Chemo Update

My dear friends, yesterday concluded the fourth of six chemo treatments to combat the lymphoma that decided to set up housekeeping in my body. There remain now less than six weeks before the protocol is complete and Deo volente, we swing into maintenance mode, standing down from combat readiness.

My goal is to provide anyone in the future facing this ordeal with as much as knowledge as possible regarding the treatment and side effects. Knowledge is power in this sense: it may be employed to counteract and abate the anxiety that is natural to a diagnosis of lymphoma and its consequent chemotherapy.

If I can curtail the trepidation of just one fellow being, this will be more than worth it.

First the treatment.

Leading off is measuring your weight—more on this in a moment under side effects. Thence your vitals are taken, blood pressure, pulse rate, oxygenation rate. At each step the nurses quiz you about your condition, any pain, any discomfort.

Nest blood is drawn for the required lab work.? More on this in the next para. ?

Finally, before the infusion commences the doctor arrives and again quizzes you regarding pain, nausea, any new side effects.? You go over any recent occurrences, pose your questions, note his/her answers, then off to the infusion station you go.? As for the labs--as I do not have an RN or MD after my name, I told the doctor my assumption that if a lab result were out of sync, I would be so informed.? He confirmed that assumption.

A reminder that these treatments, developed as I understand in the US by the leading cancer specialty institutes (Sloan Kettering, Dana Farber, etc.), all have acronyms.? Mine is RCHOP, the letters standing for the first letter of the chemicals to be inserted in my body.

As I have evidenced no adverse reactions to the past infusions, their ingression is sped up such that my total time at the station has dropped from an initial 6+ plus hours to about 3.5!

Now the side effects.

As of yesterday, my weight has dropped about 11 or so pounds from commencement; per the doctor, that’s not too bad at all. He did recommend that I switch to a protein drink containing a greater number of calories than the one currently being swigged, so I began that at last night’s meal.

A related and causative issue is appetite loss.? This is a consequence of both the cancer and the cure. You simply aren’t hungry at all, save for a few precious moments. Eating any major amount causes nausea and other unpleasant sensations, so the sole remedy is smaller, more frequent servings. I have found it easier to imbibe than ingest, hence the decision to add calories via the protein drink.

CIPN, in my lingo an unsteadiness on the feet, persists, although I have not had a major bout in 2 weeks. This feature of the protocol for me begins upon arising and persists for a few hours thereafter. I accommodate by being extra careful of my footing until I feel confident enough to stride boldly into the world.

Rashes. These appear during week two and hang around just long enough to be faintly present at the next infusion. No cure, only application of cortisone or some such to reduce the itch/burning.

Frequent nightly micturition.? No cure here, just grin and bear it!

Alopecia. Total, as you see.

All in all, the effects are annoying, far less than those suffered by many others, and a small price to pay for the chance at life.

Cum meo maximo amore!