Chemo #2

The second treatment reminded me how fortunate I am. Every time I go into that place, I see people who are really struggling physically with their illness. I see people’s caretakers that are struggling as well. The Center has me fill out a questionnaire each time before starting. The questions more or less are, “As of today, how do you rate your overall health? As of this week, how do you rate your overall health? Does your health affect your family interaction? Does your health impact your social dynamic? Does your health give you financial anxiety?” And the questions go on and on. I feel I answer them the same every time, and that is in a very positive way. I feel 90% healthy. I feel very supported in my family dynamic. I am not financially stressed about money. Unfortunately all of these things are not a given for the other patients that walk through that Oncology Center, yet 95% of them are very positive and are taking their treatment one day as it comes. This past treatment, I overheard an older Asian couple, definitely old enough to be my grandparents’ age. I could not tell who the patient was and who was the caretaker, they were both spry and upbeat. They were just laughing, and cracking jokes with the nurses. They were not going to let chemo day ruin their mood. They are resilient, and such great role models without even knowing it.

My treatment again went smoothly. Paul and I seem to be getting into our routine before going into the Oncology Center; we now know what to pack for “sally activities,” and how much food to bring. Everything went well with Porticia, and we were able to finish chemo at 2pm, which was a full two hours ahead of the first one. This was very promising as to what the routine schedule would be moving forward. As with the first, I felt good when finishing and was ready to stretch my legs, so I went on my walk to the Summit Overlook. It was well over 80 degrees so I took solace in the shade that day, still catching a cool breeze on my neck and a reminder of the beauty around us. My breathing exercising were not as focused; I could not quite get into the zone. But I made sure before leaving that I told myself over and over how strong I am and how my body is healing. And I will keep fighting.

My steroid seemed to wear off earlier from this treatment, as I had no issue falling asleep that Wednesday night. Come Thursday and Friday I made sure to get in my walks early in the morning when my energy was high, and the heat was low. I took my naps as needed, and the only new side effect is the taste of water. It had a metallic taste, so lots of lemon were required to get through the first couple of days in order to hit my hydration levels. A couple of other foods had subtle taste variations as well, but nothing that would prohibit me from eating them. In our Cancer Fighting Kitchen cookbook, it warns you of these taste variations and gives you four ways to combat it:

• ·         Fat: Adding Olive Oil or Coconut Oil to cooking
• ·         Acid: Adding Citrus, particularly lemon to items you drink
• ·         Salt: Adding Himalayan Sea Salt to food
• ·         Sweet: Adding Maple Syrup in small doses to your food or drink

I want to point out the “pump” that I have for two days after chemo and immunotherapy are done. While I refer to treatment as my “chemo day”, I actually receive meds for three days. We have affectionately termed this small, softball size pump the “buzz ball”, but I get no buzz from this contraption. It hangs out on my waist in a small fanny pack for 46 hours post treatment, releasing an additional 5ml/hour of medicine into my port. Luckily, as the medication goes into my system, the ball goes down and has very little weight in the end. I guess previously, the pumps were quite cumbersome. This is just another example of the advancement of science and, while subtle, it making patients’ experiences easier.

During this week of chemo recovery, we were experiencing an extreme heat wave in the Twin Cities, with a string of days all above 90 in May. What’s the best course of action? Get out of town! With the blessing of my oncologist that it was okay to fly, Paul and I left Friday evening for Baltimore to see friends and have a nice weekend away. Paul was very nervous leading into the trip, and rightfully so. He didn’t want anything to impede on my recovery, and he feared having me away from my routine comforts would do that. We took extra precaution with over-packing. I swear we looked like new parents who were taking their child out for the first time and didn’t know what could go wrong. My “just-in-case” supplies probably outnumbered our regular luggage, but we were ready! We also really thought about germs when traveling. I was that lady on a plane wearing a mask that no one wanted to sit next to. “No problem! We like having the middle seat open! Don’t mind me while I sani-wipe everything in my surrounding area!” The trip went really smoothly and it was actually quite a nice to break from routine. I learned how to adjust to living outside of my house, particularly with eating and taking care of my colostomy. It didn’t take much effort to find meal options that I could eat. I hit my protein, hydration, and fruit/veggie numbers and the food was amazing. I’ve never been so excited about the cooked rolls section of the sushi menu, ha ha.

Returning to St Paul will be like many weekends away in the past, where you don’t want to work in the morning and we have no clue what we are going to cook for dinner, with the limited food left prior to our trip. I welcome the cats’ excitement to our return and the quasi-deflated feeling as I return to my routine. I welcome this feeling, as I’m so fortunate to get away, to spend time with amazing friends who’ve been supporting me for years and this is no different. I’m fortunate for the joy and love (and sarcasm) that was shared with everyone this weekend. What a great recovery period. Bring on #3.

Sally Forth.