My first chemotherapy

It’s been a week since my very first chemo infusion and I am starting my throw back Thursday column with the scariest event of my lifetime.

Thursday Jan 8th 9:00 am

My appointment was at 9:30am with DR. G and I didn’t fall asleep until 4 a.m. I think it may also have been caused by Steroid pill that I was told to take starting the day before the chemotherapy.

First I was given a mix of IV fluid, Benadryl and Dexamethasone (steroid) to minimize allergic reaction to chemo. I instantly got very sleepy but ended up being awake the whole 4hours and rest of the day.

The pharmacy technician couldn’t read Dr.G’s writing correctly, she ended up over dosing me on steroid for the day of the infusion. Dr.G said that I may experience trouble sleeping, bit jumpy or increase of appetite.

Well who knew that small mistake will cause so much stress and pain for next 72 hours. I will elaborate later on here.

Friday Jan 9^th 1:51am

I went to bed around 10pm after having nice dinner my mother made but I woke up feeling so bloated as though my body is going to explode.

I went down stairs ended up waking my mother up too. She wanted to sleep over at our place incase anything happens to me that night.

I tried to do light stretching and walk around but swelling didn’t go down much.

Friday Jan 9^th 6:30am

Mom stayed awake with me the whole night and we decided to go for walk in the neighborhood. I ended up walking for about an hour 3.25miles.

It’s our usual route. Since I didn’t have much aches or pain at this point. I just wanted to be relieved from water retention.

My moon face went down a bit but I still felt like a puffer fish.

Friday Jan 9^th 9:30am

I went back to UCLA oncology to get Neulasta shot. Neulasta is made by Amgen and it prevents white blood cell counts going too low during chemotherapy

I did some internet research, cancer survivors said it was less painful if they had gotten shots on their stomach. Neulasta is given on your fatty cell. I am the kind of girl who ended up developing breast cancer before 45 years old without any family history so guess what? I ended up getting side effects of Neulasta.

"Side effects:
Important things to remember about the side effects of Neulasta (pegfilgrastim):

·        Most people do not experience all of the side effects listed.

·        Side effects are often predictable in terms of their onset and duration.

·        Side effects are almost always reversible and will go away after treatment is complete.

·        There are many options to help minimize or prevent side effects.

·        There is no relationship between the presence or severity of side effects and the effectiveness of the medication.

·        Pegfilgrastim is a support medication. The following list includes side effects attributed to pegfilgrastim.  Other side effects experienced were attributed to the chemotherapy and/or the disease

These side effects are less common side effects (occurring in about 10-29%) of patients receiving pegfilgrastim:

·        Pain (bone pain)

·        Blood test abnormalities (temporary elevation in lactate dehydrogenase)

·        These will return to normal once treatment is discontinued

·        Tenderness at the site of injection 

Sunday Jan 10^th 2:00am

I woke up with fever and pain.  I don’t want to say “bone pain” because your entire body aches even your scalp. I have very high pain threshold but I wasn't prepared for this

I thought oh it’s just side effects of the shot there is nothing wrong with me.

I went downstairs because I didn't want to disturb my husband.

I tried watching TV for a bit but I couldn't concentrate

Sunday Jan 11^th 7:30am

I stayed up until sun came up then asked AK to take me for a walk again.

I was still uncomfortable from water retention and aches.

I had sore throat since Thursday.

Sunday Jan 11^th 4:30pm

I started to notice I am hotter than usual.

AK called oncologist on-call several times and was told to take me to ER if my fever goes over

100.4 F

Sunday Jan 11^th 6:50pm

My fever reached over 101 F now it was time to go to ER.

They waited about minutes then they put me in room 8 because it’s very risky for cancer patient to be with other sick people.
I wasn't worried much because I had Neulasta shot but it was my very first time in ER. I was nervous.
I had taken extra strength Tyrenol before I went to ER because I didn't want temperature to go higher, the nurse at check it said that was a good idea.

Dr.S ordered a lot of blood work, throat swap and nose swap. I was given fluid on IV.

Chest X-ray was done too. 4 hours later I was discharged to go home because every test came back negative. Dr. S said it was more risky for me to at the hospital than to be at home.

Mon Jan 11^th 12:15am

I slept well for the first time but fever came back often throughout the day. Still alternating Tyrenol and Advil every 4 hours. 

Next few days were the worst days of my life. 

I lost my taste buds, started to notice blurred vision.

It was not fun. My spirits were crushed and I fell so defeated.

Why me?  What did I do wrong? What if this chemo doesn't really kill cancer cells at all and I am just wasting my time and energy? 

So I was just slowly digging my grave in my mind…

I cried every day when no medication worked for side effects I was having.

Then suddenly today everything changed.

My body felt lighter and back spasm went away.
I still have achy body and lingering headache but I can deal with that.

I promise to write more often because it’s really hard for me explain everything that had happen past 7days in details.  It scares me to know that I have to go through this terrible first week 5 more times in next 17 weeks. But I know I HAVE TO DO IT.  

Thank you all for encouraging me on Instagram and I am eternally grateful for your continuing prayers. 

always, TK