Chemo. What exactly is it like? Well, it is obviously very different for everyone, but for me it has been pretty smooth sailing so far. Besides my minor emotional breakdown last week, of course. Ha.
The Stronach Regional Cancer Centre in Newmarket has been a positive experience. It is organized, there is a ton of support and they seem to be really on their game when it comes to caring for patients. The actual chemotherapy suite is big, bright, not crowded and overall a pretty ok place to receive the world’s most famous medical therapy.
You are seated in a large reclining chair, there is a personal tv if you choose to watch, and lot’s of space to cozy up and do some reading, working or sleeping during treatment. You can snack while they offer coffee/tea/water throughout and basically try to make it as comfortable as possible while you’re hooked up to the IV.
You can bring one person with you to sit in a chair beside you to keep you company, and that’s pretty much it. Super exciting stuff.
Side effects. You can go ahead and picture a commercial where I’m skipping through life, playing with puppies and laughing with friends – and in the background you get to hear all the lovely side effects listed.
And despite what you’re about to read, it really isn’t that bad. I mean, it could be so much worse, and is, for some people.
I feel pretty nauseous for about a week following treatment. The drugs for that help most of the time.
The fatigue can be challenging, and tends to accumulate after each treatment.
I have to give myself shots every day for seven days following each treatment. These shots help you produce more white blood cells to fight viruses and infections. These shots also have the main side effect of body and bone aches. The aches have been pretty hard on me, and they are the worst during the second week.
Then there are mouth sores, tingling fingers and feet, dehydration and ‘chemo brain’, and that pretty much sums it up for me.
Chemo brain. It’s a real thing. I feel like I have trouble speaking correctly, like my brain and my mouth can’t work together. It’s like I’m in a haze, and it feels like I’m kind of floating. I find it harder to write, work and carry on normal conversations – and my memory is seriously suffering. I’ve always had a knack for remembering details, stories and events – and that is definitely not the case right now.
Oh wait, and my hair fell out. That too.
So I guess there are some side effects that aren’t great, and it may seem like a lot once I write it all out. But I guess I’m just trying hard not to focus on the bad stuff… because that’s a slippery slope into feeling sorry for yourself, which is something I’ve never been big on.
I focus on the good – and there is good I promise you! I’m completely committed to being as normal as possible. I’m still taking care of my kids, although they may be watching more TV than usual… I walk them to school, prepare meals, take care of bath time, talk with them, read with them, and even take them for play dates. I still need to take care of the house, and I am still working from home – although I have taken a break from personal training and my bootcamp business.
I am obviously more tired than usual, and the first week after chemo my patience is a little thin – but I’m doing it. Headaches come and go depending on what drugs I’m taking post treatment, but they’re manageable. Everything is temporary.
And yes, I’m still finding time to drink wine – approximately every other weekend, with friends, and it’s a lot of fun. Being able to go out for dinners with friends and enjoy wine and tell stories and be ridiculous is honestly one of the biggest reasons this hasn’t been all that bad. My friends have been there through the good and the bad, the boring and the interesting, and if it wasn’t for them I’d be in a much more negative and depressed place. I know me, and I need to be social (even if I don’t feel like it) and go out and do the things that make me happy in order to get through this in one piece.
Tomorrow is my last round of the first two chemo drugs. Which means that is 4/8 done and halfway there. For the last four rounds I’ll be getting a few different chemo drugs and I’ve been told the effects may get harder. But I’ll just keep managing the best I can, work at staying active and continue to focus on the positive!
