Denise’s first chemo treatment is, well, uneventful so far. I stopped up to see how things were going over my lunch hour and everything was late because all of the infusion chairs were full. She finally got underway shortly after 11:00 and was still receiving the anti-nausea medication when I left. Still has about 3-1/2 hours to go. It's been hard to know what to expect, despite the doctors' and nurses' careful review of everything that would happen today. She spent most of her time in pre-treatment consultations with the doctors and nurses and waiting for an available treatment chair. She did get her blood drawn and has the baseline for all of those results to monitor and future tests. She was very "chatty" so I knew they gave her something else as well.
Herceptin will be the first drug to kick things off, then comes the infusion of Taxotere, a punch colored drug, followed by a drug with a name that screams toxic (Carboplatin). With all you hear about the power of these drugs, you half expect the patient to turn green, double-over from nausea and start losing their hair as soon as the drug reaches the blood stream. But that's not the case, of course. Denise's been loaded up with anti-nausea drugs to combat the nausea and we're hopeful that they work their magic (at least until we make back home). In fact, Denise might have several "good" days until her blood counts hit rock bottom and things get more difficult. Or the side effects could come on more quickly. We'll know soon enough how she reacts.
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