The Days After

The days after cycle 5 went like this: Friday and Saturday I had the "chemo hangover." This is a general ill feeling which includes being tired, achy, not hungry and dizzy. I have no desire to do much of anything during this time but read and watch a little TV. On Sunday I woke up and felt about the same. The difference was that I forced myself to go outside and do a project. While working and moving about, I generated a sweat and soon afterward I felt better. Markedly better. Today which is Monday, I did some Cross Country coaching for two hours which did not mean I did the physical activity, just that I spoke to the athletes, directed them and helped prepare for a stretching drill tomorrow. After that, I grabbed some lunch and played 18 holes of golf using a cart, not walking. While I am tired now (evening) I feel good and think it's a "good" tired. I don't know if it's the sweat that did it but that seemed to correspond to the upswing of feeling better. Usually I start feeling better by the Tuesday after treatment, not Sunday. For what ever reason, I'm glad of it and hope to make it happen after my last round next month. Until then, onward and upward!

Cycle 5, DONE!

Not much going on with this last infusion. I have lost a bit of my apatite but will make sure to eat anyway. I am feeling pretty good, just a little weary but all in all...good. I am very excited to note that I only have one more infusion scheduled for September, then a few tests to determine how well things went. The doctors have been very positive about how well I did with the treatment. I am too. There were a few burps and hiccups along the way and there may be more but I don't think there will be any I haven't already experienced. I look forward to finishing up and going back to a somewhat more normal life. It really has not been any time to work out. Most times you just don't have it in you and when you do exert yourself you can get a little dizzy. Once I detoxify I will get back to some long walks and light weights. For now, it's all about healing.

Day 2, cycle 5

Got a fair nights sleep last night and felt good this morning! Day 2 is in the books and it's been uneventful. After 2.5 hours of Fludara and Cytoxin, we went shopping and grabbed a bite to eat at Chipotle. I was hungry! Then we went to calling hours for a friends mom who passed away. Sad. Home to picking cherry tomatoes and fixing to use them in a fresh pasta sauce. I have to take advantage of feeling good. The shoe usually drops on Friday. Anyway that's it for now. Gotta go out and mow the lawn. More tomorrow.

Day 1 Cycle 5

Well day one, cycle 5 went off with out a hitch today. I started with a blood test and urinalysis at about 8:25 am, a meet with my doctor at about 8:50 and sat down in the infusion center with an IV saline drip at 9:30. Meds came up about 10 and I started with Retuxin which took about 4 hours. I finished with the Fludara and Cytoxin after that and was out of there by 3:20 pm. It was my long day but now I only have one long day left and that's in cycle 6. That's great news! I will be so glad to finish up next month. I'm a bit weary and road warn but it is a familiar feeling. I'm just going to rest tonight and get ready for day 2. All in all, not a bad day. More to come.

Round 5

I'm gearing up for round 5! All the fun starts Tuesday. ;) I've been feeling good and my counts are where they should be. I'll keep you up to date as the next chemo session progresses. That's all for now!