My first chemo treatment was 12/5/14. It was not as bad as I was anticipating. I am proud of myself. I only got emotional one time. With Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage 2A, they give a chemo cocktail with 4 drugs called ABVD. A stands for Adriamycin (Nickname "the red devil"), B- Bleomycin, V- Vinblastine, and D- Dacarbazine. Apparently Bleomycin can cause an allergic reaction therefore they have to test the drug on you first. The nurse explained to me that they used to be able to give the test dose into your port, but of course they just changed the policy. They had to give me a shot in the back of my arm and then I had to wait for 30 minutes to see if I had a reaction before I could start my chemo. That shot was not fun. It burned like fire. This was, thank goodness, the only time I shed a tear. Not because it hurt, but more because this was the true beginning of the end. I knew, most likely, this next week was going to be hard to do normal everyday activities. I knew two weeks from this day I would lose my hair. Honestly, it is scary to know you cannot ever go back to the way your life used to be and you are going to need help for the next 4 months.
The next couple of days after chemo were not as bad as I thought. I was tired but not a debilitating exhausted. I had some nausea, but I had medications to take care of that. The worst part was how my teeth and bones hurt.
I am really thankful for my family, especially my mother. She came and stayed with me to help with my two crazy dogs, cleaning, cooking, and me. Now I feel like it is just a waiting game for my hair to fall out and knock each chemo out. Only 7 more treatments.
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