Taxol

Yesterday, I had my first Taxol session. I was nervous going in since my last AC was so bad and I wasn't sure how this would affect me. It was also the first time real time they were going to use my port. The last time the surgeon left the needle in and I went straight to chemo. To my surprise, using the port was painless and much easier than being stuck with a needle three or four times to find a good vein.

With the AC treatments, I was given a drip of anti-nausea medication and a steroid called decadron prior to receiving chemo. I also took another anti-nausea med called Emend.

With Taxol, I get to skip the anti-nausea meds as nausea is not a major side effect, but Taxol, does comes with its own set of side effects. One of which is allergic reactions. To deal with this, they include Benadryl in my before-chemo meds.

Using Benadryl for the occassional allergies has knocked me out in the past and this was no different although it took effect much quicker. I ended up sleeping through about an hour of the 2 1/2 hours of treatment.

Mom and I were starving after treatment so we ran by Bread Company. While eating a piece of bread, a portion of my back tooth broke off. It was one I knew was broke and Dr. Wilmes and I had talked about fixing it. Then breast cancer sidetracked me. But yesterday I had no choice and the office got me right in. Thank you, Dr. Wilmes!

I worked the rest of the day from my couch where I could lean back. I was surprised how fairly normal I felt. No nausea, but an increase in hot flashes as pre-menopause is a common side effect.

This morning I feel pretty good so I'm hoping that my side effects stay to a minimum this time! Stay tuned.