me getting in for the Mediport implant tomorrow, they are booked solid. Possibly Friday, but not a definite yet. Can you #*&%!#* believe it??!! Here we are down to the wire and we have to deal with scheduling issues??? The surgeon's office will check back with me on Thursday morning. Soooo no chemo on Thursday! I'm so disgusted, mad, sad, that I could spit! Well...I promised myself not to get anymore up-set than I already am, so I'll say no more...UGH! Anyways...thank you for telling us how it went and all of my good thoughts are with you, because they sure arn't with the surgeon right now...ha! (my head is sooo pounding right now) Take care, and rest.
    Love....Sue

    So sorry
    I am sorry to hear that you are yet again delayed. Sometimes the waiting is harder on a person then the treatment. I never had a port nor was it considered and this was just less then a year ago. There were reasons for this but I won't go into them here as we are all unique and so are our medical facilities. Anyway frustrating for you but all things for a reason I guess. Stay positive. Mary
  • allmost60
    allmost60 Member Posts: 3,178 Member
    tcvine said:

    No Port?
    Sue,
    So sorry to hear about your port. In another thread this morning I wished you well for today - before I just read about the delay. Frankly, that sucks. I don't know where you live, but it seems that the resources might be pretty limited there. Beth's idea of just doing the IV route might be an option, if your doc will do it.

    But, in the meantime, enjoy the day as much as you can. I'll be praying for you to get started this week.

    God Bless,
    Tom

    No Port?/Tom
    Hi Tom,
    Yes... my town only has one out-patient surgical center where they do the port implants, so it's apparantly not un-common to encounter delays or bumps in scheduling. In past years my health has been very good and I haven't had to deal with as many health issues as I am now, so that puts me at a dis-advantage knowing how stuff like this can happen. Cancer is scary and we as patients forget that we are not the only ones needing medical procedures. I am getting wiser during this "waiting" period before treament starts, and with each little set back I'm learning how to cope and still stay positive and strong. It's frustrating indeed, but "oh well". I'm hoping the surgy center will call tomorrow and say there is an opening for port implant on Friday. If not...I will "DEFINETELY" be on the surgery list for next Wednesday. The surgeon I am dealing with only does implants on Wednesdays and Fridays. My onc won't budge on giving the fusion in my vein, so the port "IS" the only option. I'll keep you all posted. In the meantime...there's always more little projects for me to get completed around the house..."oh joy"...ha! Hope your days are comfortable enough, before your next round. Rest and stay healthy.
    Sue
  • KC13167
    KC13167 Member Posts: 215
    allmost60 said:

    One down!
    Hi Liz,
    So glad to hear you are home and done for the day!!! "YES"..first one is done!!! I hope you do well tonight, and I'm shocked you don't have to take the prednisone...that is so wonderful! My day was not as productive Liz... I'm in a holding pattern...no chance of me getting in for the Mediport implant tomorrow, they are booked solid. Possibly Friday, but not a definite yet. Can you #*&%!#* believe it??!! Here we are down to the wire and we have to deal with scheduling issues??? The surgeon's office will check back with me on Thursday morning. Soooo no chemo on Thursday! I'm so disgusted, mad, sad, that I could spit! Well...I promised myself not to get anymore up-set than I already am, so I'll say no more...UGH! Anyways...thank you for telling us how it went and all of my good thoughts are with you, because they sure arn't with the surgeon right now...ha! (my head is sooo pounding right now) Take care, and rest.
    Love....Sue

    No Port
    Sue,

    I am so sorry. It was so difficult for me to "go with the flow" when I was first diagnosed and then started treatment. I have a strong personality and have difficulty when I'm in a situation where I'm not in control. It's a challenge for me, I've been working on it for many years now. I am saddened to think that the nurse you spoke with appears to have so little value for the lives of others...."not a life or death situation". She must be one unhappy person. Your house is clean! Maybe you can whip up some food to put in the freezer for the times you don't feel like cooking! Prayers and best wishes to you and your husband, Kellie
  • truckingalong
    truckingalong Member Posts: 445 Member
    tcvine said:

    One down!
    Hi Liz,

    Congratulations on the first one done! I had my first one just one week and one day ago. My first week was very good. I never got sick - just tired. Had some sensations that were later attributed to tumor shrinkage (I hope), but very little sickness.

    I hope that your first week is even better than mine!

    Good luck,
    God Bless,
    Tom

    One Down!
    Thanks, Tom for the congrats - likewise!! Glad to hear yours went well. I am surprised I did not crash or something like that - just waves of fatigue, that s when I take naps. Wonder about work - when I will return etc. I am on medical leave now. What about you?
    My Human Resources rep sent me FMLA forms for dr and me to fill out - if I can work at least part time etc How would I know if the chemo effects change in the next 6 months? Well I gotta see how it goes. I was told the effects can hit me any time within 48 hours. It is not 48 hours yet. I feel good so far!

