The Days After First A/C Chemo

Now it's the second day after A/C chemo and I'm feeling OK. Yesterday (the day after) I got my Neulasta shot in the afternoon and took another anti-nausea pill at night. I've been taking steroids twice a day as directed too. Overall I've felt fine, working from home has been fine, and I've been able to take walks and play with my son. I know this is going to get harder, but I'm feeling grateful that I'm energetic right now.

Probably going to shave my head this weekend! I'm not too sad about losing my hair, I know it will grow back. I looked into cold capping but it looks like such a pain (both literally and figuratively) and I'd rather just relax during the infusions. I'm planning to go wig shopping (I have a prescription) and maybe get a couple fun ones from Amazon, but I'm not against people seeing me bald, and I also have TONS of scarves and hats.

First Chemo

Aaah the first chemo! I'm doing four rounds A/C dose-dense (spaced two weeks apart instead of three) with a Neulasta shot the day after to boost my white blood cell count since they are spaced so close.

My parents came with me to my first infusion. I brought something new to knit - it's been so long since I've gotten to knit (with a toddler around), this actually made me look forward to the appointment!

Poking the port was a little sore but not too bad.

I was surprised that for the first two hours, I was just getting fluids, anti-nausea meds, etc. When it came time to get the Chemo, I thought I would feel it but it didn't feel any different.

I felt fine at home until around 5, when I took an anti-nausea pill. It kicked in right away and I was able to cook and eat a healthy dinner (quinoa, tofu, eggplant, peppers, and garlic with a hefty dose of turmeric - trying to get that nutritional boost to help me heal!)

Port Placement

The first big step was getting my port placed. I was supposed to do it a week before chemo but we rescheduled to the day before and I was glad - I could have one more carefree week (also, not being able to pick up my toddler for a week has a huge impact on my life - he's still in a crib so dad would have to stay home form work nights). I did it the day before I was scheduled for chemo, and I'm glad I held off until then.

The procedure went really well - I was apprehensive about being awake but it was no big deal, and the drugs wore off smoothly. Everyone is so friendly at the hospital! It was of course sore after, but I still went for a couple of walks. I took a couple Motrin at night and found it most comfortable to sleep on my back.

First Post

I am starting my cancer treatment and thought a blog would be the most useful way to track my treatments and thoughts. I was diagnosed in July and just started chemo this week, which seems like a long time, but there were so many tests and doctors' visits in between.

I'm taking this the best way possible - I was feeling great and not showing any symptoms, so I decided to have a fun and carefree summer before treatment started.

One funny part about this is that I'm considered a "young lady" in the cancer world. I'm in my late 30s (not even mammogram time yet - just found a lump myself and it turned out there were a couple more I didn't feel). Just a couple of years ago I was pregnant and everyone was treating me like an ancient pregnant woman. I guess the average breast cancer diagnosis is in the 60s?

Overall, I feel pretty positive about this - like I will get through it and it will be another impetus to take care of myself and live the life I want (which I mostly do anyway). The hardest part for me is being a mother to a toddler. The first thing I had to do when I got my diagnosis is wean him - and that was so upsetting to me, though it went better than I expected. I'm worried about him seeing me sick or feeling sad if I'm too tired to play with him.

On the other hand, having that responsibility (plus continuing to work from home) gets me out of bed in the morning...