Lacey’s First Day of Chemo: Captain’s log-ish

Woke Up at 7:42a.m.

Took my morning regular meds

Got dressed in my special chemo shirt, sweatpants

Woke up the kids for school

Scrambled for lunch for William, bc I forgot the fridge is broken. Jonathan swooped in with a reliable: white rice and seaweed.

Let Mimi focus on getting the kids set and off to school

Focused on myself to try to make breakfast, but again, foiled by the fridge

Applied Lidocaine to my port and covered it with press n seal. The nurse explained this help to actually have a numb chest rather than a numb finger, and it allows the cream to soak in on the way.

Decided to head out early to grab some breakfast on the way. Starbucks chocolate croissant and Decaf Cinnamon Dolce Latte. I ate most of the croissant, and I barely touched the drink.

Arrived at City of Hope for first infusion

Checked in, taken back within 5-10min.

Got weighed then directed to my little enclave. Maybe I’ll take some pictures next time.

Nurse made sure I was comfy in my recliner. Offered me blankets and pillows.

Signed consent forms

Nurse put needle into port. An easy take a breath on 1,2,3. Little pinch.

Nurse tried to flush the port IV. It didn’t flush.

Nurse continued to try to flush.

Needle removed from port.

Nurse got new needle and tried again. Success!

First bag hung. Just fluids.

20min later second bag hung: Benadryl for calming, antiemitc, and any potential allergic reactions

Cinvanti pushed into IV over 2minutes: 72hr antiemitic

20-30min later third bag hung: Zofran. Felt a bit sleepy after Benadryl, but stayed awake. 3hrs of sleep + Benadryl = heavy eyes

30-45min later the big ones: Oxaliplatin and Leucovorin

Settled in for 2hr drip.

Did some IG scrolling, tried my hand at my first wooden puzzle, watched some Drive to Survive Season 5, nodded off for a few minutes, and watched an informational video about my portable pump that I will be hooked to for 46hrs, 22min.

2hrs later Oxaliplatin and Leucovorin finished.

Had a 15 minute fluid flush

Flourouracil (5FU) bolus pushed in to IV

Disconnected from IV pole, switched to pump with 5FU flowing over the next 2 days. Will return Wednesday to disconnect from machine and to flush my port.

Signed some consent forms

Hopped in the car and Jonathan drove me home.

Discussed groceries that would fit in our mini fridge, while also deciding what I could eat for lunch, since cold foods, drinks, and touching anything cold is not recommended for the next 5-7 days. This is a common side effect of Oxaliplatin. Cold sensitivity can make it painful to touch cold things, be exposed to cold temperatures, to eat cold food, and to drink cold beverages. The nurse explained that if I accidentally drink ice water, it will feel like I’m choking, but I won’t actually be choking. It will just be the numbness and tingling. I’ve heard people describe it feeling like swallowing shards of glass. No thanks.

Settled on grilled cheese.

At this point, side effects amounted to slight metallic taste in mouth and fatigue.

Jonathan left for grocery store. I waited for him for a bit, but then got too tired.

Went back to the bedroom to rest.

Jonathan returned and made me a grilled ham and cheese. It did the trick. Tasty.

Closed my eyes for a bit and was able to take a nap.

Woke up really needing to pee, but didn’t want to move. Finally convinced myself it was best to answer Nature’s call.

The bathroom protocol: do my business, wipe the toilet seat down, close lid, flush twice. Wash hands thoroughly. This is to prevent the rest of the family from exposure to the toxic chemicals currently coursing through my veins. Yikes.

Discovered a needed addition to the protocol: do not wash under neutral position of temperature on faucet. That whole avoiding cold thing, well I learned why.

Experienced electric/static shock type feeling in my fingertips for about 5minutes. Noted.

Hemmed and hawed about dinner options. Settled on NY Style pizza.

Took my first bite. Experienced the next side effect. First bite syndrome. When I took my first bite, my jaw kind of locked. It goes away when you push through to chewing more. It does not happen on the second bite. I knew about this from that super helpful post that another person shared who was going through this regimen years ago.

Ate 1 slice, got adventurous for a second slice. Had few bites and stopped when tummy started to rumble.

Took another bathroom trip and learned that turning faucet towards H and waiting 30 sec creates the same effect as neutral. Did a little squeal of pain and surprise. Different sensation, but reaction kind of like touching a hot stove or oven.

Came back to bedroom and watched the end of Drive to Survive Season 5.

Decided to log the events of today.

Here we are.

Currently feeling tired, sore mouth, tiny rumbling in the tummy (not enough for me to have just requested a two-bit brownie)

Oops! Forgot about that first bite thing! At least I got to enjoy bite two! 3-bite brownies, for those chemo patients with first bite syndrome. Think the sharks will invest?

Plan for the night. It’s currently 9:45p.m. Settle in to Drive to Survive Season 6, answer Nature’s call one more time. Fall asleep.

What I do know about tomorrow is I have been instructed to take Zofran as soon as I open my eyes. Then again mid-day. Then again before bed. No technicolor rainbows for me!

Onwards.