1 down, 7 to go

I had my first chemo treatment yesterday. I realize it's still early for any conclusions, but I am happy to report that, so far, so good.

Since it was my first treatment, it basically took all day.

9:30am - I had a blood test done. That took 2 minutes. They test the blood cell count and other stuff (like how the liver looks). Basic stuff to make sure you're healthy enough to get chemo.

10:30am - I met with the oncologist. Who, I discovered later that day, is actually the oncologist in Cancer Vixen (which I had brought with as, I felt, appropos reading material), as is the nurse, as is the nutritionist, etc. It added a touch of whimsy to the whole thing seeing your health care providers in a comic book : )

11:30am-ish - I went to the chemo suite.

The port worked beautifully (I'm so glad I got it) and I didn't have any immediate reactions to any of the stuff they gave me--some people feel cold or burning or, if something's going wrong, serious burning and pain.

The nurse, Yvette, was truly lovely and caring.

I met the nutritionist who told me lots of stuff that's basically in line with the way the hubby and I try to eat anyway: lots of organic, lots of fruit and veggies, etc.

I met the coordinator for complementary and alternative medicines (they offer reiki, acupuncture, massage, yoga, etc.). I'm going to meet with her again next treatment to decide if I want to avail myself of any of these services.

The nurse practitioner sat with us for awhile and walked me through the take-home medicines.

By the time all this was done, the chemo was done.

Before we left, Yvette showed us how to do the Neulasta shot, which I've decided I want to do at home rather than schlepping into the city.

3:30pm - And that was it.

We drove home, went to the supermarket to get some stuff for dinner (organic salmon, organic cuke & tomatoes for salad...).

My mom's sis Nancy came to visit, then we had dinner (out on the terrace on our new table!), and then I pretty much went to bed. So, the one side effect to report so far is fatigue. Luckily, I slept great (some people have trouble sleeping because of the anti-nausea steroid they give you).

So, here I sit, cup of dandelion root tea in hand (trying to avoid caffeine) and about to go make some toast w/almond butter (nuts are good for you!) and relax on the terrace.

I fully realize I may look back on this post in a few days wistfully, but figured it was worth capturing the moment.

P.S. Some good news--apparently, the Neulasta shot which I have to do today and am dreading only goes with the AC treatments and not with the Taxol treatments, so that's 4 shots instead of 8. Yay! Same thing with some of the anti-nausea meds...