C 2

Here we are for Chemo treatment #2.

We have to get up at the crack of dawn to be at the Cancer Center by 7:00AM. We swing by the Coffee Bus on the way.

First stop is labs and then a visit with the chemo doctor. DKO reviews her various symptoms from the first cycle and the doctor has all sorts of suggestions and prescriptions to address them for the second cycle.

9:20 AM. We're done with all that and waiting to get buzzed for chemo.

10:00 AM. A sheepish administrator woman comes by and lets us know that there had been some odd delay in getting DKO's chemo "package" delivered upstairs. She apologizes profusely and offers to get us something gratis from the snackbar. DKO gets a smoothie and I get a rain check for a cup of coffee a little later. My reason for taking the coffee later is that I've been tasked with a key mission: to pick up a handful of tawdry magazines from the market down the street.

11:00 AM. I come back and DKO has gotten taken back and they've started a drip with the pre-chemo drugs. A few minutes later a social worker shows up to check in with us. She's very nice and we discover that 7 years ago she'd been a roommate of a former grad student in the program (Megan C.). We chat for a while until they start DKO on benadryl; at that point, the drugs put DKO to sleep, the social worker heads off, and I get to put in some blogging time.

1:30 PM. They've done the taxotere and now they're doing the cytoxan. We'd been concerned that DKO might have another allergic reaction to the taxotere, but all went well. I stepped out around 12:30 to pick up lunch. DKO had expressed interest in "baked goods", so I walked over to Ghini's for a selection: croissants, rolls, pastries, etc. She ate a ham-and-swiss croissant but passed on the brioche (which was actually really yummy). They're saying that we should be out of here in an hour or so.

2:15. Cytoxin headache. Last time DKO got a headache at about this point and it's happened again. The nurse says that they can do the cytoxan slower next time but for now she can take more benadryl and/or tylenol. Slowing down the drip seemed to help.

2:45. On our way home.

Next morning. DKO seemed to sleep pretty well. Major symptoms don't seem to have kicked in yet, but she's bracing for them. My morning mission is to pick up all the non-prescription meds to alleviate all the side effects she had last time.