First cycle of chemo done!

So, the two treatments in the first round of chemo are officially done! Only five more cycles (ten treatments) left to go, then a month off, then a month of radiation five days a week, then presumably done, done, done.

This time around was a little rougher than the first time around, but I guess that's to be expected. My white blood cell count was super low, so I had to get a shot to boost white blood cell production. I also have to be super careful about the foods I eat and stuff like that. Erin and Kim came and kept me company at chemo this time around, which was much appreciated!

Also, the hair-cutting and dying and wig buying is now officially chronicled on facebook (have you vorn vigs? ahhahaha that's never gonna get old, Emma [E.]!). Too many Emmas. Henceforth, Emma W is Emma and Emma E is Thingy. I am very grateful for the influx of notecards and well-wishes and trinkets that are coming in from people everywhere. Thanks guys! I was especially happy to get a note card from my fellow Pathfinders 08 and a super cool photo frame from Emma.

Alright, time for me to head to bed. The Ativan is kicking in!

Update!

So last Thursday I had a sort of follow-up appointment with my primary oncologist, just to go over how the first week after chemo went, and what we can do differently this week. I got some OK news and some not so OK news. The OK news is that I am officially Stage II-A-X. The "II" means all cancer is either above or below the diaphragm (above in my case) and it hasn't spread to any other systems, which is a good thing. The "A" means that I have no secondary symptoms, which is also good. The "X", however, means that mine is classified as "bulky," meaning that at least one of the masses is at least 10 cm long. In my case, there are three that are "bulky": the one in my neck that made me go to the doctor in the first place, one in the upper mediastinum and one in the mid-mediastinum. Studies on how the "bulky" designation affect overall survival rates vary; some suggest that it doesn't impact the five year survival rate (which is between 85 and 95% for stage 2 non bulky, a very very good survival rate!), and some suggest it lowers it by 5-10%. Most importantly, it means I will probably have to get another month or two of chemo, and will almost certainly have to get radiation therapy which makes me unhappy :(

In other news, I have a new haircut! It's short, and kind of alarming to me sometimes, but I am told it looks decent. I'm going in on Thursday for Round #1, Treatment #2 of chemo, so we'll see if that affects my hair status at all!

Feeling OK...

The side effects have been very manageable today. I'm not feeling great, or even good, or even OK, really, but I'm not feeling particularly BAD, either. Just kind of "bleh." I'm quite tired, and food tastes/smells/looks really weird or really gross, but I'm keeping it down, with some effort! Water has tasted like chalk all day long. The anti-nausea pills work, but they make me dizzy. The dizziness has been the worst part, but it only really hits when my eyes are closed, strangely enough. Last night I had a really hard time going to sleep because of the dizziness.

Next week will be the first full week of classes I'll have gone to in about three weeks. It will be kind of good, but kind of lame at the same time. Sigh.

First day of chemo

I had the first day of chemo today, and I am on the ABVD regimen, as expected. Each of the four medications has a different set of side effects associated with it, but basically the "A" is the big hair loss one, so the hair-loss is a go. Apparently it can take anywhere from a few days to a few months for it to come out, but average is about two weeks after the first treatment. The plan right now: Dye it sometime next week (Thursday evening, Kim Dave and Erin?) and chop it off next weekend, in a series of progressively more and more interesting haircuts. If I can get the insurance company to pay for it, the wig is a go, but I expect many days I'll be too lazy to use it. Besides, head scarves come in lots of interesting colors, and I have made a promise to Greg that I'll buy a neon green one.

Right now, I am basically feeling just kind of generally punky. I've definitely felt better in my life, but I've also felt much worse, so I guess it's not too bad! I am quite dizzy and light headed, and I don't think I could even begin to focus on homework right now. I am queasy and the thought of food is really really really unappealing, but I think I could keep food down, if I absolutely had to. So, I guess that's good. I also am really tired but also jittery. I experienced this weird feeling of vertigo earlier, where when my eyes were closed and I was on my back in bed, I felt like I was kind of bobbing up and down in place, and my arms and legs and head were not connected to anything, and that my arms and legs were shrinking and my head was expanding. Weirdest feeling in the world! Tomorrow is supposed to be worse, in terms of nausea and whatnot, so I have a bunch of meds on hand, if I need them.

Also, a note for my friends who I will be seeing regularly: I am supposed to encourage each of you to WASH YOUR HANDS all the time, and use anti-bacterial hand sanitizer if I'm going to hang around you, because after treatment (especially 6-8 days after) I will be super, super, super vulnerable to sicknesses and I'd really rather not be hospitalized for something stupid like a cold. So, if I nag you to wash your hands, don't take it personally!

In other news, they haven't yet staged it, but they are almost 100% certain it isn't Stage III or IV, which means I will almost certainly not have to do radiation therapy, hurrah!

I also wanted to say thanks for all of the notes, cards, emails, etc that I've gotten from you all. I've started a collection, and it cheers me up every day. A particularly enthusiastic "thank you" goes out to ALISON, who I am assuming was the one responsible for the card from the WU EPSc department, and ANNE, who gave me something diverting and not too cerebral to read. I liked the long paragraph from Jill and the single line from Ray on the EPSc card... so typical, it made me smile. Aww, I miss the EPSc department. Thanks, guys!

Hope you are all well... to my non-Boise friends, what have you all been up to? Haven't talked to some of you in awhile.