Chemo Round 27

You know what? If you do something for long enough, you can pretty much get used to anything.

On Monday, I got behind the driver’s seat and cruised to Norris, eager to take a bite out of cancer during my 27^th round of chemo. Before my diagnosis, I probably could never have imagined this kind of bi-weekly routine becoming “normal,” but that’s exactly what it feels like now. 

My time at Norris went well – I knocked out my blood work last week, so I breezed into my appointment with Taline and Dr. Lenz, had some laughs and some hugs, and before I knew it, I was in my own private room and in my own private bed for chemo. I started infusing around 2pm, and I was all done and hooked up to my bag o’ chemo by 5pm. Easy as pie. Before Monday, I was a little skeptical at this whole “afternoon appointment” thing that Dr. Lenz wanted me to start doing (I am notoriously late for our morning appointments which wouldn’t be that bad in and of itself, but my fellow warriors are evidently super punctual because the day hospital is PACKED by about 10am), but I’m a believer now. This is much easier than showing up late and sleepy, then waiting for hours to get my treatment. Note to self: don’t question Dr. Lenz (most of the time, at least).

Unlike my post-Coachella Chemo Round 26, I kept myself fully hydrated before, during, and after treatment. As a result, everything went very well, especially in the poop department. I am a lucky woman to have had three surgeries where my bowels were either cut up, picked at, or seriously jostled, and live day to day with zero GI issues. To be on my 14th round of Irinotecan and to not even need an Immodium? Yeah…I’m very fortunate. And I’m very grateful. Great job, body of mine.

So now it’s Wednesday, which is typically my toughest day…but I’m feeling very good. I detached myself from my bag o’ around noon, caught up on emails, took a refreshing shower, and ate some delicious food (big shout out to the Veggie Grill for those yummy vegan hot wings). After watching lots of playoff hoops over the last couple of days, I’m itching to get to the gym tonight to get some shots up. That’s right -- I’m going to the gym on a “chemo Wednesday.” Definitely not a common occurrence but, hey, basketball is calling my name. I’ll throw in some weights while I’m there, just to ensure that I am indeed getting tougher and stronger by the day. A cancer warrior is always looking for ways to get the upper hand on the disease.

There’s no doubt about it: Chemo Round 27 went extremely well. The sun is shining, I’m loving life, and cancer is going down.