Second Treatment Day

I had my second treatment today--- well, HALF of it. Something unexpected and very unpleasant occured during the beginning of the infusion of my second drug, Taxotere. I had tolerated it well during the first cycle, so I was very surprised to have an allergic reaction today.

My friend Patty D. and I were chatting away while Stephen was running a quick errand at Lowe's. All of a sudden I leaned forward, clutching my stomach, and felt as though I was becoming ill. I thought that maybe it was due to the lunch I'd just eaten, but before that conclusion could prove to be true, my face began to flush up and turn red. By then, the nurse was rapidly approaching me. Once she reached my chair my chest felt like a brick was pressing on it and I was having trouble breathing. My blood pressure quickly reached the 160's. It was a VERY scary experience.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at my friend's face. (She is a breast cancer surivor and I'm incredibly thankful to her for coming to the appointment with me today. I am so glad she was there!)

The nurse promptly shut off the IV to stop the infusion and called for help. Before long there were four nurses around me, and I was being given oxygen. They also put some more steroids into my IV to aid in combating the allergic reaction.

Poor Stephen arrived on the scene about halfway through the ordeal and had a very stunned look on his face. It was quite upsetting to him to find me with oxygen apparatus and looking stressed. He said it reminded him of when I came out from my first surgery and was laying helplessly on the bed in recovery. He just wasn't expecting that. He said that I went in to the O.R. fine yet came out not okay.

The nurse practioner made the decision for me to go home today and she'd speak with my oncologist (who wasn't there today) about what happened. I'll have to go back tomorrow to complete the treatment one way or the other. They'll either give me Taxotere again over a long period of time (it could take up to six hours, when it normally takes one) and watch me carefully during the infusion, OR my doctor will change my drug all together.

The nurse said that it's possible that during my first treatment three weeks ago my body made antigens against the Taxotere so when I was medicated today my body's defenses went to work against it. That must be how allergies operate?

I must admit that I dread going back for hours tom. I have a house full of kidlets and other resonsbilities to think about. But, thankfully, Kaylee is able and willing to care for them.

Stephen has some "big" soccer games he's looking forward to watching tom. I feel bad that my chemo may interfere somewhat with his plans, but on the flip side, there's a flat screen TV in every treatment cubical and we now have "On Demand" sports on our tv in case he misses something. :-) There's ALWAYS a flipside! Right?

There were several blessings today, even with the allergic reaction. My blood counts were good. YAY! The nurse was "right there" to respond to the problem with the Taxotere. My friend Patty came to visit during treatment and it was great to spend time with her. She was so sweet to do that, especially after having gone through this herself not long ago. The kids got to go to Story Time at the library and had fun. My hairstylist (my regular one) was able to trim up the problem areas on WIGGIE and got her "road ready". She LOVED the wig--- THAT boosted my confidence because she's been doing my hair for years and would be honest. :-) BUT...

...as nice as those things are, there's something I was thinking about this morning that I want to share. LIFE IS HARD. We all come from different places in life. We all face challenges and trials. We all have unique experiences as children while growing up, and then all through adulthood. Lots of things that happen along the way mold us, shape us, impact us, affect our perspective on many things... (some positive and many negative) but at the end of the day ...

... we can rest assured that our God is STILL GOD. He offers mercy, grace, peace, and love. There's nothing that He cannot help us through. NOTHING is too big for God. That includes cancer.