I’m in Chair #6 at the Queen’s Cancer Center on the fourth floor of the Kuakini Medical Plaza building. I’ve been here since about 8:40 this morning, and it’s now heading toward 1 p.m. It will be a solid six hours before I’m finally done around 2:30 pm.

Gemcitabine is the second chemotherapy drug I’ve gotten today, following cisplatin, alongside the immunotherapy drug durvalumab, and two anti-nausea meds—one fast-acting, one longer-lasting. Those have been punctuated by several rounds of hydration fluids to help flush the chemicals out of my system before I head home.

The extended-release anti-nausea drug should let me eat a decent dinner tonight, but it’s a double-edged sword: it also causes significant constipation. I’ll take a dose of MiraLAX tonight and another in the morning to try to keep things moving.

I’m not used to planning such things, but I’ve quickly learned to beware the gods of constipation.