Drugs:

• Prevacid
• Aloxi for nausea (should last 3 days)
• Saline drip (1000 ml)
• Dexamethasone 4mg IV
• Etoposide and Cisplatin chemo
• Some random stuff to get my blood flowing through the port since it was a little clogged

Nurse: Anu, with an assist from Katelyn on the port

Had a little trouble getting the port started this morning as the saline was able to go in, but no blood was coming back out. Took about an hour to get that sorted out, but fortunately it ended up working. The alternative if it didn’t work was possibly replacing the port, which would not be a good thing.

Treatment was the same as always. The good news is, I’M HALFWAY DONE! That’s right, today marks the halfway point in my treatment (knock on wood, fingers crossed, throw salt, whatever). It actually feels like I’m more than halfway since 4 of my remaining 10 days will be Bleomycin-only days, which are pretty short treatment days.

I obviously don’t want to get ahead of myself here, because nasty side effects can always pop up at any moment, but here’s my philosophy:

Plan for the worst, but expect the best.

I decided before treatment started that I was going to do my best not to worry about it. Yes, we’ll be prepared with whatever medications I might need for complications that may arise, but it does absolutely no good to sit around worrying about what might happen or horror stories you’ve heard or read about online. Just expect the best, and when something comes up, deal with it. So far, this has served me well.

Other notes from today: I inexplicably started craving Burritos Tapatios, so I had that for lunch. Probably not the best idea, but the heart wants what it wants. My friend, Jeff, stopped by with some pizza for dinner and a visit, and then my brother came by to help with the kids’ bedtime. That’s a particularly tough time of the day for Jenna, so it’s always great when he can come by and play with Teddy or give Jimmy his bottle.

Another thought for the day: when the going gets tough, lean on your family.