My First Day of Poisoning

Throughout my life, many people have stressed the importance of not having contact with poison:  parents, grandparents, teachers, store clerks,  policemen, etc.  Caution is to always be used with household cleaning supplies, pesticides, and herbicides.  I remember even being told not to polish my nails with white-out, for fear of how the chemicals might sink into my bloodstream.  Have you ever heard these precautions before?  The big  skull and cross bone appears...Do Not play with poison.  Last week, I willingly took poison...to save my life.

Utilizing my Power Port for treatment

Thursday, October 6 was Treatment 1 in my new regime to battle this breast cancer demon.  As I reflect back on my first chemo treatment,  I have experienced some of the hardest days in my life, with the ones that followed.  Throughout it all, I know that I have had the prayers of many surrounding me with peace and comfort, but it is still something that is indescribable.  There are days that I remember with clarity, and days that are fuzzy, but I'll try to share my experiences in "keeping it real".

Day 1 - I arrived at the cancer center at 10:30 a.m. on Friday morning.  I utilized my numbing cream, so it was a breeze when my port was accessed.  The easiest way I could describe my port access is that it was a sterile "plug in".  All of the sterilized equipment, gloves, masks and needles were there, and then she just plugged the needle in to my power port.  Testing was done for blood return, blood collected for testing and flushed with saline...and then it was good to go.  Next step: poison time!

The chemotherapy recliner that was mine for six hours!

I met with Dr. Jones, and we went over my final chemotherapy regime, and answered any other questions I had.  She detailed that my HER2 status was negative, or not-amplified, so Herceptin will not be added to my chemotherapy treatment.  My actual drug combination is TAC.  This involves Taotere, Adriamycin and Cytoxan.  My regime will also include a Neulasta injection the day following chemotherapy.  Early clinical trials of my chemo combination showed that there were fatalities during the first five days of treatment, due to infection, so I will be prescribed an antibiotic to take each cycle for days 5-11.   (Isn't that what you always want to hear your doctor saying?)  It was rather traumatic hearing my oncologist state that fact, but it is what it is...and I will gladly take the antibiotic!  (Can I tell you how much I hate medicine, though!)

One drug is actually manually pushed in for safety!

My first chemotherapy administration began at approximately 11:30 a.m.  Via my power port, I received the following drugs:  Aloxi, Cytonxin, Decadron, Doxiruben (Adriamycin), Emend and Taxotere, in addition to regular fluids, Tylenol, and Benadryl. I can't even tell you how surreal it was to sit there in the chemotherapy recliner, and know that I willingly agreed to have poison injected into my body.  How did I get so far...worried about polishing my nails with white-out and the poison factor, to actually having it injected into my veins to save my life?

As I sat in the chemotherapy room until almost 5:00 p.m., I saw people come and go.  My family members could come in and check on me, bring me a drink, etc... but they are forbidden by FDA and EPA regulations to remain in the chemotherapy room.  The room itself actually has over thirty treatment chairs in it, and some of the hardest working nurses I have ever met in my life.  The first few moments of administering any drug were closely monitored, in case I had a reaction.  My nurse's name was Angie, and as long as she was on duty, I was her responsibility.  (I'll have to write another post just about the chemo room in the future.)

I returned home with several new prescriptions, including one antiemetic.  An antiemetic is a drug that controls or may even prevent nausea.  I began taking them immediately upon returning home, but about 6 p.m. the nausea hit, and there wasn't any point of return, or so it seemed.  Finally, about 10 p.m. we called the on-call physician at the cancer center.  Jeff ( my mid-level practioner) immediately called me back.  I was instructed to come back into the office for additional fluids the next day, and was allowed to take a Phenergan tablet to see if it would assist with the nausea.  My whole life, phenergan has been our "vomiting go-to drug", but apparently it is very disliked in the oncology world!  The Phenergan helped, and I was finally able to rest after midnight.

This is just a summary of Day 1...it only took me over two weeks to finally finish writing it!  I apologize for lapsing with my blog for a few weeks.  As you can imagine, so much has gone on since my first chemo treatment...in fact, it will take me several blog posts to catch you up on it.  Maybe I'll catch up just in time to have my chemotherapy number 2 session, which is scheduled for this Thursday!

TTFN,
-S

"Catch Up" Before Chemo

Two-inch incision

Before I begin chemotherapy treatment tomorrow, I find myself playing "catch up"...so much to do and so little time!  I guess I'll be like The Sound of Music, and start at the very beginning...

Monday morning, I reported to Coliseum's Day Hospital for my insertion of my "Power Port".  Our time to report was at 5:45 a.m., but I don't think my surgery actually began until after 8 a.m. New and old Jones County friends helped to make my experience as comfortable as possible during outpatient surgery.  I say it was an answer to prayers.  After a while, it was quite humorous about all of the Jones County folks that were taking care of me in the hospital.  I saw it as just blessings from God. 

