Round 1, Day 13

My chemotherapy.

It works like this.  I have 8 rounds of treatment, each three weeks long (for a total of 24 weeks, or about 6 months total).  My first round officially started almost two weeks ago now, on Monday, June 25.  So that means today is Day 13.
Here's how they breakdown.  I have two courses of treatment that will alternate each round.
So Course 1 will be rounds 1, 3, 5, and 7, while Course 2 will be rounds 2, 4, 6, and 8.

Course 1 has about five different major drugs, and course 2 has maybe three or four.
Each round breaks down about the same in terms of time it takes to administer the drugs.
For each round I will have to be in the hospital for a few days from about Day 1-3 or 4.  Then I'll have more treatments the second week, like Days 8 and 11 mostly, that may be more of an outpatient thing.

So each three week period I'll spend a few days admitted to the hospital getting a bunch of IV drugs, and then I'll have a break of a few days, and then I'll go back and get more drugs the next week.  And then the third week I'll be pretty much out.

Based on my experience so far, the side effects of the chemotherapy drugs are super strong.  I've had a lot of pretty extreme nausea, some good old fashioned vomiting, and lots of general pain and discomfort.  However, I've also been recovering from surgery and from being intubated/on a ventilator for three days, and having drainage tubes in each of my sides and my heart, and having some other various intense crap done to me.  So it's really hard to tell how subsequent rounds will feel.

I'm hoping at this point that much of the discomfort will be relegated to nausea and that a lot of the other pain and stuff won't be a factor.  Chemotherapy isn't really supposed to hurt.  But it definitely doesn't feel good!  Who knows, I'll find out here pretty quickly.

The fact that I'm writing about getting chemo is a little surreal.  Part of what I've learned so far is that there are way more people going through this than I would have realized.  And that there are way more people I know who have gone through this or may be be doing so currently, than I imagined.  It makes me feel like I was really shut off from the people in my life!  But I'm also really grateful not to be so shut off any more.  I've had a chance to start to connect with some people already, just by them coming by to visit or reaching out to me.  And those relationships are what's making this bearable and making it ok.  So thank you to those people, and I am looking forward to more of that.  There's nothing I want more!

I'll leave you with one more note.  My hair was already starting to fall out pretty fast.  A bunch came off when I washed it yesterday, and I woke up with it all over my pillow this morning.  After showering this afternoon tons more came out, and I realized it was going to be a huge mess.  So this evening I buzzed my head really short.  It looks a lot different than I expected it to.  I've always wondered what I would look like with no/short hair, and my head is actually pretty round!  Who knew. Anyway, I'll post a photo or something and those of you who know us both will see that I look even more like my little brother Greg than before.   Let me know if you have questions for me.

Love,
Chris