Category Archives: Health

The Chemo Chronicles: July 13

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It’s now been a week since my second chemotherapy infusion (received July 6), and I haven’t experienced any notable new side effects beyond a layer of lightheadedness.

And you can tell by my posts here and on FaceBook that I’m not feeling beaten down by the chemo experience.

At least not yet. The future is still, well, ahead and unknown. So I recognize future results may differ.

Over the weekend, I drove for the first time in two months, another indication that I’ve been slowly feeling better. The first outing was to pick up cat food at our vet’s office in Hawaii Kai (Hawaii Kai Veterinary Clinic). Then I drove to the Elks Club on the Diamond Head end of Waikiki where we had breakfast with a good friend. I’m self-limiting right now to easy drives, short trips to the nearby Times Supermarket or routes such as the two over the weekend that are straightforward and avoid lots of cross traffic. I don’t intend to push the envelope at this point, but it’s good to know we can get to the store for groceries rather than relying on Instacart.

The only other thing to note is that I haven’t slept well the past two nights. Instead of tossing around in bed, I’ve gotten up for nearly an hour each night before climbing back under the covers. I’ve compensated with an afternoon nap, as usual, but that’s not necessarily a good solution.

And I note that this is the point in the chemotherapy cycle known as the “nadir.”

Again, I asked my AI agent of choice, Google’s Gemini, about the nadir.

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A post-chemo assessment

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Tick, tock. The clock is ticking on post-chemo side effects.

Oh, wait. I just read that young people today don’t know how to read time on an analog clock. So no more tick, tock!

In any case, we’ve all heard chemo horror stories. So, for those interested, I decided to begin posting this record of side effects as I notice them. I’ll update it throughout the day over the next several days. It will also help me remember what to report to my oncologist at Queen’s. Side effects are personal and depend on the specific chemicals in the chemo cocktail, so your results may differ dramatically.

** Updates: Most recent at the top

Saturday, July 11, 6 p.m.

I have no new side effects to report.

The day started with the installation of grab bars in our two showers. After getting home from the hospital last Sunday, it suddenly seemed clear to me that this would be a most useful addition, a matter of personal safey. We were able to arrange their installation through a friend whose company provides “concierge services” to clients. The job took less than an hour, and cost us less than $300 including labor and the cost of the bars themselves.

When we rebuilt my parents’ old house 12 years ago prior to moving from Kaaawa, grab bars seemed like an unneeded amenity. No longer!

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This will sound very strange, but….

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Ready?

I’m starting to think I’m allergic to cats!

I know it sounds laughable, after living with cats for well over 50 years.

But, no, I haven’t lost my senses due to side effects of chemotherapy.

Here’s the situation.

I get up early, usually a few minutes before or after 5 a.m. At that point, I wander into the kitchen, drink a little water, perhaps snack on some yogurt, then sit at the dining table with MacBook Air in front of me to check news, email, etc.

And my nose is running. Within half and hour or so I have a little mound of used Kleenex on the table next to me that grows through the morning.

I always attributed this to genetics because my mother suffered with postnasal drip and always sat with a box of tissue within reach.

Here’s the thing. When I leave the house, it passes. My head dries up. Tissues stuffed in my pocket go unused.

But there’s a long list of other symptoms associated with pet allergies that I don’t experience. So the jury is out.

And, for the record, this started well before cancer appeared on the scene.

In an attempt to test my allergy hypothesis, I just bought an air purifier capable of processing an area the size of our living room. It was finally unboxed and turned on Wednesday afternoon. I’ll see if it makes any difference. And when I leave the house for medical appointments, I’ll pay attention to whether my nose responds by drying up.

I’m back!

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Thank you all for your expressions of support during my 4-night hospital stay this week! I was released from Queen’s Sunday afternoon and picked up by a friend, who also stopped and picked up Meda on the way to the hospital. I arrived home around 2:30 pm., managed to get into the house, waved at the cats, drank a glass of Gatorade, walked back and forth across the living room several times with the aid of my cane (hoping it would clear my head), and then lay down on our bed for a nap that probably lasted close to 90 minutes.

No, I didn’t wake up refreshed and ready to boogie! Instead, I was still unsure on my feet, grateful whenever reaching an intended destination while trying to accomplish what would normally be a very simple task. But I did managed to mix one of the bags of poi that’s been in standby mode for the week. I can report that it had just about reached an excellent point on the “sour” scale.

I managed to figure out what Meda would enjoy eating and we ordered a delicious-sounding sandwich from a well-known name up at the mall, which was delivered before too long. While Meda munched on her sub, I ate a bowl of my sour poi and drank a cup of chicken bouillon.

I had to spend a little time sorting out my medication schedule. Two prescriptions are to be taken twice a day at 12-hour intervals, and a third three times a day (every 8 hours). I have the pill containers on two pieces of paper set on the kitchen counter, with two containers on the paper labelled “12” and the third on the “8” paper. I think I can quickly wrap my mind around that basic scheduling.

It’s now Monday morning. I started the day with the first “8” pill, and I’ll go from there. I’m off to a good start on the fluid front, finished two glasses of water by 6:30 a.m. I’m sitting at our dining table, laptop open in front of me, working my way through a protein shake. Kiko is staring at me from the floor with her back against one of the sliding doors to the back deck. The sun has been up for an hour, but the light in the yard is still muted. This is a morning for the automatic sprinklers, which are working their magic around the yard.

The first rays of bright sun just hit the living room. Kinikini, our big orange tabby cat, will quickly find a spot of sun on the floor and sit there until it moves on.