Infusion #2

Well # 2 went as well as it could go.  It was a nice to know what to expect and how the process went this time around.  I felt like an old pro at this yet still odd because people around me could tell that I was still a newbie since I still had my real hair. The process is very simple.  We arrive at 8am for blood work and get my port accessed.  Then we wait around again until 9am to meet with the Oncologist or the Oncologist PA.  The best news is the tumor seems to be getting smaller, meaning I’m responding to treatment, meaning the prayers and petitions on my behalf are working so keep them up!!!  Then we are back in the waiting room to be called in for the “infusion”.  Infusion is the technical term for chemo treatment, which sounds fancy but really it amounts to the same thing, some nasty drugs entering your body to kill whatever it can.  As long as it kills my Horcrux, I’m all for it!  The cancer center at UT Southwestern is really interesting because they offer the communal infusion area where everyone sits together but they also offer individual rooms.  Both times I have been placed in the individual rooms which I appreciate in that me and my husband have time to pray, and privately joke around without being annoying to others. The infusion involves some nausea medication along with steroids then, two rounds of some pretty nasty stuff, Doxorubicin, AKA, the “Red Devil”, and Cyclophosphamide. They call it the Red Devil because it is red and makes every liquid in your body a reddish hue.  I thought it was a little scary that my urine was a red color but then I heard from another Breast Cancer patient that she was crying red tears during her first treatment. YIKES.  Before it’s all over I am given a Neulasta on-body-injector on my tummy that delivers medicine about 27 hours after application. This medicine helps prevent infections in my body given that the Chemo is killing everything, including my white blood cells.  Some people have reported feeling horrible after the Neulasta shot, but luckily, I only feel a little sore, and that isn’t usually until about a day or two after the shot.  All in the all the infusion portion takes about 2 hours and I am home by early afternoon.  I hope that all the other infusions go as smoothly, and the chemo keeps doing its job.  Until next time!