I'm getting my ass kicked here. I had read that the side effects of chemo were cumulative, and I now appreciate precisely what that means. Took my 4th infusion last Wednesday and things haven't been good since. It's now Sunday afternoon and I'm wondering where the last 4 days have gone. Nausea, nausea, nausea. Punctuated with a headache and plenty of time in the bathroom.
Maybe the Red Devil is cackling at me all the way to hell and back for feeling just a little too celebratory on Wednesday after my last dose of the really bad stuff. Adriamycian, one of the more wicked chemo drugs, is often called the "Red Devil" because it is red and because it makes you very sick. I'd been sentenced to 4 doses of Adriamycian and Cytoxan to be infused every other week for 4 cycles. This is the what my oncologist called the "kick ass rip your guts out chemo." To be followed by 4 cycles of Taxol which has lesser side effects. This protocol is known as "dose dense ACT". Doc says there's nowhere to go from here but up....Taxol won't be nearly as bad as what I've already experienced. Break out the Champagne!
Don't know why that made me think I would escape the final punch of AC. Perhaps I was just so desperate for some optimism. Every visit to the doctor was always full of scary news. This last visit just prior to the infusion was the most positive and encouraging yet: This is my last really bad infusion. I probably won't need a blood transfusion cause my blood counts have been so good. The next four infusions will be like night and day compared to the last four. Hallelujah! Some good news.
Here's hoping that good news starts showing itself in the next day or so. Both my body and my spirit need to see the little bit of light at the end of the long tunnel.
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