chemo. travel. fly. travel. stop.

QUICK RECAP

Monday was a let's check in with Oncologist - only to get annoyed that I was not told about suspicious fluid around lung/heart found on 10/5 CT before now, the Onc said I could get a biopsy when his NP told me I couldn't the week before, and now it was probably too late get the biopsy since it may be gone because we waited too long. And my official check-in pre-visit appointment phone call with MD Anderson.

My Checklist at the Start of Tuesday:

Still a Lot to Do!

TUESDAY

Today is going to be a loooonnnggg day! I started with an early morning chemotherapy time, getting to the facility while it was still dark outside, around 6:35am...

It was weirdly silent... I was the only one in the building (except for a security guard) for a bit. I was actually concerned that my 6:45/7am scheduled time for chemotherapy was incorrect and just randomly sitting at the cancer center. 

I was even there before the front desk check-in staff arrived. Normally, the place is packed. So, while it was odd to be the only one there, I liked the quiet of the early morning. 

On the positive, I was the first person back into the treatment area, getting the the option to select my chair. And when possible, I go for the window seat. The window seats have the best view and lighting. 

There is one chair next to the window that is "broken" - the leg recliner does not work. A lot of people do not want to use it. I don't mind that seat since I spend so much time with my feet in buckets of ice while there. I will generally take it so others have the ability to relax and put their feet up!

Today is my LONG treatment day: Anti-nausea Meds, Keytruda, Taxol (including ice therapy - feet/hands in buckets of ice for 1.5 hours), and Carboplatin. It takes me somewhere between 6-8 hours to get through the day. I am still have nausea, so I have to eat a few peanut butter crackers while going through treatment to try and calm my stomach. I cannot tolerate anything else to eat (I tried the other snacks offered, but they make it worse). It is a tiring day!

One of the positives of treatment is the amazing volunteers who spend their time going around getting all of us warm blankets, snacks, drinks, or anything else they can. Plus, they are get conversationalists. Most of them are cancer survivors and have been in the chair getting treatment at some point. I just love how they remember my name and my story. They also love to see my drawings each time I am there.

Journal for In Treatment & Week #4

Right after chemo... I didn't have too much time to think about how bad I felt because as soon as treatment was over, I had to get to the airport. My husband and I had a flight leaving sometime before 3pm. I felt really lucky that our airport isn't generally crowded and the lines are usually pretty quick. If we had to fly from anywhere busy, I would have been stressed out throughout my treatment worrying we wouldn't make it on time. Not Huntsville, it is a great quick airport to use.

We took a direct flight from Huntsville to Houston. Once we got there, we made our way through the airport to get our rental car. It was awkward because we used the option to check in online for our car, but still had to go through a line. And in Houston, there are always lines. Even the directions to finding the car was hard. 

Once we got outside and into the rental car area, I realized I had to use the bathroom (sick from chemo). Ironically, we had just passed the bathrooms on our way out to the rental cars. I looked at my husband and was like I gotta go. As I walked back towards the airport, I kept thinking, yikes, the rental car area had merged two different companies areas into one in the parking garage area and it was hard to tell who's car belonged to which company. Despite my concern for my husband to find the car, I was like peace-out. I left my husband to his own devises to find the car. 

He found it, but when he nicely decided he wanted to drive closer to pick me up near the airport bathroom doors, he actually drove to a different section and couldn't get back into the one I was in. You have to laugh... it is kind of funny. So, when I walked out looking for him, I went the opposite direction toward the cars. He was actually a few areas over stuck behind a bunch of cement blocks. It was actually funny... and caused for a bit of confusion to find each other!

Once I was in the car, we realized we would be facing the it's time-to-drive-home-from-work traffic in Houston. More Yikes! We made our way from the airport and drove through evening traffic into downtown Houston. It went exactly like you can imagine. I had been to Houston years ago, and my memories were verified. It is flat with a ton of heavy traffic interstates. There are some beautiful spots in Houston, but their many interstates are not my thing. It was past dinnertime when we reached the hotel. I was exhausted and sick from treatment and travel... I had zero desire to go out to eat. We decided we would just order room service and try to get some sleep because tomorrow is scheduled to be busier than even today.

I will say I am exhausted. but to take chemo and then fly/travel, I am a beast!

Inspiration - Sara Bareilles's song, Brave