Day 1: 7/13/23: Chemo day one was exhausting. Not because of the chemotherapy session itself. Ironically, that was the most relaxing part of the day. It was everything before and after that was cumulatively taxing.
It went something like this: Arrive at the hospital for a 7:45 am blood draw, then meet with my oncologist at 8:45am (blood draws do not take an hour, mind you, so there was time to kill…blog post), then go to a 10am – 11am chemo teach (info session), then Rory and I had 2 hours to kill before chemotherapy actually started, so we went to lunch. Actual treatment didn’t begin until 2:30 and lasted until 3:30 and then we sat in the lobby watching Mandolorian with my cooling cap going for another 90 minutes. So all in I was at the hospital from 7:45am to 5pm…with a very nice lunch break.
Day 2: 7/14/23: I’m feeling better than expected (thank you steroids!), but I’ve been humbled by nausea. Rule #1 – take the meds. In a total noob move, I’d neglected to stay on top of my nausea meds overnight, so when I woke up at 12:30, I had to run downstairs to take my meds. I have no idea how I held it together between that moment and when the drugs kicked in, but I managed to get though the night without incident. I had no idea just how good the drugs were until they wore off.
Rory and I planned a parents getaway to Whidbey Island this weekend to rejuvenate a bit before chemo really takes hold. We’ve both been through so much in the last 8 weeks – time away from the kids and sleep is so needed. HUGE shout out to both of our parents for staying at our house all weekend with the kids to make this weekend possible.
Day 3: 7/15/23: On Whidbey Island: While steroids are awesome for keeping me going during these first few days of chemo, they can make sleep difficult. Luckily, I’m not as wired as I’ve heard can happen, but more “up” than usual. I actually feel pretty great. And I have great sleepy drugs if in need help falling asleep. So far my side effects are dry mouth, a strange taste in my mouth at all times (not sure if that’s the chemo or the dry mouth?), nausea if I don’t take my meds, and some aches in my joints. Luckily Tylenol has taken care of those.
Today is my last day taking the steroids, so I’m told tomorrow through Wednesday will be my worst days as I come down off of them. Basically the steroids have given me a false sense of energy. Weekdays are a good day to feel badly, if I’m going to, because the boys are in school so we’ve timed my chemo sessions well. I will keep you posted as I go through the “down” days.
Meghan Has Breast Cancer 
Leave a reply to Heather Judnick Stoll Cancel reply