My evil twin

My second chemo treatment was last Wednesday, April 15, and I'm happy to say it went pretty well. In fact, significantly better than the first time. It helps to be familiar with how things go of course. But even more importantly, the PICC line made the infusion so much more comfortable. I was pretty anxious to get the PICC line installed. It's essentially a catheter that dangles out my left arm and connects up a vein all the way just above my heart. I think I hyper-focused on it as a coping mechanism - something tangible and gross to worry about that's less personal than the cancer in me. But after the disturbing experience searching for suitable veins in my first treatment and the subsequent pains and stiffness in my arm that lasted more than a week (and bruises still to show!), I warmed up to the idea. The insertion procedure was pretty painless. Just a little sting from the anesthesia in my arm. I was laying in the middle of a large operation room with an x-ray over ...

Cycle 1A is in the bag, achter de rug ! Chemotherapy is no longer a menacing cloud of uncertainty; no more need for anxiety or nervousness, just getting through it. It's been a rollercoaster, both easier and worse than I expected at the same time. The side effects were mostly manageable, but very unpleasant and long-lasting.  I'm pleased to say my team at the hospital prepared me reasonably well in terms of being aware of and managing side effects. I was prescribed several anti-nausea medications for the first four days starting each treatment day. Since these medications on top of chemo alone can cause severe constipation, I took preventative magnesium from the beginning. The "A" and the "V" chemo drugs also can cause mean mouth sores, so on top of sucking on ice chips while they were administered, I rinsed my mouth with salt water every couple hours the week following chemo. This kept things pretty bearable! I saw some beginnings of sores in my mout...

Happy April Fools'! It's a bit of a drab year for pranks and jokes given the pandemic (though my heart still skipped a beat when I fell for this article ). On top of that, it was my first day of chemotherapy! Turns out the hospital wasn't pulling a prank on me - the seat and chemotherapy drugs with my name on it were all ready. With my classic Hodgkin's diagnosis, I'm receiving the front-line Hodgkin's treatment: ABVD. ABVD is a four-drug chemotherapy regimen that is extremely effective in wiping out the cancer. The goal is to inhibit cell growth and division. For my normal cells that's not so nice, leading to hair loss and a weakened immune system among other things. But for my cancer cells, it should spell a death warrant. On the bright side, this chemo regimen has been around since the 1960s and has made huge improvements since then. Specifically reducing toxicity and increasing comfort with lots of anti-nausea medications. A cycle of ABVD is one mont...