1 down, 7 (or 11) to go

well, chemo was all i imagined it to be... and more. ;) my dad and peter accompanied me for treatment. we were there for about four hours, which included a lot of test doses, checks, double checks and waiting... anticlimactic, to say the least. i sat back in a recliner, while my chemo nurse, deana, had all the hard work to do. the sight alone of chemo being administered makes me worry about its long term effects on my body. deana wears a full suit including special gloves and a face shield (reminiscent of a welder's mask) to administer the treatment. my port worked, which was good news, saving the veins in my arms. the port (in my chest) is used to both draw blood and administer IVs during the chemo process.

the chemo regimen i am on is called ABVD (adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine & dacarbazine). it is administered in 'cycles' (30 days in duration), which includes two chemo treatments (which i've been calling 'rounds', not at all official nomenclature) on days 1 and 15 of the cycle. so, i'm in for either 4 cycles (4 months, equal to 8 chemo rounds) or 6 cycles (6 months, equal to 12 chemo rounds) total, pending the outcome of my PET scan after cycle 2.

apparently different chemo regimens have different side effects. lucky for me, two of my drugs are severe nausea-inducing agents. while nausea and hair loss were part of what i was prepared for, the other (less 'glamorous') side effects include mouth sores, fevers, jaw pain, a heightened sense of smell and 'phantom smells'. as i arrived home from the hospital, i began to smell seafood everywhere and on everyone who entered the house. yuck! perhaps my next round of chemo will find my super-human sense of smell honing in on a more pleasant odor than seafood... which i used to actually enjoy eating, but may never be able to look at the same again.  the upside of going through this chemo treatment so many times is that we can use each iteration to try different combinations of anti-nausea medications until we find something that works best. i was cautioned that as the nausea subsides, extreme fatigue would pick up... however, a pretty good trade, if you asked me!

the long-term side effects of ABVD are the scary ones... including risks of cardiac and pulmonary toxicity, along with increased risk of leukemia and secondary cancers. luckily, infertility is not on that list, based on the limited studies available. (thanks to my amazing researcher of a friend, dr. zac cooper!)

i was thrilled that the nausea tidal wave passed yesterday, just in time for my brother's fiancee, erica's, bridal shower. i wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world and was the proudest maid of honor to see her showered with love from so many friends and family. tomorrow we're off to dana farber. i'll have some bloodwork and another doctor's appointment later in the week, and then i'll get back in the saddle on monday for round two.

i'm sorry for all of the calls and emails i didn't return last week. i basically hibernated, disconnecting myself from the world, fresh air and all the other things i usually love. thank god for my family, who will all be honorary nurses before this is over! and to answer the question everyone has been asking... unfortunately round one didn't cure my itch (yet) but it has improved some. i have my fingers crossed that round two will do the trick!