So, my third infusion today went just fine. (I could write all about the immediate side effects on my digestive system, but let's just say this will likely be a horizontal evening for me.) The last three days have been a mini-drama regarding a suspected infection in or around my port. I had some pain and tenderness around my port, and then on Saturday it began to turn red. They put me on an antibiotic that would kill staph (including MRSA, which has been going around), and things are looking clearer now. This is a good thing, as I did not want to have the port removed! But between going to the walk-in clinic on Saturday, getting my pre-infusion blood draw and waiting for lab results, waiting for the pharmacy to prepare the chemo, and then waiting for the surgical oncologist to come and examine the port site, I've experienced a lot of...well...waiting recently.
My friend Zanne came to hang with me at chemo today, and before she came I texted her to let her know that my chemo hadn't yet started. I told her was waiting with Grace (Zanne is the one who gave me the little dog named Grace that I take with me to my treatments), but that I could really use some patience! Well, Zanne showed up about 30 minutes later with a little kitty to go with Grace. Meet Patience N. Hope:
And here's a close-up of Patience and Grace (and me!) together at the Carle Cancer Center "Infusion Suite:"
I will tell you that Patience was much needed today. Because the surgical oncologist wanted to examine my port and potentially remove it surgically if it was infected, they told me I could not eat at all just in case I needed to go under general anaesthesia this evening. That means that I had NOTHING to eat all day until I saw the doc at around 2:30 this afternoon. As soon as I got the good news that the port looks okay, I wolfed down a bagel with lox and cream cheese and a berry smoothie, courtesy of Craig! And yes, that was worth waiting for.
I finally have an internet connection fast enough to get back to reading your blog. What strikes me are all the little things you have to deal with as part of being treated for cancer, like nausea, digestive problems, insomnia, "chemo brain", waiting . . . It makes me realize that it must be pretty darn hard to forget what you're going through for even a short while. It seems you just don't get much of a break. I'm curious about how you deal with that, or maybe this is just my impression from an outsider's perspective. Cathrine PS. That How to Avoid Cancer article is extremely insulting!
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