The one with E&C
Let’s talk about some technical information first!
I started my Chemo with four infusions of Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide, once every two weeks.
This period was actually the worst of the whole process, especially the first two sessions.
Even though I was informed of all the bad side effects my body would have to sustain, I was actually impatient to start in order to get through it as fast as possible – the sooner the better.
My routine
- Tuesday – blood exam to check whether my body was fit enough to receive medication
- Thursday – medication infusion
- Friday – G-CSF injection
- Recovery time inbetween each infusion (every 14 days)
Time
Time, quite a lot of time! On the bright side, the slower the medication is going through the body, the better it is for the system and for mitigating the side effects.
Having said that, my biggest problem was: “How do I entertain myself?”
My therapy day used to start around 8:30 am: first with the Needle connection (quite easy for me as I had a port – more about it coming soon) and after that, the infusion itself, which was lasting from 3 to 4 hours.
Medications
Before starting the treatment my oncologist prescribed me many many medications: some were mandatory to take on specific days of the cycle, and some others were “just in case”, to use when needed.
At the beginning, since I was not fully aware of how my body would react to all of this, I was vary on using any extra medicine… this turned out to be a bad move, because then all the side effects would hit me, and bad. And then it would’ve been too late for meds.
Things like nausea, headaches, and some other funny things would keep me in bed for days. With time I learnt to take my meds by the minute I was starting to feel unwell, and this made everything better! Prevention is the way!
Food
I learnt the hard way that my stomach wasn’t anymore the one I used to know… 😉
At first I struggled a lot with nausea and gastric reflux, and meds can do just as much. The “trick” is to eat what you feel like eating (of course without exaggerating as the liver is already working hard trying to deal with all the drugs in your body), even better if split into small portions throughout the day instead of having regular big meals.
Smell and taste
This is when my sense of smell and taste started to change.
It is weird, aromas that you used to love suddenly start to make you feel sick, and every strong smell could trigger nausea. Taste started to change as well: more than changing, it was literally fading away, and all the food started tasting the same.
I ended up eating without joy, and yet I started to gain weight anyway.
Hair loss
As a lovely cherry on top of this amazing cake, this was also the time when my hair started to fall.
Well, honestly with some of it, it was a blessing… Ladies! At least during these hard times, you won’t have to shave anything! 😉
Jokes apart, suddenly having to get bald really sucked. Hard.
My hair started to fall between the first and second infusion: that is when I decided to shave them straight away.
Funny part? While being bald, I got to play with different styles, colors, scarfs, caps, wigs and more!
(More about hair loss, shaving and wigs coming soon)
Tiredness and fatigue
Recalibration – I had to define the meaning of “tiredness” anew.
Everything was 10000 times harder than it used to be before. Again, a struggle at first, but it got better when I got to understand my new “battery runtime”.
There is no big trick here – just rest as much as possible, and do things little by little.
Keep yourself busy
The hospital was in walking distance from my house (just ten minutes away), and going back and forth on foot for my therapies was actually something I enjoyed.
Walking has been one of my favorite activities to do. It made me feel like I was still in control of my body.
It is good to force yourself into doing some activities, as much as possible, as your body will react better to all the stress going on: find something you like, and go for it.
In conclusion: walk, or at least try to stay active, at least a little bit but constantly, day after day. Keep in mind, though, that there will be some days in which just getting yourself dressed will be an achievement by itself, so… take it easy. ❤
My chemotherapy journey continues in Part II!