Treatment & Care: Chemotherapy

Day 74: First Round: Chemo – 1, Megan – 0

Hey everyone! I know it’s been a while since my last entry, so I wanted to pop in and let you all know that I'm hangin’ in there. Many people have sent me emails over the last week, and I’m sorry to say I haven’t been able to reply to them yet. I guess if there’s any good excuse for not responding in a timely fashion, it would be chemo, right? Good excuse or not though, it bums me out that I’m not even well enough to stay on top of my emails.

I have very, very, very little energy right now. I truly thought the mastectomy would be the worst part, but unfortunately, I was wrong. It’s been pretty awful these last couple days. You hear all these positive things about how chemo is so much better than it used to be. Well, I’m sure that’s true, but I have to keep it real, folks...it’s still really cruddy to go through, no matter how much worse it used to be.

The day of treatment (four days ago) was actually fine, other than the fact that I only got an hour and a half of sleep the night before due to this crazy steroid I have to take the day prior, the day of, and the day after each treatment. To be honest the day after chemo wasn't too bad either...just a little fatigue and nausea, but for the most part the anti-nausea meds did their job, and I even managed to sleep for five solid hours that night. Not too shabby all things considered.

Days 2-4 following treatment, however, have been super rough.

Mostly increased fatigue and nausea at first, but soon I was so weak I could barely get out of bed. Today everything began to hurt, kind of like I’m burning from the inside out. My bones hurt something fierce – putting me among the one-in-four patients who experience severe bone pain as a side effect of Neulasta™, a drug that works inside bone marrow to rebuild white blood cells. Even my tongue and scalp are sore from the chemo. This stuff is getting really old, really fast.

Fortunately, I do have an appetite. I’ve been eating quite a bit, in fact, because it helps ward off nausea. If I feel this drained with plenty of sustenance, I can only imagine how utterly lifeless I’d feel if I weren’t able to eat, so I’m thankful for my healthy appetite.

Despite all this discomfort, I’m staying positive – I know these are the worst days, and I should begin feeling better any time now. I'm hopeful tomorrow will be a better day. Though chemo is officially kicking my butt, I want you all to know that I am determined to maintain my upbeat attitude and sense of humor through it all, no matter how hard this stuff knocks me down.

This time my thanks goes out to the nurses and staff at LMH Health Cancer Center – they are truly a fabulous team of professionals who are quickly becoming my friends. I can’t imagine a better group of people to greet me and guide me through this chemo process. And to my friends, family, colleagues and people I hardly even know who have reached out to me during this crazy odyssey, please remember that you are each a blessing and a gift to all those who love you, including me. Love to all!

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