Infusion

I'm home from treatment today. Mark, my brother, picked me up at 6:40 in a snowstorm and delivered me to the cancer center at 7:29 for my 7:30 appointment! My sister Janet drove out from Chicago in the storm, too. I really appreciate the effort it took both of them to navigate the first snowstorm of the year. We saw a couple of accidents on our way out this morning, so it was definitely slippery.

The infusion itself went pretty. I slept through a lot of it, which probably made Janet start to reconsider her drive out in the snow. They give me benedryl before one of the drugs and it knocks me out good for about an hour. Later, they give me some sedation during the drug that is more likely to cause nausea. They both were effective, which it didn't make me the most talkative person (unless you count snoring!)

I'm home now and feeling okay. I don't feel great, but I'm on some strong anti nausea drugs and steroids, so the nausea is usually manageable. After 2 or 3 days, the nausea usually goes away almost completely. However, around Day 3 is when I start to develop the serious and unpredictable diarrhea. It tends to get worse the more rounds I have, so it might not be as bad this time. However, the first time I ever took this drug back in 2016, I had a really bad accident, so while the duration might be shorter, the severity hasn't been less when I've resumed after long breaks.

I also am on a drug, Erbitux, that affects how epidermal cells grow. That is good for fighting the rectal cancer cells in my lungs, but it also causes a nasty and irritating rash all over my skin, along with some hair thinning and scalp sores. I except those will start appearing in the next few days, as well. I do have a medicine that helps to control it, but it's pretty harsh stuff on its own, so it's a bit of a trade off. However, some people get such a bad reaction to Erbitux that they have stop taking it so it doesn't cause permanent damage to their skin. For that reason, it's definitely worth taking the other medicine.

I'll try to post again during this two week cycle. Thankfully, I was able to have groceries delivered last night, so I am all set there. I was worried about cleaning up my car after this storm, as I'm even less steady on my feet after the sedation, but Mark cleaned the car off for me! That was a big help!

There had been 3-4 inches of snow on my car and it would
have sat there for awhile if Mark hadn't cleared it for me.

Thank you all for your words of support, those who generously supported me on the GoFundMe page that Janet set up, and for your prayers. I'm still dreading the side effects of this treatment and the cumulative damage that doing multiple treatments does to my body, mind and soul. However, I am thankful that God has put so many wonderful people in my life to support me through this.