2 of 16 Treatments Done and Successful!

2 of 16 Treatments Done and Successful! I would call this live blogging but let’s be real – I don’t know what that means and I finished it after I was done.

So, how was session 2 you ask? It was great!  Here’s the play by play…

• 7:45 – Arrival
  • Got here nice and early 7:45am for my 8:00am appointment
• 8:05 – Tap my Port
  • I remembered not to let them do an IV and just go straight for the port. Check. They drew lots of blood fun.

• 8:30 – Dr. Check In
  • I met with my Dr’s PA. I gave her my Symptom tracker (my fabulous excel helping me trend my reactions). Apparently, most cancer patients they see don’t also track their symptoms in Excel… go figure. She also reassured me that even though I’m not having severe symptoms (yet) that the drugs are working, so phew. I then tried to convince her I’m the <1% who don’t lose their hair but she was pretty skeptical. ☹
  • Got my labs, and killed it again – nailing lab results is my thing. My Nulasta is keeping my white blood cells nice and high so I can be around all you sick people.
  • We measured my cancer and she said, “wow it’s small” – woo hoo. This will be the baseline using a handheld gauge. She said it measured about the same size 1 cm, but since we haven’t measured it this way before, we won’t have an official change in size until the ultrasound after AC Treatment. I will say, when I feel it, it is noticeably smaller and now it moves and is softer! Before it felt like a marble sized bone spur on my ribs, but now it feels like a floating pea. We’ll be doing this at each session which I find so fun, like when you’re pregnant and they send you a weekly email comparing your baby to some sort of fruit you have never heard of – except mine is shrinking instead of growing. Today’s food is Pea.  Don’t worry I’ll add it to my status slide!
• 9:00 – Down to Infusion
  • Picked my favorite chair in the corner after debating if I should move to the other corner with more natural light (Cynthia tells me natural light is what I want for pictures) BUT it had less power outlets.
  • Everyone was asking about the hat today, I assured them it will be back. In the meantime, I showed off my furry warm jacket, and inspirational paint stirrers that Michelle and Jenny got me at a client (Benjamin Moore) Charity Event! Thanks guys! The paint stirrers are now an amazing frame for my monitor.
  • I got to chat with my chair neighbor. A nice couple. They were in today in hopes that he could finish the treatment he started yesterday. So far he’s doing well! They are here all day though. Ouch.
  • Overall, it’s pretty quiet in here today – to help combat that, I brought Donuts for everyone! Don’t tell the dietitian 😊 Maybe for next time I’ll try to make healthy cookies.
• 9:30 – Hit me with your best shot – the Drugs!
  • The drugs go in pretty easy! The most noticeable are the saline flushes, which I can always taste and the steroid gives you what they call “ants in your pants” – nothing painful but a weird sensation. You’re welcome for sharing.
  • I enjoyed some lovely truffle popcorn that came yesterday from Shawn’s co-workers! Thanks guys!

• • I also loved watching the movie my bestie Aubrey made with lots of inspirational videos and memories. Unfortunately, the transitions were of me and my cousins in I’m guessing 4^th grade lip-syncing Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth at Disney World. As you would expect, I was very into Debbie… (Thanks Aunt Diane and Bo for the video)

• 11:10 – Finish drugs and got my Nulasta.
• 11:00 – 12:00 – Lunch break in the cancer center
  • My lovely husband got me a fresh salad at Upbeet a trendy new healthy salad place in West Midtown. Yum. Upbeet comes endorsed by my dietitian, which is nice.  I also got their Superfood Golden Milk Latte with turmeric, ashwagandha, cardamom, ginger, maple, black pepper, cashew milk.  It was excellent!

• 11:40 – Acupuncture with David
  • Had another great session with David – (check him out here). He gave me lots of great tips and tricks and on Monday we’re doing an herbal consultation.  He’s very supportive and makes me feel like “we’re in it together.”  I also love that he gives you dealers choice, and we can chat during the session or I can nap.  Today was the former.
• 12:20 – Done! Cross it off session 2 of 4 AC treatments

The session went very well.  Let’s hope for similar experience as the first round. I also have a bunch of blogs tee’d up… I saw a plastic surgeon this week and a dietitian, plus I made so many new trackers. Can’t wait to share with you guys.   And don’t worry my status updates keep coming as well. So now I’m at our Clarkson Consulting Atlanta office where I joined for a fun collaborative session.  I’m drinking lots of water (and double flushing – apparently I have toxic red pee for 48 hours).

I am concerned that I’ve grown over confident about how good I’m feeling and it’s going to sneak up on me.   But I’m more optimistic that it is all the love I’m getting from everyone that is keeping me feeling so great!   So, thank you to everyone!