And We're Off!

(written by Sunny)

In the week leading up to the first chemo treatment Lindsie was feeling better and better. The nausea from radiation was quickly subsiding, her back was tremendously improved, and some days her energy was good. Going into chemo feeling strong is a good thing, but getting chemo when you're feeling good for the first time in a long time is a bit anxiety inducing. Nobody wanted to see Lindsie feeling lousy again, least of all Lindsie.

Thursday, April 2nd was the big day. Lindsie, Josh, and I headed in at 9:15 in the morning. There are always a lot of steps to Lindsie's appointments and I'm so impressed with how quick and organized the process at MSTI is. The people there really care about the quality of the experience of their patients and it shows in every part of the visits. First is always a blood draw to check Lindsie's platelet and white cell levels. Then we meet with Dr. Bridges and his nurse, Andrea. We go over questions Lindsie and Josh might have and then Dr. Bridges tells Lindsie what's happening that day and if there are any changes to her plan.

Lindsie had been having some trouble with her throat for a couple days and eating had been really difficult. Dr. Bridges suspected the steroid she had been on had caused thrush. He prescribed an anti-fungal med and a drinkable medicine to coat her throat to make eating easier.

He also went over the chemo drugs that would be given that day, the Neulasta shot for white cell growth that would be given the following day, and the Denosumab shot for bone growth that would be given the next week.

After that it was down to the chemo room. Each of the three drugs is infused separately and each takes an hour or so, so it's a long process. Plus they give her a steroid and anti-nausea drug, so that's more time.

While Lindsie was getting chemo the pharmacist came to talk about the drugs she was getting and possible side effects. Here are the highlights:

Pharmacist Meeting- 4/25/15

Dexamethasone:
-Steroid
-Will be given by infusion today, taken orally tonight and 2x tomorrow.
-Will be taken orally a day before the next round of chemo, the day of chemo, and the day after chemo.
-Taxotere carries a risk of pulmonary edema. Dexamethasone eliminates this risk and also boosts the efficacy of the anti-nausea drug that will be given today.

Taxotere:
-May cause muscle aches for 3-5 days.
-May cause extreme fatigue for a few days.

Granisetron:
-Anti-nausea. Will be infused with steroid today.
-It is metabolized a little differently in younger women and seems to last longer.
-Sometimes no other anti-nausea medication is needed after this. If nausea persists take Zofran every 8 hours.

The pharmacist didn't talk much about the Hercptin or Perjeta since they aren't known to cause noticeable side effects, but he did mention that Linds should be feeling markedly better about a week after chemo and that she should have two pretty normal weeks after that leading up to her next round of chemo. He also said that given her age she may take a little longer to lose her hair. Instead of 2-3 weeks after the first treatment it should be more like 3-4, or about 2 days after her second treatment.

The infusion went off without a hitch and Linds felt fine during and after. How the chemo would affect her in the days ahead still remained to be seen.

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Mardie

4/09/2015

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