Chemo #1

Chemo Update #1
So far on chemo I am a little extra ADD. It's like being on speed. Nasty taste in my mouth too. So far no real barfing but a little bit of acid reflux & lots of burping. The anti-nausea pills caused constipation badly, which then makes me nauseated. I am taking other anti-nausea pills now to avoid that. Can't afford hemorrhoids. Taking a colon detox to help. I'm a little extra hyper & twitchy, but I slept a lot last night thanks to Tylenol PM. Not sure if it's the A/C (the chemo) drugs or the steroids that make me feel so funny. The Nuelasta shot I got yesterday is meant to increase my white blood cells but can hurt my bones, like bone aches. My low back does hurt more but that could be a combo of things. I keep eating lollipops for the nasty taste in my mouth. Hope to find some ginger candies that might help w/nausea & nasty taste. Things taste different so some things like the grapes I just bought taste awful-- sadly. Still craving OJ but avoiding eating things I like a lot that I may hate later if I even sort of barf them up. I need to get some calcium with vitamin D for my bones but CVS only had ones with gelatin. I may ask my friend to get some at Whole Foods for me. Still numb in my chest but feeling is returning.

My friend said my no-boob looks just like a boob, just no nipple. I think that's why it's creeping me out a bit more to look at. But it's OK. I'll be getting the new after surgery photos done on Tuesday & I will put them on flickr with the other ones. Was trying to write my play but it might have to wait til after I'm done with my show & maybe after the A/C treatments because I'm sort of too discombobulated to think straight. Shockingly I did my scene in my class the other night & my teacher said it went really well. I felt good about it. Tried not to get distracted, but did feel pretty nauseated (from constipation) right after we finished. Don (my teacher) said we went fast at first but caught our stride. It's a fast scene anyway. Just glad I remembered all the lines in order & all my blocking & didn't bump into any furniture or slip on anything! It was nice having an audience, and my cousin Nanette came to see it! That was the night right after chemo. Don said he's using me as an example for his future classes. If anyone tells him they are sick or have an excuse to not be in class he'll tell them: well, this woman showed up & she had cancer! Hell, I never missed a single one of his classes both semesters! And my other teacher, Patrick, cried when it was my turn to talk about what I've learned in his class & from the school in general. His sister had stage 4 ovarian cancer & lived. He's a great man. Both of them are & I am so lucky to have had them as teachers this year. All my teachers have been very supportive & understanding. I barely missed any classes whereas other people missed tons & they don't have cancer! We started rehearsal for our shows last night. Our director is nice & the cast is great. I hope some of my ADD wears off after a few days so I can be very focused when on stage. And not sick to my stomach or jittery. I gotta find things to watch online or get DVDs to keep me entertained because I don't feel like going out as I want to lay down every so often to rest. If anyone knows of good ginger candies, maybe sugar free & definitely vegan, please let me know. The sugar in the lollipops is getting gross in my mouth too. I wanna brush my teeth all the time! Well, that's my chemo update for treatment #1. I'll keep you posted as I go.

xxo
Marie :)