Bertha's Demise and Taxing Taxol

Had my standard follow-up yesterday and am HAPPY to report that Bertha is shrinking!!!  Lost a cm or two on her girth so that's a great sign.  Oncologist was pleased, as I am.  It isn't standard practice to "restage" at this point, but given the lymph node swelling has subsiding and we're under 5 cm now, I'd likely be Stage II rather than III where I started, so that's great news.

The follow-up came after a long and busy week at work...among other things, it's advising season! 

It really is one of the more rewarding parts of my job.  I get to sit with students one on one, ask how they are doing, academically, living situations (usually just the freshmen), where they are from, talk future careers, etc.  It definitely takes up a chunk of time (~30 this week, 15-30 min appointments), but it is sort of fun.  Last year I always questioned "Who am I to provide this advice?!" but I've realized that even 5-6 years of life experience provides a lot of talking points (not that I generally lack those anyways....).  And, given the current health situation, the idea of "dealing what life throws at you" is fairly front and center for me and therefore for my students as well.  If only life was as easy as twisting a spinner (that never worked), and moving every so nicely along a board...

MN Friends, this is the old-school version I played...I guess there was a vocation track. 

Sidenote: these listed salaries of a Doctor makes $50K screwed up my worldview for a long time.

 



So now on to the events of the morning!  Today was the first day of the next "round" of treatments, Taxol.  This drug can have some infusion side effects, so in my pre-drug cocktail, I get the same steroid I got previously and also a dose of Benedryl (standard, similar to taking a pill but in IV form). 

Accompanying me to the appointment was UD roommate Andria, down from Columbus for the morning.  She's been around throughout a lot of this and I'm super grateful.  She is also OCD so takes very good care of me :)  Case in point, 2 weeks ago when Lynn was here and Andria visited, she had the sniffles so insisted on "wearing a mask" the whole time she was here. 

I had to crop this to zoom in because it was taken from the requisite 15 feet away.

 



So after the pre-drugs, Deena the nurse started the Taxol and warned me of the potential reactions and that we should notify her immediately if they happened.  Whelp, about 5 minutes into the infusion, a lump/tightness in the throat started and I began to feel pretty warm in the face...didn't quite get a chance to take a picture of it but I was pretty red : )

Since it's a normal reaction, the protocol went along pretty efficiently...stop the drug, give steroids quickly, monitor vitals.  The flushing subsided easily enough. 

What made me a little special was the other reaction I had...of severe chills/shivering.  The teeth chattering kind of chills, that didn't go away even with two heated blankets and my quilt.  So after some discussion with nurses and on-call docs (since this isn't a common response to this drugs, though can happen with other drugs) she gave me some Demerol (meperidine) to help with the 'rigor'/shaking. 

No offense to any medical professionals, but it was pretty hilarious because when I asked how it worked to reduce shivering she was clueless.  Had I not been tired and feeling the drowsy side effects of both the Demerol and the benedryl I would have done some investigation at the time.  Instead, I took a monster nap throughout the rest of treatment. In my research since then, I don't blame Deena as it seems like a lot of medical professionals probably wouldn't have been able to get an answer.  This happens a lot...and as a physiologist it drives me a little crazy!  Typically the Demerol is used in post-operative shivering, and the mechanism of action of this opiod isn't even really that well understood in terms of its impact on thermoregulation (big girl science word for temperature regulation of the body).  I won't go into details because no one wants to hear it, but some cool autonomic and hypothalamic physiology going on.  Yes, these are the things I think about. 

Another perfect card that's worth sharing!

Napping through treatment was pretty awesome...sort of like sleeping on a plane.  Wake up and it's through!  Andria and I went to lunch after then met with the work ladies to "check in" and discuss a little business over coffee. 

Took another nap this afternoon, more "tired" than "fatigued"...could be due to the drugs and I have been getting less sleep lately.  I don't set an alarm on most mornings, but now waking up at 7 or so instead of 8/9 when I go to bed at 10/11.  Otherwise though, I'm happy to report I feel good!  The Taxol shouldn't cause nausea and hasn't yet (fingers crossed), and no headaches or any other persistent side effects.  One that I'll be on the lookout for is numbness/tingling in the fingers/toes.  Typically if it occurs it'll go away in a day or so.  My follow-up schedule with the doc is extended a bit now so I only go every three weeks versus every two.  Which, given I now have treatment every week, will help with time management a bit.

Hoping the good feelings continue!  Work at the store tomorrow (and sorry Eric if you're reading this but I hope we're slow as I have a ton of grading to do), going-away party for a friend tomorrow night (sad to see him go for sure!), and a training session at store Sunday morning then more grading and work.  Probably some World Series and football thrown in, and probably should clean a bit more before Mom comes Wednesday!

One down...eleven to go!!