Cycle 1A in the bag

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 mouth but the regular rinsing kept them in check. I wasn't constipated which came as a surprise to nearly every nurse I spoke to. And finally, the anti-nausea medications are a godsend. The only issue was that they make the first few days tolerable with limited nausea but led to a sharp dip once they were done.

Each day, the medicine is tapering off and by late day 3 my energy and comfort tapered off with it to a pretty deep dip on day 5, the first day without medication. It began with increasing pain deep in my jawbone which would radiate in the bones around my mouth. This seems to be a potential side effect from the Vinblastine which can affect the cranial nerve which runs down the side of the face. Luckily I was still able to eat soft food and it never escalated to the point of being unbearable. 

Over the same period, my body practically fell apart. I woke up on Sunday morning (day 5) and just moving unsettled everything inside of me. It's sort of fair to compare with a really bad hangover but then a lot worse and deeper. With that on top of the jaw pain, I didn't make it any further than my bed or couch. 

From Day 6 to 8 or 9, I slowly but surely recovered to my "normal" self. As the chemical and cancer waste got out of my body, I started feeling like myself again. Energy levels through the second week were inconsistent but much higher than the first week. Attention, however, stayed similarly low and Dane and I are usually wondering what's the ADD and what's the chemo. Overall, I was able to get in nice walks outside nearly everyday of cycle 1A besides the dip on Sunday and Monday and otherwise some light pedaling on the indoor bike.

While all-in-all the side effects weren't as bad as they seem to be for many others, I was pretty impressed by just how unpleasant it all is. It is very strange and artificial: to be aware of your body processing all the chemo drugs with most the discomforts being masked by all these other drugs. What a relief that the days before the next chemo are relatively normal and in this case, just in time for the sunny Easter weekend. I even had the energy to set up a nice garden on my balcony with some supplies from Dane's sweet parents :-)

Getting the garden started.