Round 5 Update

I wish I could say that chemotherapy following a normal PET Scan is in some small way different than my other rounds of chemotherapy but it really wasn't.  My body has become accustomed to the 21 Day routine of R-CHOP so that the nausea begins a few days before the next treatment.  "Ritual Poisoning" is what one of my cancer buddies calls it and she isn't fair from the truth.  After a few rounds of chemotherapy, your body begins to brace itself for the next round, anticipating the poison. 

My friend, Jean, was my chemo buddy for this round.
I feel blessed to have had so many friends willing to sit with me through the long day of chemo.  This round, my friend, Christine, dropped by for a visit.  It worked out perfectly because Jean could head out for lunch and keep the smell of food from my queasy stomach.

This round wasn't any faster than the rest.  Mainly because it was a very exciting day at the cancer center.  It was a very busy day in the chemo room and then there were two adverse reactions right in a row. Not for me, I’m a model patient. Plus, I’ve learned what symptoms to speak up about and which ones to just keep quiet because if you speak up they will just slow down your drip and you’ll be there until the cleaning crew comes in for the evening.  The other big news is the shortage of Adrimycin.  I guess it is a nation wide shortage. So for this round I received an alternative drug. Nurse says the side effects are similar so shouldn’t have any big changes.

The side effects this round seem to be the same old, same old.  The good news is that I did switch out my anti emetic.  Instead of Zofran, I am now taking Zytril.  Although I still had quite a bit of nausea this weekend, I did not have the excruciating headache that usually accompanies the Zofran.  I slept almost all of Saturday but was up and around most of Sunday.  Just three little naps.  I plan to enjoy the next couple of days before my steroid crash by preparing for Thanksgiving.  We are looking forward to having a visit with Gary's family and hosting our Canadian friends with a dinner for 20 on Thursday.