Don’t even trip

 

I had my last “red devil” on March 2nd. It was brutal. During the first 2 cycles I only had 3-4 bad days. Cycle 3 was a bit worse. But cycle 4… I felt bad the full 2 weeks. They said the effects would be cumulative, and they weren’t kidding. Some of this may be due to my blood counts. My white counts were all high because of the neulasta injections I get that boost them, but my reds have been low the last 2 rounds, with round 4 being the lowest, so far. They don’t do anything for this unless they get so low that a transfusion is required, so it is what it is.

I had my first Taxol infusion on March 16th, and this marked the official halfway point of my chemo regimen. I was extremely anxious to start the Taxol. I had no idea what to expect, and there was a risk of “extreme allergic reaction” which was pretty terrifying. Plus, I’d already felt so bad for 2 weeks that I couldn’t stand the idea of adding on brand new symptoms. However, after I got my infusion I felt… great??! So good, in fact, that even the subtle stomach pain I’ve had for several months was completely gone!! The only medication I had that was different with Taxol than the red devil was Benadryl, so I am going to talk to my doctor about that and see if she can think of a reason why Benadryl might have (finally!) helped my stomach.

The day after the infusion also went well, but I had a lot of pain over the weekend. Joint, bone, and muscle pain are common side effects of Taxol. My knees, hips, and ankles were all painful, but the knee pain was excruciating. I can only take acetaminophen, due to other meds I’m on, and that didn’t cut it at all. I do still have some pain, but thankfully it’s fairly tolerable now. I’ve also had abdominal pain, but no nausea! I haven’t really had any other side effects, so far.

I have 3 more rounds of Taxol to go, and as long as my lab numbers stay high enough I will have my last chemo infusion on April 27th.

I do want to say about my last post that I had several other cancer patients reach out to me to say that they felt like they could have written it themselves. Maybe you are just an acquaintance of mine, or someone I haven’t talked to since high school, and we aren’t close enough for you to reach out. I totally get that, and don’t expect it. But if you do have a cancer patient in your life who you consider an actual friend, maybe consider that these feelings of isolation are extremely common, and they would probably love to hear from you.