Toxic, But Feeling Fine

Well friends, two new chemical elements have entered this body, so my collection continues to grow. Yesterday morning I had my MRI bright and early. It went well; I'm not more claustrophobic than average, but mine was done lying face down so I actually had no sense that I was in a tiny tube. It was noisy of course, but not too bad. The contrast dye they use for that test contains the element gadolinium, which even as a chemistry teacher I don't really know much about. It sits way down low in the periodic table in an area we don't focus much on in high school (except a bit in grade 12 when we look at electron configurations), but I guess it's good for taking a closer look at tumours!

My chemotherapy treatment took less than four hours, and the subsequent visits will be even shorter. I got three different drugs: Herceptin, CARBOplatin, and DOCEtaxel. The Herceptin is not chemotherapy, but just an antibody that blocks HER2 receptors on my cancer cells. They give the Herceptin quite slowly the first time to make sure you don't have a reaction to it, so my subsequent visits will be shorter: 3 hours instead of 4 hours. The other two drugs are true chemotherapy (a.k.a. 'good' poison) that will attack any cells in my body that replicate quickly. This includes the cancer cells but also so many other cells in my body, which is what can make chemotherapy difficult to handle. This is why we get a break between treatments; the break gives my normal cells time to recover before the next round. The CARBOplatin contains the element platinum, so I'm getting more expensive by the week. :) The one thing I hadn't thought about is that my bodily fluids are poisonous now. So weird to think that my urine is toxic. I think that hearing this really made me realize how wonderful but absurd chemotherapy is. I'm really glad someone figured this out, but my goodness is it ever weird to willingly inject oneself with poison.

Poison and all, I am feeling very normal and healthy right now. I haven't experienced any side effects so far. None at all. I've been out for all of our regular dog walks yesterday and today and am wolfing down food as usual. I know this may not always be the case going forward, but I am really grateful that it has been a smooth beginning. Last night as I was going to sleep, I said goodbye to some cancer cells and gave my normal cells a little apology for the inconvenience. It's normal to talk to your cells, right? Lol.

This morning I went to the nursing clinic to get hooked up to an IV bag to help keep me hydrated. This isn't truly necessary unless I am having difficulty keeping liquids down, but it is nice to have as an option. I'm currently hooked up to an IV bag which is sitting in a pouch in a little purse with a pump. It makes some noise but isn't too annoying. I don't think Martha likes the noise, but why would she? The nurse showed us what to do when my 4 hours of hydration are finished so we don't have to go back to the clinic to get me 'unhooked.' Tomorrow we go back to get hooked up again and to learn how to give me the injection that will help my body make white blood cells. Fun times!

We are planning a nice quiet weekend as we see how things progress. It was really nice timing to have my first chemo treatment this week with four quiet days to follow to just be together at home. I hope you all find some fresh air and relaxation this weekend.

My chemical element collection to date: