Becoming Chemo Girl

While most people dread going for the treatment, I was looking forward to it. The 2 weeks prior to the treatment was living hell for me. My body did not take the tests well, besides the nerve attacks, I had chronic stomach spasms, pain from 2 biopsies and drug allergy. I knew that once the chemo goes into my body, some of the pain will go away.

Its been 10 days since my first chemotherapy. I got to say that I am coping very well.

The chemo took 9 hours to complete. I had put on 4 kg within a day because of the steroids and chemo. The bloatedness made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Thank god, I lost it back.

As that was my first chemo, the side effects took about 5 days to visit. So far, the side effects are random, there are good days and bad days.

There is a constant pain on the left side of my abdomen. Its bearable most of the time, except for the odd occassions where the pain gets more intense. It feels like someone's sewing up my stomach, a needle piercing through and the thread pulling along. Nevertheless, this is the battle site.

My blood count is very low at the moment. My face and palms are pale. I get tired easily.

I get tremours and bodyaches too. The bodyaches are bad. Its like I've gone camping for a whole week. No massage will make it go away. I've tried applying Analgesic cream all over my body.

Hair loss will happen in about 2 weeks.

During this time, my immunity is close to zero. I have to avoid crowded places and people who arent well. If I fall sick, I will have to be admitted to the hospital.

Really, chemo isnt that scary. I have read up about the side effects and am prepared for it. I bought travel bands and ginger ale (for nausea), non-alcoholic mouthwash (for mouth sores), baby shampoo (for hair loss, yes, you need to use shampoo even when you do not have hair) and prune juice (for constipation).

Whatever the side effects for the day, I make sure my spirits are high. :)