Cancer By The Calendar

Image by @luanne

It goes w/o saying that an update was overdue. The crazy thing about time-when you have cancer- is how time seems to drag ever so slowly by and yet fly by at the same time.

I am now one chemo infusion into my treatment. I have a total of 5 more to go with #2 coming up on the 14th of March.

I am dreading #2. Why? I am scared that my side affects are going to be worse. I belong to a few online support groups & out of curiousity I posed the question whether or not others found infusion #2 and/or #3 harder. Taking such an informal poll really doesn't give you much insight into what your own experience because every single cancer patient is different. The purpose it does serve though, is that it makes you feel less isolated. Less alone.

My first chemo started with bone pain stemming from the WBC stimulator shot they give you called Neulaste. (I think that's the correct spelling but not sure). It stimulates-overstimulates really- your bones to generate a ton of extra white blood cells to replace the ones the chemo kills. This causes bone pain & w/ fibromyalgia thrown in on top of it, life was pretty painful for about 5 days. The only thing that worked for the pain, was narcotics which I don't really like to take because it makes me sleep. ALOT.

Around the morning of day 6, early morning, I awoke in even more pain- chest & side pain, & called my oncologist who in turn said to go to the ER which I did by way of ambulance. A few MRIs later, it was determined that i had a Pulmonary Embolism (blood clot) to my right lung. I was kept over night to stabilize me & get me started on blood thinners. Approximately 31 hours later I was back home with blood thinners & oxygen, via nasal hose, firmly on board. I will be on blood thinners for the next 3 to 6 months.

I later found out in my online support groups that blood clots are not uncommon during chemo due to the fact thst the chemo drugs damage red blood cells & the natural proteins that occur in our bodies that keep us from developing clots. The same week that I developed my clot, at least 4 other women in my groups reported developing clots themselves.

Some of the medications I now take due to cancer & chemo.
Image mine, @luanne

From about day 3 post chemo, I began getting hit with stomach cramps & diarrhea, & it didn't matter what I ate or drank, it always had the same result. It got to a point where I dreaded eating & by around day 6 or 7, was hardly eating at all. They give you Immodium (sp?) to help, but IMO it didn't work & actually seemed to make things worse! One week post chemo my oncologist had me come back in for labs to check my blood. I had dropped a total of 9 lbs since my last weigh in which had been the day of my infusion!

On day 9, I put in a call to my sister who was working on a cannabis care package for me. I was in alot of stomach pain & was getting desperate.

Day 10 my sister knocked on my door with said care package in hand. THANK GOD! Relief was soon to be found! I consumed an edible during her visit. About 2 hours later I consumed edible #2. While it turned out that the quantity of 2 was way more then needed.....well...maybe not. Regardless of the fact that I did have a great buzz going- my first pot high no less because I'd never tried it before- I found not only had my stomach cramping stopped, but I was very relaxed for the first time in a very long time & I had an overwhelming desire to EAT! I also felt pretty darn happy. HAPPY! That's pretty significant considering my circumstances! I continued using edibles, but half the initial dose taken, for 2 more days & by day 12, I was no longer suffering stomach cramps & diarrhea!

My strength & daily activities have increased & I no longer have to be on oxygen during the day-only at night! On day 14, I again returned to my Drs office for more labs. My weigh in showed that I had regained 7lbs & my blood looked good!

I attribute all these wins to the inclusion of cannabis in my treatment! My oncologist also supports the use of cannabis in my treatment plan. Awesome!

With less then a week left to my next infusion, I'm trying to not only get as much done as possible before the 14th, but am trying to have as much as possible in place in preparation for all the various symptoms that may pop up.

While it may seem like i suffered few side effects, there are several more things that popped up. Pink eye, various yeast infections, chemo rash, scalp tenderness & rash along with nerve pain to name a few. My hair also started falling out day 12 post chemo & I followed that by pretty much cutting all my hair off. I had a local stylist even things up today with a shave.

Oh sweet is the remaining few days I have til next treatment! People keep saying to me "you got this" whereas, my motto really is one day at a time. Yep. Just. One. Day. At. A. Time.