BREwing finished first round of chemo!

Hi All,

I don't know if Brian will have a chance to post about his first round
as he and Loretta are trying to get packed up and go on vacation
to Ocean City, NJ for two weeks. On top of everything else, their
central AC broke down a week ago and, of course, this has been the
hottest week of the season. What is that expression about "what
doesn't kill me will make me stronger?"

Anyway, from a Mom's view, he seemed to get through the first week
fairly well. We transported him to and from on the second day, and
on the third and fourth days, he drove himself. He was too tired to drive
on the fifth day, so Loretta took him back and forth. He told me he woke
up with a little nausea the first night, but took one of the prescribed meds
and the nausea went away. I don't know the name of the drug, but I think
he said it dissolved in his mouth, but left a bad taste.

By the third day, he had pretty bad acid reflux. They gave him a script for
it, which took the edge off, but by the fifth day, it was still bothering him
so they put Tagamet in his IV before the chemo concoction. Yesterday
afternoon, he said he felt better than he had the day before and was
so glad the first round was over! We all are!!!

The nurses were willing to give him extra fluid each day and he
accepted, which I think helped, and of course he drank, drank, drank,
all day long. He did have some lower back pain on the first day, as
well as some painful urination, which scared me a bit. He said it subsided
by the time he got home, but returned the second day, although not
as bad. They didn't want to take any chances, so they took a urine
sample and told him on Wed, that there was a trace of blood in his
urine. His oncologist told him they would keep an eye on it, but he wasn't
overly concerned about it, because it was not getting worse, and in fact,
was getting better each day. One of the nurses told Brian that his kidneys
probably got a bit of a shock from the initial dose of Cisplatin and that
produced the pain and the trace of blood.

Brian absolutely raved about the nurses and the quality of care at the
Chester County Cancer Center. He had no uneasiness about telling
them any problem that he had and there was no issue that was
unimportant as far as they were concerned. In fact, one nurse
is going to be in Sea Isle City this coming week, (next door to Ocean City)
and she gave Brian her cell phone number and told him she would take
a drip with her in case he needs fluids!!!

And speaking of the IV, Brian only had to be pricked twice in the week.
They leave the needle in for three days so they don't have to find a new
vein every day. It was covered with a wrap and sort of a fish net
"glove" to keep it from being disturbed in between treatments. I think
that was a bit of a relief for him as he read about how
some of you guys had problems with vein collapse.

I was initially against them going on their vacation during the two weeks
in between treatments, but now I am so glad they have this Ocean City
trip to enjoy, even though Brian will have to stay out of the sun as much
as possible. It is a much needed vacation for Loretta, who has been
a rock of support through this, and the boys, especially the three year
old, Michael. They will be with two of Loretta's sisters and families so
there will be moral support for both Brian and Loretta, and they will be
a short distance from a hospital, in case of an emergency.

We all know the second round will be a bit rougher, but in Brian's case
the second round is also the LAST round and I think he'll take it
in stride.

Maybe Brian will get a chance during the next week or so to give you
the real story. This is just from my perspective, and of course, I can't
tell you about what he was feeling both physically and emotionally,
other than what he relayed to me.

Diane

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