Chemo Treatment #2 (+ One week)

Round Two is going well at the midway point, slightly better than Round 1. We’re getting a little smarter each week at figuring out how I’m responding and what to do as a result. And just as Dr. Seifter said it would happen, my hair started to fall out, little by little, on the day before Halloween…18 days after chemo started. Depending on how it progresses over the next couple days, or when I just get tired of seeing it fall out, we might just have a family head shaving party this weekend. I’ll post a picture or two when I join Big Murph, Wrigs, MO, Ritty, and others in the closely cropped hair club.

As far as my other reactions to chemo, here are a few so far. The metallic taste starts a day or two after chemo and lasts for as many as 5 days. It makes everything taste different, some things are worse than others. An occasional mouth-coating film accompanies the metallic taste and it makes most food and drink textures appear creamy. There's a few ways to minimize this, a quick olive oil rinse being a good way (thanks Rick). By day 4 I’m just tired of plain water although a little fresh lemon or lime juice does help (thanks Eileen). Fortunately lemonade tastes great all the time so we have plenty on hand (thanks Ellen). When the metallic taste fades, everything goes back to normal. During this same period there is the occasional queasiness but nothing serious so far. My appetite is still decent so I’m happy about that. One of the ways I’m measuring my daily score is by the number of Tums that are required on a given day. Although I’m not craving sweets as much (I know some of you will find that incredulous) ice cream still tastes great. And there is no desire for an adult beverage in the first week or so after chemo, oh well. Lastly, it feels good to stay active and my energy level is still high but I do get tired and need more sleep on really active days. 

I'm always reminded of those who are facing a tougher challenge than me. My sister-in-law Twila is back in Ohio to care for her mom Janet who is doing her best to beat Multiple Myeloma. She was released from the hospital yesterday and is back at home thankfully. And our good friend Danielle is back in Florida caring for her mom who has been in the hospital for several weeks now. She's just trying to heal from multiple internal surgeries but her body is not cooperating yet. Be strong and know that we love you all very much.