The one with the “Sleeping Beauty”
Make sure to read Part I first!
Here we go with some technical information first!
The second part of my Chemo was with Paclitaxel medication, for a total of twelve weekly infusions.
This second therapy was easier than the first one: I was more relaxed and already used to the whole procedure. There were some new side effects, but with less impact.
My routine:
- Blood exam done directly on therapy day, as this medication didn’t affect my blood levels as bad as the first one
- Thursday – medication infusion
- Friday – sleeping day
- Recovery time inbetween each infusion (every 7 days)
Time
The duration with this combination was slightly shorter compared to the first one, but we are still talking about 3 hours every therapy day, starting as usual with the needle connection and after that the infusion itself.
Medications
Prevention is still the way, but I didn’t use as many meds as I would have needed for at the very beginning.
I didn’t have many bad days during this second round… well, headaches and nausea were still just around the corner, but not so heavy as with the E&C therapy.
Food
Food slowly got most of its taste back, little by little, and thus I started to gain even more weight.
Smell and taste
Still weird sensations through these two… strong smells could still trigger nausea, aromas are still tasting and smelling differently from what they used to.
Hair
Some tiny hairs started to appear everywhere… well, it didn’t take too long before I needed to get back shaving 😉
Eyelashes loss
This is when my eyelashes started to fall.
It happened at the very beginning of this second round. It may sound crazy, but for me it was harder than the hair loss.
Have you ever noticed how eyelashes can make the difference in your appearance?
Try to put some make-up on without wearing mascara, and you can immediately see that something is missing – well, I wasn’t just missing the mascara, but the whole “raw material” underneath it. 😅
The thing that was bothering me the most was my general image, since at this point you could tell straight away I was sick.
In this phase make-up, fake eyelashes, books and tips played a big role in cheering me up and at the same time keeping me busy – but more on this coming soon.
Tingling
Another main side effect of this part of Chemo was the fingers tingling.
It got stronger as therapies progressed, yet it was the most intense on the first days after therapy, while progressively toning down during the rest of the week.
This was nothing too hard to deal with, just a couple of dishes and bowls sacrificed for my stubborn independence, but to be honest I am not totally sure the tingling was the one to blame for that 😁.
Tiredness/Fatigue
With my new “recalibration” of tiredness I jumped into this Sleeping Beauty routine.
For me, the biggest side effect during this part was that I was constantly tired, but that would’ve been easily fixed with quick naps throughout the day.
I was mostly falling asleep during the infusions, and then once again straight away after lunch.
During this time I had many, as I loved to call them, “power naps”, which were lasting from 2 hours to even 5 sometimes.
Keep yourself busy
I was still going back and forth to the Hospital on foot for my therapies, plus I was enjoying additional walks in the park and city center with friends and family.
I started to get a bit of strength back, I have been baking a lot (another reason why I got to gain even more weight), I have been reading a lot and I started having more hobbies.