Skip to main content

Chemotherapy Round 1: Dose 2

One thing I can tell you about life in Cancer World, every appointment is early in the morning. Mom and I arrived at the Oncologist Office by 8:30 this morning. I had three appointments this morning: Lab, Doctor, and Treatment. I was excited for the Lab appointment because they would be able to take my blood and not have to stick me, thanks to my new Power PICC line. However, the Lab Tech informs me that she does not use the PICC and that she needs to do a finger stick. Total disappointment!

While my Doctor is a great doctor and helps lots of people, I think he might have missed his calling as a Host of a Children's Television Show. He is so upbeat and positive. It almost feels exaggerated but you know it is genuine. He informs me that the daily shot of Neuprogen worked, my white blood count was up to from 2,100 to 13,400. The Doctor also confirmed what I could already visually tell; The lumps in my throat is softer and smaller. So, the  medicine as harsh as it is is shrinking the dreaded Cancer!

The other needed conversation we had with the doctor was about the PICC line. Immediately the Dr. said yes, we will get that out of your arm this week. I told him I preferred the PICC line to the Groshong and he was surprised. He said if I liked it, I could keep it. So, for now, the PICC line stays in and no more Groshong dangling from the chest.

The treatment room is the place I dislike the most. It is a long rectangular shaped room with 10 recliners dotted around it. It is normally very cold in here but today I am finding it warm enough.  There are five of us getting treatments today, but several others have stopped in for shorter needs.  There are only 3 nurses to care for all the patients and  1 student nurse to help the nurses. There is no privacy in this room. You can hear everything that the nurses say to each of the patients. When one cries, we all notice. Today, one of the patients, who wears the pretties long blond wig, learned that someone has died. I think about how much I would hate to get news like that delivered in a room full of strangers when I can't leave and everyone is watching my grief.

 I am sitting next to an older gentleman and a lovely older-than-I lady. The gentleman keeps watch on all of our medicine bags. When they are empty, he alerts the nurses who are busy and have not yet noticed they have ran their course. The lady tells me she was diagnosed back in March. She has completed one round of drugs, taken a break, and is starting her next round today. She has breast cancer.

There is a lot of apprehension in this room. No one knows exactly what this round will bring. Or what these new drugs will do to them. There is also a lot of concern. You can see it in the faces of the patients as well as the loved ones who sit with them. But also in this room is a lot of hope and faith. We all have hope we are going to beat this cancer and have our lives back. We all have faith that God has a plan for us and we have to trust in him. The emotions are raw here. They are on our faces and easily read.

It is this room I dislike the most.

Comments

  1. excellent news about your WBC. I have to say, even when you're in that room you dislike so much, your natural optimism shines through, noticing all you do and empathizing with the other people. that's a wonderful quality, my friend.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Weekend Project: A PVC Camping Lamp Post and Flag Holder

I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i

Tonsillectomy (Warning Photos!)

The Short Chic came down with a pretty nasty case of strep throat back in April. So, when The Boy started complaining about his throat hurting about 12 days later, I was pretty confident that he had inherited his sister's strep. Instead, The Boy was diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess growing on his right tonsil.  We had to immediately see an ENT  Physician who took a needle and drained the abscess. He removed about 5.5 cc of puss from The Boys throat.and then told us that once you have a peritonsillar abscess you were high risk to keep getting them. The Boy's tonsils were now compromised and needed to be removed.  We were told to plan for a two week recovery so we worked a surgery into our summer plans. Between family vacations, summer sports, and the beginning of school The Boy had his second surgery. A tonsillectomy.  Pre-surgery prepping went well. It must be nice to be young and have healthy veins for an IV! The Boy had lots of pre-surgery visitors. My

Liver Cheese: A Family Tradition

Today is an anniversary date. One of those dates you wish you did not have to remember but there is no way you can forget.  Fifteen years ago today,two days after his birthday, my father died of lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and his cancer was aggressive. His battle was short. He fought for six short months after his diagnosis. He knew the chemo was not working and that his time was limited. When he came to this realization he became the best dad in the world.                                                In the days before my father's passing, my family shared some memorable moments. One of those moments centers around the deli meat: Liver Cheese.I would not be surprised if you have never heard of it, or even never tasted it. But I was raised on it as it was one of my Dad's favorite things.  What is it? Well, it is a German food that is actually called Leberkase. It is bacon, corned beef, pork, and onion that is ground together and baked. It comes with a