Halfway done with Chemotherapy

After my surgery on July 15th, I was to follow up with Dr. Anna Beck at Huntsman to set up my plan for chemotherapy. I had no idea what this process would consist of and was nervous to find out the protocol, especially since my cancer staging was a lot worse than originally thought. Dr. Karen Zempolich my Cancer surgeon encouraged me to do the Intraperitoneal chemo through an abdominal port I had place on my right below my ribcage. She had found along with research that those who do this type of chemo have a 10-15% increase in life expectancy. What nobody told me is that most woman can't complete all 6 rounds of chemo with this type due to the aggressiveness and how sick it makes you. Since I was young for this type of cancer I was encouraged to push through the IP chemotherapy.

I met with Dr. Beck and was given the protocol for my IP chemo. I went into the appointment thinking I would only get chemo one time a week, but was very surprised to find out the protocol is 12 straight days being at the hospital! My chemo schedule was as follows:
Day 1: Taxol in my chest port
Day 2:  Cisplatin in my abdominal port
Day 3 and 4: IV fluids to keep me hydrated
Day 8: Taxol in my abdominal port
Day 9: Nulasta shot and hydration
Day 10-12: a day for hydration
Get a week off and then start on the next round

I had to have my upper port placed and had another surgery with Dr. Jane Poretta a few days before starting chemo. This placement hurt so bad, I had trouble sleeping on the right side and still do from the discomfort.

Chemo started on August 3rd for round one. The first day wasn't so bad but the IP chemo I had the second day is awful!  I have to go to Huntsman because I lay on a bed and have to rotate every 15 minutes to wash the entire abdomen. This took about 7 hours for this process because they start with accessing both ports, then I get blood work done (takes an hour to get results back) in order to see if I can tolerate receiving chemo, then get pre-meds which are medications to avoid having a reaction to the chemo, and then fluids and finally get the chemo medication. I leave looking and feeling pregnant due to 1 large bag of fluid and 1 large bag of chemo they place in my abdomen. I didn't feel great that day but didn't know that the chemo hits me a few days later and I ended up in the Acute Care at Huntsman (Emergency room for cancer patients) the next day. I was so nauseated and out of it I couldn't even lift my head and had to be pushed in a wheelchair by my Mom. After this appointment we were prescribed 3 different nausea medications and was instructed to rotate these meds every 4 hours. The following days I received IV fluids as I wasn't eating and was very sick. We also keep me pretty drugged up with nausea meds that all I remember is laying on the couch but couldn't do anything. On Day 8 I received another IP chemo and was very sick afterwards and only eating slurpees. Day 9 I had my Nulasta shot which grandma had warned me about. I was ok right after the shot but towards the evening and for the rest of the week my back, knees, and ankles hurt so bad it felt like sharp aches almost like the worst growing pains you've ever had. There were even a few nights my legs would collapse and Jeff had to help me up. I also had to use the shower chair frequently because I didn't even have the energy or strength to stand up in the shower.

We repeated this protocol again for the second round and had more hair loss again. The second round was still very tough but a little better as we had medication to help with pain and nausea.

After the 2nd round I had a 10-15 pound weight gain and went to the ER and found excess fluid in my abdomen. Dr. Beck said that my body isn't working well anymore and is having a difficult time getting the fluid out of my body. I was given a diuretic that seemed to help after a few days. Dr. Beck encouraged me to take a break from the IP chemo and just do IV chemo for 3 weeks.

Round 3 went much much better and gave me a well needed break from the nausea. I still had a few days that I have been sick but not near as bad.

I have made it halfway through my 6 rounds of chemo but not with the help of my family, husband, kids, and church as well as all the kind and encouraging words from friends on facebook and gofundme.