Chemosabe 3 — HER2 and YOU

Originally published at bcvsbc.blogspot.com on 07/14/18

What I am finding out is that each round of chemo has different side effects, or a compilation of a different set of them. I'm one week our round three. This is also a significant milestone because it marks the halfway point of the most toxic chemo meds I need to take. I can say, with complete honesty, that after round one I did not think I was going to be able to make it this far if the rash came each time. But, here I am, and I AM grateful to be HERE.

Thought you might enjoy seeing a line up of some of the medicines that were getting pumped into me...and notice how little hair I have left on my head. Each morning I wake up with a little more on my pillow and a new bald spot on my head!

I think the hardest side effect to deal with and that has been consistent from last time with this round is the excruciating stomach pains. During the second round I thought this was from the pretty miserable constipation. Unfortunately this time I have had a combination of not being able "to go" and "going" to much, yet the pain remains day and night.

Another duplicate side effect is my taste buds refusing to work. From most of my research people complain about food tasting metallic during treatment. Truly that would be welcomed at this point. Food just tastes the way dog crap smells. It is disgusting. The sick and cruel joke is that EVERYTHING smells WONDERFUL! That in and of itself makes me want to eat it. Then once the food is in my mouth I have to force it down because it is utterly revolting. It is also not limited to food but all liquids. Typically I only drink a cup of coffee in the morning and water the remainder of the day. Those both taste like they are rotten. All other liquids typically are sweet, and some how (no idea why), the sweetness is magnified to the point of me wanting to spit it out. There is a constant struggle to drink enough not to be dehydrated and eat enough to maintain my weight. Oh and can I just tell you that all research shows if you continue to workout while going through treatment you have less chance of cancer recurrence...so I am TRYING to workout daily too. It feels like each day is a mental battle to do those three things.

During my first round I think I did post that I got bloody noses. Second round if I had them there were not as frequent. This time around it seems like they are daily. What seemed to work the last time was plastering my nostrils with butt paste. That stuff is miracle cream! I ear swab that lube three times a day around my nostrils and it feels like heaven. Chemosabe has taken all my nose hairs so even if my nose isn't bleeding it is constantly dripping. Is it nasty? Yes. Do I feel like an old man that needs a hankie? Yes. Did I know how much we needed nose hairs before this? NO. Would I have believed someone that told me I would need an extra box of tampons for my nose during chemo? No....but I do...obviously I do not leave the house much these days...

The newest addition to my ailments is inside my body, or my blood really. I have become anemic. It is very common during chemo because of the way the medicines attack your body, cells, blood, etc. The reason it sucks during chemo is that your body doesn't absorb the iron from pill form as effectively. Most of the time patients need blood transfusions to help them correct this and continue treatment on schedule. Thankfully we are not at this point yet (and hopefully never will be). My doc and I are going to try to correct with food. Remember the paragraph above about eating ↑↑↑ ? Yeah it is a struggle to attempt this but something I need to make happen. If my blood work gets worse we will have to postpone treatment. That is something I am adamantly against so I am making every effort to overcome this battle.

Since I have not been leaving the house, manly because I do not want to get sick and end up on medicine or in the hospital, I haven't really socialized with anyone. I am not complaining! For reals all I do is TRY to eat and sleep. One day I slept 14 hours! But a few days ago two of my life long family friends, the Hill girls Tabitha and Vicky, came down for a visit. To ensure I didn't get sick they went to my sister's house because they have lots of little ones. My mom really wanted me to see them so she came and got me so I could spend an hour or so seeing them since they had traveled all the way from Florida.

I had to keep my mask on when we were in the house which had their kids looking at me funny (I took it off for the picture and Deni made me take one with my hat off but I'm almost bald now and didn't want to post it when that one is so much cuter!). It was fun to see them and their babies. They were so sweet and brought a chocolate cake for me which all the kids chowed down on.

I can't wait for the day I have energy to do more than sit! Or for a time I can spend the day being able to be in the company of people and not worry about contacting a cold bug. I feel like a worry wart, a hypochondriac, hell, lets be real, a crazy person. I just do not want to end up in the hospital unless it is to get my expanders switched out for the FOOBS.