Note from Erin: I'm going back and posting from Dad's original emails, so you can catch up. The actual first date of this blog was in January 2015.
The Guy Version
The after effects of the second chemo on March 7 was very different than the first. Instead of sleeping the whole first couple of days I was wired and hyper. The real challenge this round has been the sores in the mouth this week. Took me a while to take Joyce's advice as to how to deal with it. !!! Much better last few days. Moods have been up and down, to be expected. Start round three of chemo tomorrow.
Again, thanks to so many of you who have sent cards, emails and made phone calls with words of encouragement and support to Joyce and me. There are so many of you that to always acknowledge you personally is impossible.
The Gal Version
I have learned that trying to predict a pattern to side effects is not going to be easy. After the first chemo I slept most of the weekend. This time I was energetic, wired, and went to church. (The oncologist said my immune function was still pretty good, so I risked being around people.) Part of the difference may be that I discovered that the anti-nausea meds made me very sleepy. The first weekend I took it preventively, something that was somewhat encouraged. This time, I thought I would wait a bit, and really didn't taken any such meds until the one time of nausea listed below. That may have been the difference. And the first time, I may have been exhausted and stressed from the previous several weeks!
Had some severe vertigo for a day or so, one time so badly I vomited. I still find myself less steady than I like part of the time. I got some patches to deal with the vertigo, but have not used them as they can cause dry mouth. My mouth is already incredibly dry. Wake up in the night and lips are stuck together or tongue stuck to roof of mouth. I am to drink a lot of liquids, but that is challenging for me at times.
Sensitivity to cold is still a challenge. I am am still catching myself touching something too cold. The finger tips are the most sensitive. I try to keep gloves laying around all over the place, but I still forget. Even after I can tolerate cold food and drinks, the fingertips can still get zapped. Feels like pin pricks, and unfortunately lasts a while after triggered. Washing hands ais a challenge, as it takes a while for the hot water to get to the sink. Patience, patience!
I am amazed at the support of strangers. The staff at restaurants take my soft drinks and put them in the microwave. I am supposed to stay away from buffets (lowered immune function), but Al's Pizza buffet was just too tempting. I figured if I would get the first piece of a new pizza when it was set out, other people wouldn't have contaminated it. Joyce talked to the staff and they made up a plate, and brought it to me, taking some out of each pizza before they set it out on the buffet.
Joyce or I have been trying to let clients know about my cancer, esp as we may have to shift schedules at the last minute. The other day, I saw a 10-11 year old kid. As he and his mother were leaving, she apologetically said she forgot something from the child's grandmother. I've not met the grandmother, but the client's mother came back in a half an hour or so with a big bag of supplies. The grandmother had been through chemo treatment herself a few years back and she has decided to give a bag of practical supplies as well as advice titled “Tips from One Patient to Another” to others going through treatment. It has Kleenex, gum, search a word book, a book with blank pages for journaling, list of support groups and helpful websites, a fragrance candle, Yardley coco butter soap for dry skin, life savers for dry mouth, hand sanitizer, some devotional literature she found helpful, and another half dozen items.
And then there is the “hair.” The oncologist told me that the treatment I am getting does not cause hair loss. Wrong. Joyce has to clean up after two shedding animals, Laika and me. My hair is much, much thinner. At this rate, I will be bald in a month or so. And I am constantly finding hair on my dinner plate!!
I have decided I will try to send an update about every two weeks, probably shortly before my next chemo therapy treatment.
Again, thanks to so many of you who have sent cards, emails and made phone calls with words of encouragement and support to Joyce and me. There are too many to always acknowledge you personally.
We are trying to be very up front and open, so feel free to share with whom you wish to.
