Rocky Road...

 2.23.22

Well, today was treatment #7. Bright and early, I was feeling great and ready to roll. Met with my doc and he is really happy with progress so far...and so I began my 'pre' meds (anti nausea and steroids).

...and then about 45 minutes into my main meds, shit hit the fan. Hives, extreme nausea, stomach ache, sweats, asthmatic cough, and trouble breathing. Apparently, it is not rare at this point for the body to reject one of the 3 med chemo cocktail I receive. In this case, the drug that causes most of the issues is called: Oxaliplatin.

My nurse came in, stopped the drip and called for back up. What happened after that felt like a scene out of Pulp Fiction. Ok, that's a bit dramatic, but I had 4 or so people jump into action. I quickly received a benadryl shot and an Epi-pen jab into my thigh (thankfully it wasn't my chest like in Pulp Fiction).

Pulp Fiction Visual

Eventually, I was able to breathe, the rashes/hives went away, and they were able to finish the cocktail of the other 2 chemo drugs. I was too worn out to go to teach my afternoon classes, so I went straight home to nap. 

What does this mean? Well, Oxaliplatin is a key drug in my fight so the doctor wants me to get as much as possible. That means that Round 8 will essentially be a full day at the hospital where they gradually give me the Oxaliplatin in small doses over several hours - basically a tolerance trial. Hopefully, that will work and I'll still get all of the drugs to fight the battle. My chemo days will be longer, but I want all of the weapons! Not sure what happens if I do not tolerate it and I'm not going to think that way.

To be honest, I am somewhat depressed that I was unable to complete the full treatment. I did everything but only got 1/3 of the Oxaliplatin. As you know, I am determined to win and it is upsetting that the drugs got the better of me today...I'll get over it, but just putting my emotions out there.

Not sure how this will affect the next few days. Oxali is the drug that causes the first bite syndrome pain, so maybe that won't be as bad...and the gradual tolerance trial should minimize the side effects in the future. So that's good. But I still have my pal, the pump and so it's likely I'll still be exhausted and nauseous. But we'll see...

On a positive note, it seems we are 1 "okay" away from launching Grateful Fighters. Today, I saw the embroidered baseball hats prototype and it is freakin' fantastic. Thanks to the folks at Rock Free Love for all of their hard work on this project. I can't wait for you all to see it...hopefully, that will be the next blog post!

In the meantime, make sure you are getting your screenings, make sure you are seeing your primary doc once a year, and make sure you are vaxxed/boosted, etc. I know the colonoscopy prep or the boob smushing isn't fun, but your stories of positive screenings completed still brightens my spirits daily!!

#getscreened
#gratefulfighters