First Day of Chemo

Hi all..

So today I spent 7 hours at the hospital for my first chemotherapy session. That is a LONG time to be at the hospital. It went really well though. We had a chemo class in the morning at 8:30, they went over side effects and how everything works.

I had to get blood work done and wait for like an hour to make sure my blood was looking good enough to take the medications. They have decided to give me the Taxotere in two separate installments instead of the whole dose at once, so instead of having to go to chemo once every three weeks, at least in the beginning, i have to go two weeks in a row, with one week off. Hopefully this will lessen the harsh side effects of this drug, primarily the fact that it can significantly lower my white blood cells and make me very prone to infections. Sadly, no more raw meat/fish for me, and I have to be really careful to wash all of my vegetables. No ordering salads or anything at restaurants.

So today wasn't so bad. I know that you don't feel sick right away, so I wasn't expecting it to be a hard day. I had my father, my mother, Nic, and my dear friend Laura come with me today. You know people love you when they sit around with you for 7 hours while you are hooked up to an IV.

I have about four days off from the hospital, hopefully, and then I have another barrage of tests. I have to go in for a liver biopsy, a brain scan, more chemo, and a meeting with my oncologist.

Every doctor I have encountered at St. Joseph's is AMAZING. All of my doctors came and sat with me for extended periods of time throughout the day. They really care about their patients and it makes the whole experience that much more bearable.

There were some nice people around me receiving treatment as well. The wife of a man receiving treatment saw my hello kitty shirt, as well as the hello kitty scrub shirt of my infusion nurse, and she ended up going to the gift shop and buying us both Hello Kitty Pez Dispensers! haha..i thought that was really sweet for a perfect stranger to do :)

SO, hopefully I continue to feel good. We shall see. Hopefully the smaller dose of Taxotere will make it easier on me. The only side effect that I have felt so far is that I had some pretty bad face flushing earlier, but i'm feeling better from that. I know i'll probably have more effects coming in the next few days, but hopefully they will be mild.

On a slightly different note, my absolutely amazing friend Jasmine and her sister have decided to cut their hair and have it turned into a wig to donate to me. (how unbelievable is that!) They started a fundraising website where they can try to accumulate the money to pay to have the hair turned into a wig. If anyone is interested in donating any amount at all, it would be amazing. Here is the link if you would like to check it out:

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?url=lindsnewdo&fundraiser_id=6894

SO, here are some pictures from today: Me sitting in my chemo chair

and good ol' Lamby coming along for the chemo:

Love you guys,

Linds