October 2, 2023.
David began a 4 course FULFURINOX Chemotherapy. His labs were good and he was cleared to start. We reported to the treatment infusion room at Piedmont Cancer Institute following an appointment with Dr. B. The nurse assigned to David was so nice and explained everything we could expect. We were there for around 6 hours and this would be the expected amount of time every two weeks. FULFURINOX has a recovery week in between treatments. The effects of chemotherapy are cumulative and are expected to worsen with the number of cycles that you receive.
We learned that the Oxaliplatin or “Oxali” has a weird side effect that causes cold dysesthesia or an exacerbated sensitivity to cold to different parts of the body. This isn’t a sensitivity like “oh I feel a little chilly”. This is a sensitivity to cold food, cold drinks, outdoor air, or common things like the floor or counter tops in your house. Some studies suggest you can lessen the degree of this side effect by “icing” while receiving the IV. This involves wearing specialty frozen hand mitts and socks. Chewing ice and/or drinking something cold. David said it was painful during the icing. You have to take breaks so as not to get frost bite but the IV keeps running.
The Irinotecan or “I RAN TO THE CAN” is very much like it sounds. It has a tendency to cause diarrhea so to lessen the effects of this, an anti diarrheal medication is administered about 20 minutes before receiving this IV.
The Leucovorin is not a chemo medication but is given along with these as a kind of antidote to the harmful effects from some cancer medicines that are given in high doses. It acts much the same way in the body as folic acid. Leucovorin is also used along with fluorouracil to treat cancer of the colon.
David also leaves chemo therapy with an infusion pump with the Fluorouracil (5FU) that runs for another 46 hours. This allows chemo to continue in a controlled way. Some people opt to come back in to the office to have it disconnected but the nurses had such faith in us on the first day, they taught us how to disconnect the pump and flush the port with saline and Heparin. There is a whole process which I think I may cover in its own entry later.
NOTHING GLOWS (-d)
I was positive. I was brave. I am ready to fight. Six hours is a long time. I had to pee, and I didn’t want to. It seems silly, but it’s true. Sometimes in the middle of all this some part of me just decides it wants to not cooperate about something simple. Usually it’s in some kind of pre-school way. I don’t want to go to the bathroom. I don’t want to drink or eat. Or I just want to be uncooperative I guess. It’s the oddest thing, and I never really know when it’ll come on. Thankfully it doesn’t last, and I’m able to get myself to be reasonable before something significant happens but that’s how it is sometimes, honestly.
For yet another uncountable time, I am blessed, fortunate, lucky, etc. to be able to tolerate the chemo treatments I have without significant issues with my bloodwork and/or pain, etc. Honestly I go and sit and get connected to enough bags of various fluid that I inevitably lose count. I try to keep time with some of them so it’s not a surprise when they’re changed and sometimes that works. DeeGee brings me everything on earth that I could possibly imagine wanting during this time, and if she’s lucky I’m interested in maybe two or three parts of it. I try to be positive and usually don’t show enough of the pain before and after, but then again I’m also stubborn and unpleasant at times, too. I don’t feel like it’s hard to do, it just feels like something I do. Then I deal with the results for two weeks and do it again. Repeat then repeat again.
