2nd Chemo done and dusted

I completed my second Chemotherapy this Wednesday just past....what a day!  After my first, I was feeling quite apprehensive and nervous about how my body would react to the drug which I'd had a reaction to on the first go....the infusion went ok for the first 5-10 minutes and I was feeling positive, however, then my body decided that it still didn't like the drug....so once again, they stopped it, pumped me full of drugs and and then came back and said they were going to try it again... needless to say, I was concerned and apparently my pulse rate was showing my concern as well...anyway, thankfully because I was so full of drugs, the second time went without incident.  I then had the second drug and then a third drug...which was a complete surprise and news to me.  It sent me off on another little worry trail...why were they adding drugs, it the other stuff not working and so on.  I realized that I just needed to trust the doctors that they know what they are doing...and to remember to ask the oncologist for more explanation when I see her next.  It was an extremely long day with the additional,drug and I was quite exhausted in the evening.  The day after I felt relatively well, though did feel slightly nauseous afterward, but nothing too concerning.  The second and third day's after the chemo have been something else completely and totally unexpected.  I have been feeling so many muscle aches and joint pains, along with tingling in my fingers and toes and these are just relentless...I don't seem to be able get much relief from them even with taking panadol!  I certainly hope these effects don't last for days on end as they are certainly draining me.  Thankfully I have friends praying for me and I know that the Lord is in complete control over my body....as a friend recently said to me, cancer is not in control of your body, the Lord Is....oh how I am having on to this promise at present.  I'm not sure if anyone is even reading this blog, but if you are and you are the praying type, I would certainly appreciate your prayers and uplifting.

My First Chemotherapy

So this Tuesday just past, I fronted up for my first Chemotherapy treatment.  I was feeling apprehensive about how it would go, but also very positive that I would respond well and hopefully not feel too tired or unwell afterwards.  Because I was unable to be seen before Christmas at Box Hill hospital, I was able to attend a Centre near to my home which was actually great for me!  So up I rocked up at 9.30am.  Initially there were several other patients waiting to have their treatments set up, so one of the nurses came and chatted to me about side effects and what preparation I had completed the day before, to which I responded none...she was somewhat shocked at apparently there were drugs I was meant to take orally in prep for the big day.  So she then had to administer some other things before I could get underway.  This all proceeded without a hitch.  The. She was ready to start me in the first main drug, something called Taxol...she advised me that she would be starting the dose low, and then after seeing my response after 15 minutes, would increase the infusion to its full strength.  All the time she was saying to let her know if I felt strange or odd throughout the process.  Well!  Basically as soon as those drugs hit my system, I felt the strangest EVER!  Intitially I was seeing stars and sparkly things above my head, I felt a tightening in my throat and chest, increasing temperature and then the most excruciating pain in my lower lumbar region of my spine.  I said straight away I was feeling unwell and immediately the treatment was ceased and I was then pumped with Phenergan to reverse the whole thing.  So that was the end of that drug for the day.  After I had recovered from this...and believe me, thankfully it didn't take too long for all of those symptoms OT dissipate, the nurse suggested that because I would be quite drowsy for sometime after the antihistamine, would I be willing to try the next drug, as she reassured me that I was unlikely to experience such a reaction.  I felt confident in her reassurance and agreed.  Thankfully this infusion went without incident and once it had been through my system and then flushed, I was ready to go home.  Thankfully I had a friend who was able to come and drive me home in my own car.  I was mentally prepared to feel unwell potentially overnight, however I actually felt really well and when I woke ont he Wednesday morning, I felt even better.  In fact, I felt better than I had for the previous 6 weeks since my surgery!  Thanks be to God for that.  So, my next chemo with be a challenge as I submit to the Lord my fears and apprehensions fro my first experience.  I do know however, that I will be able to pray specifically for the next treatment and hopefully be better prepared practically as well.  The other good thing is that the next treatment is after Christmas.
So that is my lengthy update.  Thanks for reading and coming on this journey with me.