High Dose Chemo is Done!


Overnight some nausea and difficulty sleeping from the steroids, but no puking, yeah! Alternating Perchloperazine and Ativan help both.

I wake up with a sinus headache on Wednesday. I take a Oxycodone once seated in my chemo chair. My throat is red so they start me on Leavaquin (anti-biotic) 2 days early. My white count is back up to 5.9 due to the steroids to. We get started at 8:15 am with the pre-meds Zofran and Decadron. Reheated pizza and chicken for lunch. The nurses tested their new Pulmonary Function Test machine on Karin, and she has the lung capacity of a 20 year old. Climbing the 10 flights of stairs at the clinic when she runs errands is paying off. Three bags later and a weight check (I passed, didn’t have to do the diuretic thankfully). They send me home again with my Mensa pump to protect my bladder, the nurses call it “my baby”. We leave at 4:45, free parking (no one in the booth), lovely traffic ½ mile onto I-285. We’ve traveled 3 miles in 20 minutes, 10 miles in 1 hour, 22 miles in 1 hour, 20 minutes. During the ride I am aware that I am beat up worse than any day before. My mouth and eyes are starting to burn.

Tomorrow is likely just a bag of fluids and a short day. Friday am is the big day!

Thanks for caring,

Mark