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...

I know others have different experiences, especially with drugs that are different from mine, Taxotere, Carboplatin, and Herceptin, but the infusion itself was not painful or uncomfortable for me. It was, however, very stressful and anxiety inducing. My blood pressure still shoots up every time I go to the hospital. It was also tiring to sit for such a long time. Because of he premeds I was pretty perky the day of and day after. So perky that it was difficult to sleep at night. Even though I was bloated from all the liquids and steroids, I wanted pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) for my meal after the infusion. It was delicious and perfect, and Craig was happy, because he likes it as well. It became our tradition to eat pho after all my infusions. I unfortunately associate pho with chemotherapy now, so I cannot eat it. It will hopefully change eventually. The day after the infusion, September 16, we went back to the hospital for my Neulasta injection. This pushes the bone marrow to create w...