CT scan was clear
Luckily I do not have a diseased brain. Er, at least that is what the doctor said! : ) There are so many scary side effects to the new drugs I am taking, sometimes its overwhelming. I find its better not to read it all. It makes me paranoid.
Friday I had my first dose of Avastin. They gave it to me through the chemo port that I had installed on the left side ( I sound like a home improvement project! Remind me to give you my opinion someday on breast implants. I had a failed one and it was not nice.) It goes into a central line directly into a major artery. It took a few hours to drip it so I just had to sit there and wait. One thing about cancer centers, the volunteers are terrific. They bring you a heated blanket, food, a pillow. Practically anything you want. It would almost be nice, if you weren't there to get posionous drugs injected. Plus, I just get an automatic reaction now when I even go near the hospital. I feel like I am going to hurl. I know its psycological, and I can't help it. It annoys me. My doctor said there is a medical name for that kind of reaction, but I can't remember what it is. Just driving by makes me queasy. Ick. Good news though, Avastin didn't make me feel too bad. Not half as bad as the chemo drugs I had this summer that made me feel like a combination of a 4 day hang-over and a BAD case of the flu. That was awful.
On Saturday I started taking Xeloda (chemo pills) and I am already having the strange hand/foot syndrome side effect. Last night, after my second dose of the day, my hands started to itch and burn. Its bizarre. Of all things that could go wrong with your body, that has to happen. I mean it hasn't made me feel barfy, or tired much, just big pink hands and feet. When we were first told about the drug they gave me a pamphlet with pictures of the different stages of the hand/foot syndrome. Imagine how it scared the crap out of me to see big red peeling hands. It looked like a third degree burn to me! I have pictures from the pamphlet, but being an editor who works on books, I don't like to provide materials that are copyrighted. The Pamphlet is. It's not too bad yet though, my hands are only mildly pink and itchy. The doctor told me to stop taking the drug immediately when I feel the first symptoms and call. I can't call today because its a holiday, but I will call tomorrow. It means they have to reduce my dose. She did put me on a large dose to begin with so there is room to change it.
Other than that, I am not feeling too bad. I had a very quiet New Years Eve at home. Actually stayed awake til midnight. Last night I went to my sister's house and we watched scary movies and ate a lot. That was fun. I hope everyone has a great New Year and have a happy, safe and healthy year in 2006!
Friday I had my first dose of Avastin. They gave it to me through the chemo port that I had installed on the left side ( I sound like a home improvement project! Remind me to give you my opinion someday on breast implants. I had a failed one and it was not nice.) It goes into a central line directly into a major artery. It took a few hours to drip it so I just had to sit there and wait. One thing about cancer centers, the volunteers are terrific. They bring you a heated blanket, food, a pillow. Practically anything you want. It would almost be nice, if you weren't there to get posionous drugs injected. Plus, I just get an automatic reaction now when I even go near the hospital. I feel like I am going to hurl. I know its psycological, and I can't help it. It annoys me. My doctor said there is a medical name for that kind of reaction, but I can't remember what it is. Just driving by makes me queasy. Ick. Good news though, Avastin didn't make me feel too bad. Not half as bad as the chemo drugs I had this summer that made me feel like a combination of a 4 day hang-over and a BAD case of the flu. That was awful.
On Saturday I started taking Xeloda (chemo pills) and I am already having the strange hand/foot syndrome side effect. Last night, after my second dose of the day, my hands started to itch and burn. Its bizarre. Of all things that could go wrong with your body, that has to happen. I mean it hasn't made me feel barfy, or tired much, just big pink hands and feet. When we were first told about the drug they gave me a pamphlet with pictures of the different stages of the hand/foot syndrome. Imagine how it scared the crap out of me to see big red peeling hands. It looked like a third degree burn to me! I have pictures from the pamphlet, but being an editor who works on books, I don't like to provide materials that are copyrighted. The Pamphlet is. It's not too bad yet though, my hands are only mildly pink and itchy. The doctor told me to stop taking the drug immediately when I feel the first symptoms and call. I can't call today because its a holiday, but I will call tomorrow. It means they have to reduce my dose. She did put me on a large dose to begin with so there is room to change it.
Other than that, I am not feeling too bad. I had a very quiet New Years Eve at home. Actually stayed awake til midnight. Last night I went to my sister's house and we watched scary movies and ate a lot. That was fun. I hope everyone has a great New Year and have a happy, safe and healthy year in 2006!
posted by Felicia at 4:37 PM
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