Well, chemo day 1 is in the books. (1 down, 23 ish to go.) As far as getting the infusion…not so bad, I haven’t loved this port, but oh am I grateful to have it today and know I will be going forward. I know it’s silly, IVs are a very basic, useful thing, but I don’t like IVs in my arm (a fairly recent bad experience) and the port was just so easy. So glad I got it! The number of pre-meds they give you to prevent an allergic reaction to the chemo and nausea and vomiting was pretty incredible. Only time will tell how I’ll feel…the nurses have given me a list of things to do to help. They’ve said Days 3 & 4 are likely to be the worst (Saturday & Sunday). I have my spreadsheet ready to track/check off for all of my homework. So far so good, I feel pretty good, and I am very happy about this. Now we’ll start the data collection on myself to see how the side effects show up, or don’t. (The American Cancer Society has a table for this…you know, to go with my spreadsheet of homework…another table.
Our gel icepack method did not meet requirements shall we say. We had lots of them, and a portable freezer, but they only lasted 5-10 minutes so we are scouring the internet and asking for ideas. It seems actual water ice based while possibly messier, seems to work better. If anyone knows anyone who has had success here, we’d love to hear what they did. Thank you! We were able to keep things cooler and sometimes quite cold so, that’s a win for today!
Some of you may be wondering…am I Kathryn, Kat, or Kath? (A couple of people have asked so I thought I’d share…). I’m all three, and I am happy to be any of them based on your preference. I generally prefer Kathryn at work, but that’s not a hard rule as I love all 3 variations and they all came from quite special places in their own way. I started out the blog as Kat as a privacy thing, but I’m not consistent and quickly realized that this wasn’t going to be either. š
Also open for suggestions…wig shops in LA. I have 2 weeks wish before my hair falls out and so I’m shopping for head coverings. I expect I will use a variety, and some friends have already sent some fabulous ones for me to start with. (Thank you!) For those of you see me on a regular basis, I’ll probably be sporting a rather short haircut soon as I seek to lessen the emotional trauma when it starts to come out in clumps.
My other accomplishment for the day – I’m supposed to drink 2-3 quarts of water a day. Most of you know I’m a terrible water drinker. It’s a bit sad really, but, I only have 2 more regular glasses to go. Woohoo!
Last, but definitely not least, thank you to all of you for your support, help, love, and kindness….it continues to mean the world to both of us!
ā¤ļøMaureen and Bob
My friend Susan had a great wig made when she was in treatment. It looked just like her hair – on a good hair day! I’ve asked her for the contact info.
1) i have had good results with the icepacks that come in the blueapron boxes, sharieās berries, etc, but this sounds like what you already tried?
2) i have a cosplayer daughter who is a wig monster, i will check for recommendations for you. And if she has a spare, you might end up with a blue or pink one for saturday nightsā¦
3) i am not great at drinking āwaterā (<ā who named it that anyway?), but i found the big bottles on amazon with the amount on one side, and the time of day and motivational statements on the other side helped me a LOT! Search for āfidus bottleā or āfidus storeā on amazon š
You got this, Spartacus!
Hugs, Kathryn. Sending positive thoughts your way.
From my friend Susan – “My gal was very good. She had cancer herself long ago and understands the needs of the chemo head.
Enid’s Wig Salon, 27601 Forbes Rd Suite #24, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
She also had the cutest chemo caps I found. I got some Ebay, but hers were the best.
If you niece wants to talk with someone who has been through it, put her in touch with me.”
A lot to deal with, but I’m sure you’re handling it beautifully. Sending lots of positive thoughts.
I don’t have to teach on the 12th, so there should be no problem making it to your house by 12:15 pm for the ride to chemo.
There is a wig store very close to our house called Wigs Today on the corner of PCH and Pennsylvania in Lomita…if you don’t want to travel too far. I’ve never been inside, but they got 4.1 stars on somebody’s rating system!
For ice packs, we have had a lot of luck with water ice frozen in blocks. To limit the mess, we fill an empty juice jug, like a cranberry juice bottle, and freeze it. It stays cold for a long time, days, and as it thaws all the water stays inside, limiting the mess.