[2020-10-02] Pyjama day

Today is Day 2, the day after my first chemotherapy treatment. The prediction of the nurse at the Women's Health Centre, based on her mom's experience with chemo, has held true.

I'm tired, but not especially sick. I have miraculously escaped nausea to this point. I did feel like I had a bit of heartburn in my stomach earlier today, but that has passed. I haven't needed to use the back-up nausea medication that was prescribed for me—only the first-line one.

I felt a little lightheaded earlier today, but have no headache. In fact, I have virtually no pain. I haven't needed to take Advil to supplement Tylenol. Today marks 5 weeks since my surgery, so my recovery from that continues to proceed well.

I have a good appetite, but have heeded the advice to eat small portions. My daughter made me a delightful smoothie, which is such an easy way to stay hydrated, take in much-needed calories and not put pressure on my stomach. I'm grazing, taking a few bites and stopping the moment I feel full.

While I'm spending the day in bed, I'm sitting up, which I take as a good sign of my energy level. I was expecting that I might have to lie down all day. I even joined my family for dinner at the kitchen table.

So far, I feel like I'm getting off easy. Granted the oncologists did say that the two chemotherapy drugs I'm on—CARBOplatin and PACLitaxel—are generally well tolerated by patients. However, I was prepared for much worse.

I don't know whether I'll feel good tomorrow or after subsequent chemotherapy treatments. And I don't know whether I'll experience some of the potential side effects from the chemo drugs (with the exception of hair loss, which seems a certainty). I can share only where I am today. And today went pretty well, all things considered. I do plan to make it an early night.

I know that chemotherapy treatment is different for everyone, but I did want to share my experience, good and bad, to demystify it, even just a little.