Getting Chemo

At MSK, the doctor introduced us to a promising clinical trial that just opened up at John's Hopkins in Baltimore, MD. (Yah! Baltimore is where my sweetheart is from.) The clinical trial was a two part treatment. The first part was getting regular chemotherapy along with the trial drug, then afterwards, just the trial drug. Regular chemotherapy consisted of cisplatin and pemetrexed, which have numerous side effects including kidney damage, dehydration, nausea, and decreased immune response. Additional drugs were administered to address the side effects, mainly nausea.

Treatment day began at 8am with the phlebotomist checking my vital signs and drawing blood from my forearms for blood tests, followed by a visit with the doctor for a physical. Once she approved, an order was sent to pharmacy for the drugs to be mixed and prepared. After some waiting, I finally go to the chemo suite to get the drugs intravenously.

Because of the combination of medications the whole process took about 10 to 12 hours, but getting chemo was a walk in the park compared to the days after. Fatigue and nausea were constant side effects. I was always tired and hungry, but I had no desire to eat, because I couldn't keep it in. It hurt too much to hurl, evidenced by blood that occasionally came up with the food (sorry!). I lost about 10lbs, which was all muscle weight, so I became what my friend called "skinny fat". Facially, I didn't look gaunt, because another side effect of the chemo was having a moon face. I looked like a chubby cheek teenage boy. Once, I waited in line at a pharmacy, and the register guy said, "I'll be with you in a second, Sir." SIR?! When I handed him my script, he said, "I need to see some ID because we can't sell this drug  if you're under 18." ... I guess I should be glad that I look so young?

Actually that was really the only time I was mistaken for a high school boy; mainly because I didn't leave the house much. On "good days", I passed the time slouched on the sofa thinking about what to eat next, what nausea medicines to take, when I should take the medicine. I also napped a lot after vomiting sessions. I became so physically and mentally drained. Every now and then I'd muster up enough strength to go for a walk or read a magazine. On bad days, I spend my time in the ER or urgent care to ensure that my symptoms were not life-threatening or precursors to serious complications like pneumonia.

Chemo was really taking a toll on me and my only consolation was the hope that it was taking more of a toll on the cancer. It's a competition on who can outlast chemo. There's still a long way to go, but I made it through round 1.