Friday: 3rd Chemo Session

Friday's chemo session went very well.  The new anti-nausea medication had been delivered to the clinic in time, my white blood cell count was good, and the chemo was administered without any problems.  I knitted on my scarf while I had the treatment.  At one point, I got hungry and daughter went to the nearby hamburger place and bought me a breakfast sandwich!  We were done around 12:30 p.m. and home by 1:30 p.m.  The only side effect, so far, was feeling sleepy on the drive home.  Since daughter was driving, I dozed on and off and took a short nap when I got home.

My gardener friend came over around 2:30 p.m.  He agreed to doing the litter boxes every Friday, so that is taken care of.  We just need to schedule one of daughter's friends or the mother of one friend to come on a Monday or a Tuesday so that the litter boxes will get done at least twice a week.  Normally, he only has one litter box which gets cleaned every other day; but because it won't get cleaned as often, now, I set up a spare litter box for him as I used to do when I'd visit daughter for extended weekend visits.  I have them set up side by side and he uses both!

My neighbor across the street called me later in the evening and brought over a container of lentil soup and 3 homemade burritos for daughter.  My neighbor is a proficient pianist and teaches piano at home (she taught my daughter at one time, until daughter got too busy with school work); she said she'll come over one evening and play the piano for me - a private concert, so to speak.  I am looking forward to that.

I didn't do any housework today, but I am OK with that.  Today was a day of rest after the chemo.  I will see how I feel tomorrow.

While I relaxed and rested, daughter did some grocery shopping, etc., for me in the afternoon.  She went to the pharmacy too, to pick up my medications.  Apparently my vitamin D count was very low and I have been put on two doses of vitamin D - a prescription strength dose to be taken once a week and an over-the-counter strength dose for everyday!  I am also to start taking calcium pills and stop taking the vitamin C pills that the primary care doctor had told me to take!  Earlier, we had asked the oncologist if it was OK to take the vitamin C tablets and he had said it was fine, there will be no drug interactions, etc.  However, vitamin C is an antioxidant, and while antioxidants are considered to be good for normal cells, a study done in Oct. of 2015 had claimed that antioxidants seem to boost cancer cells and cause them to grow and spread faster!  So, the nurse practitioner wants me off the vitamin C supplements.  I will still eat the oranges from the garden and other fresh fruits, but I will not take the vitamin C supplements.  I do have an appointment with my primary care physician scheduled for early February, so I will notify her of the changes in dietary supplements and see what she has to say.  She mainly prescribed the vitamin C as a precaution during the flu season.  Since I don't go out in public places (other than the clinic and the lab) if it can be avoided, and I wear a mask when I do go out, I feel I am taking sufficient precautions against infections.

Plans for tomorrow will depend on how I feel; if I feel energetic, I will continue with tidying the kitchen; if not, it will be sewing, knitting, and taking it easy.

 

Today, I am grateful for:

 

- The new anti-nausea drug was shipped to the clinic in time for my treatment

- The 3rd chemo therapy session is done; I've just one more session of this particular chemo combination (after that, there will be 3 months of weekly session with a different chemo)

- No side effects yet, other than feeling sleepy on the drive home

- Gardener friend agreed do the litter boxes once a week

- Neighbor blessed us with soup and burritos