    God bless too
    Liz
  • truckingalong
    truckingalong Member Posts: 445 Member
    yesyes2 said:

    One Down
    Hi Liz,
    Congratulations on one down. The first chemo is the hardest as you don't know what to expect. The infusions do get easier but I found the waiting to be frustrating. I finished 6 cycles of RCHOP in February and hope I don't have to do it again. I think that's everyones hope. You didn't say what type of chemo your getting, I hope you don't mind my asking. Some chemos are easier to tolerate than others. Did the doctor give you any premeds for nausia? I found emend to be wonderful and had no problems with nausia. Guess I'm just lucky that way, LOL. Just try to rest lots, naps are great, and drink lots of fluids to flush all those chemicals away.
    Sending you positive thoughts,
    Leslie

    Meds
    Hi, Leslie,

    Thanks - glad to hear your experience with the meds are not too bad. I am on ABVD medication regimen for HL B symptoms Stage IV. I also had to take Amend, Decadron, Kytril, and Activan at home so they seem to be working against nausea. I feel good so far - just waves of fatigue so am taking naps. Am told that effects still can hit me within 48 hours and it is not 48 yet.. my hands are starting to feel tingling. Saw the list of reaction like this that I should call doctor. Hmm, hope this goes away then all is fine. Am going to eat dinner and that makes me happy!

    Positive thoughts too,
    Liz
  • tcvine
    tcvine Member Posts: 174

    One Down!
    Thanks, Tom for the congrats - likewise!! Glad to hear yours went well. I am surprised I did not crash or something like that - just waves of fatigue, that s when I take naps. Wonder about work - when I will return etc. I am on medical leave now. What about you?
    My Human Resources rep sent me FMLA forms for dr and me to fill out - if I can work at least part time etc How would I know if the chemo effects change in the next 6 months? Well I gotta see how it goes. I was told the effects can hit me any time within 48 hours. It is not 48 hours yet. I feel good so far!

    God bless too
    Liz

    One Down!
    Hi Liz,

    Glad to hear that you are able to take some medical leave. I have the advantage? of being retired. I do part-time business consulting now, and, frankly, tiredness has been my most severe symptom. However, my doc was very insistent that I keep to my regular schedule. I even tried working out for a couple of days - but I've not been on the machine now for 4 or 5 days. Most of the time, though, I can still do what I need to. It's just that I get tired much more quickly. Give it some time and you may be surprised what you can do. I don't know what kind of work you do, but you might be able to get back to it if it isn't too physical.
    Your question is the same as mine - what is it going to be like next week, and the week after? Well, since each one of us is different it's hard to tell. I am going to assume that it won't get much worse and that I will continue to do what I do each day. (Oh, I have started to pay someone to do the yard - I love hot weather, but Texas heat this year is too much for me.)
    At this point it is day-by-day. We just make the best decisions that we can.
    Congratulations on your first 48 hours!

    Tom
  • vinny59
    vinny59 Member Posts: 1,036 Member
    one down
    Congrat's Liz! first treatment is always the worse!!!! Try to stay positive, rest and take it easy!!!!! Vinny
  • tcvine
    tcvine Member Posts: 174
    allmost60 said:

    No Port?/Tom
    Hi Tom,
    Yes... my town only has one out-patient surgical center where they do the port implants, so it's apparantly not un-common to encounter delays or bumps in scheduling. In past years my health has been very good and I haven't had to deal with as many health issues as I am now, so that puts me at a dis-advantage knowing how stuff like this can happen. Cancer is scary and we as patients forget that we are not the only ones needing medical procedures. I am getting wiser during this "waiting" period before treament starts, and with each little set back I'm learning how to cope and still stay positive and strong. It's frustrating indeed, but "oh well". I'm hoping the surgy center will call tomorrow and say there is an opening for port implant on Friday. If not...I will "DEFINETELY" be on the surgery list for next Wednesday. The surgeon I am dealing with only does implants on Wednesdays and Fridays. My onc won't budge on giving the fusion in my vein, so the port "IS" the only option. I'll keep you all posted. In the meantime...there's always more little projects for me to get completed around the house..."oh joy"...ha! Hope your days are comfortable enough, before your next round. Rest and stay healthy.
    Sue

    Portless
    Hello Sue,

    Just wanted to know if you got a PortPlacement call for Friday yet?

    Tom
  • truckingalong
    truckingalong Member Posts: 445 Member
    vinny59 said:

    one down
    Congrat's Liz! first treatment is always the worse!!!! Try to stay positive, rest and take it easy!!!!! Vinny

    Thanks, Tom and Vinny
    for the encouraging remarks. What happened was that when my 30 lbs weight loss came down to 99 lbs, my symptoms became worse to the point that I missed work few hours a week as I work half time social worker but I continued to go to yoga class on Friday nights. Last class I went to was difficult. Then came the diagnosis, I stopped working and now chemotherapy. My body feels changed a lot to the point that I don't feel strong walking anymore and can only do yoga easy exercises. Maybe it is physical and mental process - I am going to try to do more day at a time to gain strength but it looks like chemo is making it harder (for example, my on and off dizziness when meds hit through my body but hey I only just started the treatment so I hope I can grow stronger as weeks go by. Then when it gets easier I hope I can drive again since I had not for 2 weeks. Am blessed that hubby and friends help out with driving to appts. Looking forward to good results as time goes along and yes, I shall rest and enjoy the things I had not a chance to do at home now.

    With prayers and hope,
    Liz