The Chemo Chronicles - Part V

     CHEMO #5   (to the tune of Mambo #5)

      Ladies and gentleman, Chemo #5..

       One, two, three-four-five,
       taking my chemo, to stay alive
       sittin' down with my IV on...
       in this chair, until it's all gone!
       poppin' a Zofran and Decadron so no nausea like before
       just don't wanna, puke up on the floor

       A little bit of Cathy to put the IV in
       A little bit of Marg, to push the chemo through
       A little bit of Lois, with my Avastin
       A little injection from Joan and nurse Terry too

       There's Marg
        and Hannah
        and Marg #2
        and every single one
        will take care of you.


     These are some of the wonderful nurses who I saw every two weeks; my humble thanks to each and every one (and apologies for those that I missed).   The crew at the Windsor Cancer Centre are the absolute best.

My fifth chemo session that Friday (July 9)  started off with a problem:  no blood return.  Generally, before the IV can be inserted the port is flushed.  Next, blood is drawn back to make sure that everything is working.   In this instance no blood return meant a problem.  Strong measures were now required:   I turned my head and coughed.   Think of the Three Amigos Salute.   Strange medicine but it worked!  I watched with a certain detachment as my  blood made its way up the plastic tube.  My nurse pronounced my  IV Port ready for that day's session.  Perhaps I was not so relaxed and calm as I thought; my blood pressure was 139/90 that morning.

     This session itself was as energy-draining as all my prior ones, nothing new there.   I slept a lot during that weekend while wearing the 5FU bottle.   However I had to force myself to keep drinking water; it was tasteless and unappetizing.   Sometimes I would try lemon juice in my water, or drink fruit juices for variety, anything to just wake up the palette.  I still routinely rinsed my mouth with salt water and baking soda.  Bleah.   It was only after the 5FU bottle was removed that I start to regain some energy (enough to build Chemo Clock #5 at any rate).    The chemo weekend, as usual, was low-key.  I endured it as much as I ignored it.

     Monday I was feeling much better. So much better in fact that I rode my bike to my workplace (only a few minutes away) and "crashed" the annual company BBQ lunch!  Had a really great time,  the staff there were surprised and pleased to see me.  Tired and napped after I returned home, but hey, biking is fun, so off I went again later that afternoon.  Biking is invigorating and recharged me; that night I spent some time in the ol' workshop experimenting with a VFD tube clock.  I have no life apparently.

     My routine for chemotherapy would continue like this for the next (and what I believe to be the last) session.   There would be some more visits from my family in the weeks to come, my sister would visit and make her version of our mom's famous Spaghetti Sauce!  Summer was flying by, my days were filled with whatever I delighted in doing, or in doing nothing at all. I felt strong (mostly) and I felt confident  (usually) that I had a future.

     That future still required dealing with the tumours on my liver.  The fight would continue through the fall, and I would be tested physically and emotionally once more.