Chemo, AC Round 3

Day 1, Treatment Day (Tuesday): Walking into my 3rd round of AC, I was feeling anxious. It is hard walking into a building feeling great, knowing that I am about to get pumped full of drugs that are going to make me feel lousy. But, such is the bumpy road to remission.

I was happy to be with my favorite chemo nurse, Stacey, and to have some friends joining me for chemo. Stacey made sure I had ice chips and my friends brought the entertainment. Matt was there too. Overall, chemo was fine.

I spent the rest of the day resting in bed but I felt pretty good. Not overly exhausted but not fully awake either. I was more anxious for the fatigue that I thought was coming. Surprisingly, it didn’t hit me as hard as last time.

Day 2 (Wednesday): I woke up expecting to feel pretty shitty but was pleasantly surprised with how I felt. I definitely didn’t feel 100%, but I wasn’t in the foggy cloud either. It was a gorgeous day and I felt fine enough to walk with my friend Lauren to NYU to get my shot. We even went out for lunch after.

I spent the rest of the day resting in bed, but was able to binge-watch a show (Special on Netflix — Highly Recommend), read a book (Educated — Highly Recommend) and play with the boys.

Day 3 (Thursday): Matt left this morning to go on a golf trip for the weekend with his friends. My mom slept over the night before so that she could help me with the boys in the morning. I was actually able to get out of bed and help to get them ready – a huge improvement over the last treatment.

Matt and his friends have been organizing a summer golf trip for the past 7 years. When we found out that I would be having chemotherapy around the time of his trip, Matt asked me if I wanted him to back out of the trip and stay home. I didn’t even hesitate for a second before encouraging him to go on the trip. It was probably important for him to go on this trip now more than ever, as he needs and deserves a weekend to relax with his friends, play golf and detach a little bit. He was more than happy to comply. We also agreed that if he went on the trip, I would need to have help with the boys for the whole time he was away. Thankfully the grandparents and my amazing nanny were more than willing to help out.

I had a super relaxing morning of acupuncture and a massage (with a slice of pizza in between) and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Day 4 (Friday): I woke up feeling great and was able to attend our friends’ son’s Bris. Since Matt was away, it was important to me to be able to show up and I was so happy that I felt well enough to do so. I was exhausted after, but it felt good to put on real clothes and do something normal.

Day 5 (Saturday) and beyond: Matt was away for the weekend and the boys went to my parent’s house so I was alone for 24 hours. I went for a long walk with one friend and out for brunch with another. Again, it felt great to do something normal but these normal activities sent me into total exhaustion. I went home and crashed – I didn’t leave my bed until the following morning. I binge-watched another great show (Dead to Me on Netflix — Highly Recommend), ate pasta with butter, and organized drawers in our apartment.

It’s crazy how my body reacted so differently this time. It is impossible to predict how I am going to feel each day which almost makes things harder. I am grateful that I didn’t have that awful foggy tired feeling after treatment, but I felt like even though my side effects weren’t as major, they lingered longer. Anytime I do anything, I need to take a nap after. I just don’t have stamina.

Chemo Status:

3 AC Down, 1 to go! Then, I get 2 weeks off before beginning Taxol, which I will have weekly through the summer. Excited to spend Memorial Day weekend with my family and have my final AC treatment on the 28th!