P: Well, even the woman who can access my port and get a good blood draw every time had her day.  It was today.  With me.  She got a good draw at the very start and then it just quit on her.  What I saw in her that I did not see in the people trying to access it for the surgery I.V., was knowledge of how to work with this to ultimately fill the two vials for the lab.  “It’s positioning” she said, “and I have guys here who tell me how they had to do it last time, and it works every time…whether it is raising their left arm like so, or leaning forward…”  She had me raise my arm over my head, and ultimately reclined the chair so my head was, I think, lower than every thing else.  She  scored.

B: Oddly this was the same person who so badly botched one of our visits. I think she has been referred to as nickers-in-a-twist nurse elsewhere.  In the end we have to give her credit.  She had a bad few moments with us once, but, every subsequent interaction has been top notch.

P: We met with the Oncologist and had our usual check in about all that’s gone on and how we were feeling.  As planned we will start 12 weeks of Taxol, “a different chemo drug with less toxicity”, she said.  She wanted it to start within the month.  At first B suggested that we wait until after the holidays, but that would mean like Christmas week if we were going to start up ‘within the month’.  Ultimately we both agreed just to get the soonest appointment.  I start Monday the 7th at 7:30 am.  Soon enough?  I ‘d say.  This will mean 12 – 7 day cycles.

She referred me to the lymphodema clinic to get some instruction on ways to prevent arm swelling, and said she’d refer to the physical therapist there who is a specialist if I wanted to go to P.T.  We’ll see what Tuesday brings next week.  She also is referring me to the radiologist.  If only 3-4 nodes were involved she would not be recommending radiation.  She would if all the nodes were involved.  Because I fall in the middle, she said that the radiologist will help us make the call.  At any rate, if radiation is to happen it will begin after the chemo is over.   Apparently there is quite a synergistic effect if both are done at once and we are trying to minimize the harm here.  I really appreciate that, even if it means 4 additional weeks beyond chemo.  She wants to closely monitor whether I get tingling in my hands or feet and will either reduce the dose or change the drug if it starts to happen.  This can be a permanent thing that we all want to avoid.  (This is a form of neuropathy which could reduce sensitivity in my hands and feet and make rather mundane tasks a chore. )  Body aches are another reported side effect, but apparently go away when the drug goes away.  I won’t have any exciting colors coming from my bladder, alas.   I can live without that excitement.  The usual are possible:  nausea, vomiting, hair loss (oh gosh what will I do if THAT happens?), loss of appetite, fatigue…you name it.  These seem fairly generic to chemo, however I’ve been told by women who have done this, that Taxol is SO much easier on the body than the AC combo that I had.  Like the others, it can burn if it leaks under my skin.  Pleasant thought, there.  She did say that the WORST of it is behind us.  I will hold on to that one.

B: So, it looks like 16 weeks more of treatment hopefully done by April. I can’t over anticipate the side effects cause it is what it is and we won’t know that until we live it. I’m not sure this will have the intensity of what we’ve been through. I think I’m going to cast about for a different metaphor. Perhaps, remembering back to some of the experiences of my youth, backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas. Perhaps this is a 60 pound backpack, and I’m looking up at a series of switchbacks. Switchbacks have to be the most tedious of outdoor experiences for every gain in elevation you retrace what seems to be the exact same horizontal distance over and over. So, just do it.

P: This was all that we expected today.  If  we put it off a week or three, we are still going to have to deal with this.  I pray for endurance and will be hooking up for more acupuncture to help with the body stuff.  We will have to just take one day at a time and hope that we can have a fun holiday and winter with our family and friends.  GIDDY UP GIRL!