My Cancer Journey

Nausea   Nausea is something most people associate with chemo, and I did have some. I don’t know if mine was less severe, or if I was able to handle it better because I had done research and controlled it.   The first couple of days after an infusion I was not concerned about feeling sick, as they gave me a pre-med that included a heavy-duty anti-nausea medication.    As soon as I knew I would go through chemotherapy I bought a ReliefBand from the internet. I had heard stories from some who had been nauseous from chemo, as well as those who have motion sickness. They all said ReliefBand helped keep the nausea away.   It is a strange thing - looks like a watch, and you put it on your wrist with the watch part on the inside of the wrist. It comes with a gel that helps conduct the electricity through your skin. The gel is not cheap, so when it is gone you can use aloe vera gel instead.   You rub a small amount of the gel on the inside of your wrist where you w...

Chemo brain is very real. It is very frustrating. You feel like you are going crazy or are senile. Because it is something that others notice more than the person having it, I asked Craig to tell me what he noticed. The regular font is what he said, and the italics are my comments. It seemed her thoughts had to traverse through mud and bog filled passageways delaying her words and movements.   This is very close to how you feel. My brain truly felt like I was working my way through a fog that did not seem to end. It took me a long time to get a point across, and there were many pauses while I tried to think of words, or even what I wanted to say. It was the same when asking questions or conversing. I could see her mind engaged yet responses and their formulation took more time. A time or two, her mind seemed to freeze up momentarily before taking on a thought or task.   My husband was very patient. It was very difficult to string sentences together, and words did not come to m...

After I finished the chemo and Herceptin infusions on December 28, 2023, the plan was to continue treatments of only Herceptin every three weeks until mid-September 2024. That was so much better than the chemotherapy. The side effects from only Herceptin are so much easier to handle.   I had the first Herceptin only infusion on January 19. Not only are the side effects easier, but the infusions themselves do not take as long. As with all IV treatments, the first session is always slower so that your body will be able to handle it better. The medical staff also wants you to stay for a while afterwards to monitor you.   After the first treatment the infusions only take thirty minutes. That is not only nice time wise, but you are also less sore where the needle is inserted because not as many drugs have been going through you. This was all good. At least for a few weeks. When I saw my oncologist in preparation for the third Herceptin only infusion on February 29, she confirmed th...