The first week of chemo and radiation is over and I am
halfway through the second week. For the most part the side effects during the
first week were mild, a little nausea and a little fatigue.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I spent almost 6 hours/day at
the hospital attending various appointments and treatments. They were long
days.
For the most part, I still feel relatively well.
I had some mild nausea during the first week. My female
friends have teased me saying that I now know whet the first few months of
pregnancy feel like. The nausea was easily remedied with a light meal or some
anti-nausea medication.
Fatigue. I'm not sure if this was the effects chemotherapy
or radiation or long days at the hospital but I have been going to bed earlier
than usual and sleeping in until 7:00 a.m. I usually get up and go to the gym
at 5:00.
I haven't been able to exercise with the PICC line in my arm
other than walking, so I walk the 6 km to the hospital and home every day.
During the first week I also climbed the four flights of stairs up to the chemo
clinic. By the end of the week the stairs were getting more difficult. I would
arrive at the reception desk out of breath.
On Friday the "ball and
chain" (pump and IV) were removed and I have a little more mobility for the
next three weeks but the PICC line stays in until I need it again during the
fifth week. They will pull the PICC line out on December 23. At the very least,
I am able to have more than a sponge bath I can finally wash my hair.
Over the weekend I started to notice some skin changes,
mostly drier and itchier skin. My hands are dry and scaly in some places; I
think this is because of all the hand washing and using hand sanitizer, not my
treatment. My scalp has become very flaky, lumpy and crusty in some place,
washing my hair really helped and my local pharmacist recommended a good water-based
moisturizer that Bruce massaged into my scalp and hair.
I also noticed some changes to my mouth, xerostomia,
dry mouth, scaly roof, pasty/slimy cheeks, bleeding ums and some potential
sores. As my body experiences neutropenia,
lower white blood cell count, ther is a risk that the sores can become
infected. I am trying to maintain good oral
hygiene, brushing often with an extra-soft toothbrush and frequent rinses with
a mouthwash made from water, baking soda and salt and a healthy diet.
I also started to notice itching in the area that is
receiving radiation ... this I expect to get worse as the cumulative effects of
the radiation get stronger. I have started doing twice-daily soaks in a bathtub
with six to eight inches of warm water and half a cup of baking soda … it
really helps. I have also stopped using toilet paper and switched to baby
wipes.
 |
| Photo by : NASA |
The selection of baby wipes in my local drugstore is
overwhelming. I have never had to buy baby wipes before. I don’t have children.
To make things more difficult I can’t use products that are
scented to make your baby's bottom smell as fresh as a country breeze or contain aloe, lanolin, alcohol or
ethanol.
The ingredients are listed in a super-fine print that no human can read without using the Hubble Telescope.
The ingredients are listed in a super-fine print that no human can read without using the Hubble Telescope.
Well, I don’t normally carry a Hubble Telescope in my back pocket … so there I was crouched in the drugstore aisle using the zoom on my iPhone camera.
When the diarrhoea hit yesterday morning I pulled out the
iPhone again. There it was. The second ingredient. Citric acid!
Fuck that shit burns!
References
Dry Mouth (xerostomia)
Chemo Care
Neutropenia and Risk
for Infection
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Hubble Telescope
Hubblesite
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