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How I'm doing: 2 days after treatment, a few effects + other things on my mind

Welp. I'm not immune to symptoms. 😅 If only, right?

A full 48 hours after my first chemo treatment, my stomach acted up a little today for a short stretch of time, and I have minor fatigue. I had good sleep and didn't do anything big today, but I feel a bit off now. We'll see how long this lasts. :) 

I also went wig shopping today at a costume store with my friend Erin just to get a feel for styles, what they feel like to put on, etc. I'll probably shave my head and wear a slouchy hat or head scarf, but it would be fun to have a wig for special occasions. 

Other things on my mind, and answers to some of your questions:

Where I get chemo

I get chemo in the infusion center within the cancer center. It's nice. Every person sits in a semi-private room area with floor-to-ceiling windows (currently facing a construction site, but you can see some trees and houses across the street too). You sit in a lounge chair that reclines and has a massager (not a full range of motion, but enough!). There's a TV too, but I didn't hear anyone watching.

The routine

1. Blood draw. Each session starts with a blood draw via the port to make sure that I'm stable enough to receive chemo. Because I had the sniffles and a sore throat, and it was my first session, I also had to take a Covid and flu test. Every other week, after the blood draw, I'll meet with my oncologist too for a checkup.

2. Soup and meet your nurse. Everyone gets a nurse who is really nice. They offer you soup when you arrive at your chair. :) There's a little kitchenette area and a bathroom for the patients, and I can unplug the IV pole and walk around if I want.

3. Prep. When it's time for the infusion, the nurse first gives me saline, again through the port, and it feels cool (temperature-wise) and weird. I'm not a fan because it's unnatural, but it's not unpleasant.

Then I get liquid Benadryl to help prevent an allergic reaction. Liquid Benadryl is THE BEST. It made me super calm and sleepy.

Then I get more saline, to flush the port, and then I receive something to prevent nausea.

4. The chemo and targeted therapy infusions. After another port flush with saline, I get chemo. This drug is called Taxol. Then more saline, and then the second infusion (targeted therapy - Kanjinti).

Before each of the these drugs, my nurse will call another nurse over to observe and sign off. My nurse will read aloud the name of the drug, my name, what she observes and how she set up the drug, and the pace of the drip (I think that was it). Then she scans my wristband. I also have to state my name and birthday.

Each of the infusions will end up being 30 minutes, so I'll probably be there a couple hours each time.

The first time they start each with a very slow drip to make sure there are no immediate reactions. I didn't worry about this too much but it's kinda scary to think about.

The people around me

The infusion center is very quiet, but sometimes you hear conversations between patients and nurses. There was an elderly man who had some type of game he was playing, and he the nurses were wowed. I was too sleepy to ask but I'm kinda kickin' myself. He was chuckling, they were chuckling, and it was really cute.

Everyone else I've seen so far seems 20-50 years older than me.

Other things that surprised me for some reason

- Getting an offer for a medical marijuana card ("Wouldn't I just walk into a dispensary?")
- Getting a prescription for a wig (so insurance can pick up some of the tab)
- How this port still hurts! (Harumph)
- How few people know people in their 40s and healthy with chemo experience. Most experiences people share are for their older relatives who have different lifestyles, health needs, ages, cancers, etc. I feel like we're out there, but none of the materials are geared toward us, and most of what's written is reactive versus proactive. This is definitely a user experience gap. Now that I think of it, it's probably a good time to go back the group for Googlers going through cancer. I should also ask my social worker for the referral to the group for people my age. (NOW I'm remembering it!)

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