A new tag for my key ring

 A smiling friend greeted me as I checked into the Day Hospital, and was allowed to be my discharge nurse.  How nice it was to talk with her while I waited!  My anesthesiologist is a parent of a Clifton Ridge Middle student, so we chatted about a major project that his son had been working on.  The Nurse-Anesthetist is a JC resident, and even the next-door neighbor of my principal.  The sister-in-law of one of my dear co-workers was one of my recovery nurses.  Don't forget that my surgeon is a Jones County native!  It really helped me to be surrounded by such kind and caring people during this anxious time.

The actual surgery wasn't too bad.  I have an incision on my left chest area, approximately two inches wide.  The Power Port is placed under the skin, and then connected to a main vein.  There is still some swelling, but all in all, just a bit discomfort.  The incision is closed with surgical glue.  I now have a medical card to show security personnel if I beep, in addition to a key tag (guess I'll put that right between the Ingles and Kroger tags!).  There's also a rubber bracelet that I can wear, to let everyone know that I have a Power Port installed.  One of my co-workers has suggested that we "bling it up"!  (I'll let her keep working on how to do that!)

I found out Tuesday that after three tests, my HER2 test results are not-amplified.  Praise God!  That means my chemotherapy treatment will be over in 5-6 months, as opposed to 12 months of treatment.  You can only imagine how excited I am to know that chemo will be over in January.  God is good!

Thursday is the big day...the day I begin my next battle phase.  My oncologist has prescribed the chemotherapy combination of TAC, which is a combination of the drugs Taxotere, Adriamycin and Cytoxan.  The treatments will be administered every 21 days, for a total of six treatments.  24 hours after chemotherapy, I will be administered a Neulasta injection.  Neulasta is a white blood cell booster that will help reduce the risk of infection during treatment.  I began taking a required oral steroid today, that also doubles as nausea medication.  Two doses today, two doses tomorrow and one dose on Friday morning.  Lots of additional pre-treatment medications will be administered tomorrow, but I am not exactly sure what.  Extra fluids, anti-nausea meds, benadryl and more are given prior to the administration of medications.  Sometimes, up to two hours is allocated just for pre-meds.

My appointment at the Cancer Center is for lab work at 10:40...this is the first time that my port will be accessed.  I have numbing cream to place on the port prior to the visit.  The cream should be applied 30 minutes prior to the visit, and I cover it with plastic wrap after administering the medication.  (Think that might be a picture worth sharing!)

I will meet with a nurse practitioner after labs, and then will begin infusions.  The treatment should take approximately four hours for actual drips, but there will be additional time required for monitoring after treatment is administered.  I'm hoping that we will make it home by 6:30 p.m. tomorrow night.

The side effects for my chemo combination are quite frightening, but I'm trying hard not to read / research too much.  My provider has assured me that they will do everything possible to keep me comfortable, and manage my side effects, but it is imperative that I share them with the doctor.

Just like Scarlett O'Hara says...."Tomorrow is another day".  In my world, tomorrow is the beginning of another phase in my battle with breast cancer.  All of my life, I've been told not to play with poisons, but yet tomorrow, I will be willingly hooked up to poison...the things we do to save our lives!

The Jones County School system begins Fall Break tomorrow.  My children and co-workers won't report to work.  At my house, I'm jokingly referring to it as my "Chemo Break".    My Nook and laptop are charging.  Headphones are packed.  Silly romantic comedies have been rented from Redbox.  Snacks are packed, and my journal is ready.  At this point, only God knows how the day will unfold, but one this is for certain...I am a survivor!

TTFN,
-S

Woman With a Power Port Coming Through

Monday morning, at 5:45 a.m., I report to the hospital for outpatient surgery.  Dr. Martin will be inserting my "Power Port", which is an implantable device that will make life easier...or so I've been told. 

One of the side-effects of chemotherapy is that your veins are often damaged during the process.  This especially happens when drugs are administered intravenously.   My oncologist wants me to have an implanted catheter inserted to assist with chemotherapy, as well as with blood draws and injections.

The surgery takes approximately thirty minutes, and is performed as an out-patient procedure.  While under general anesthesia, a small port will be inserted into my chest.  An incision will be made on my left side, and the port inserted.  Looking at the picture, you can see how the port inserts directly into a vein.  Think of it like a permanent IV for a while.  The port will be one of my lifelines.  Chemotherapy treatments and any "sticks" will use the port after it is inserted.

It is a triangular shaped object, and has three raised "bumps".  Providers and nurses can feel the bumps under the skin, and then know where the "hole" is.  One of the best things is that I have been prescribed numbing cream when the port will be inserted.  The cream is applied approximately thirty minutes prior to my appointment, and will numb the skin over the port.  After the cream is applied, I have been instructed to place a piece of plastic wrap over the site.  There will now be a roll of plastic wrap in my first aid supplies!

Monday afternoon, I have another appointment with Dr. Jones, my oncologist for final instructions before chemotherapy.  My first chemotherapy treatment will be Thursday, October 6. 

After Monday's surgery, I may have the power to set off security alarms, due to the small amount of metal in the port. Security systems may or may not pick up the metal, but I will have the medical information card to show authorities.  It's not a weapon setting of the security system, just another one of the perks I'm getting during this cancer diagnosis!

TTFN,
-S