8th & 9th Week - The 1st Taxol Treatment

My first Taxol treatment went great. It’s much easier than the AC that I have been getting. I did not have any allergic reactions during the first two treatments. Yay! My platelets count went from 107,000 to 113,000, despite the fact that it had been dropping each week before that. I told the doctor that I had people praying that the platelets would be above 100,000, and she said it worked. If it had continued to follow the trend, it would have dropped, not fallen. The numbers for 11/13 probably reflect that the Taxol doesn’t affect the platelets and they were expected to rise. On 11/6, that was definitely a result of prayer. 

What they do during the cryotherapy is a little different than what was explained (or I understood). I thought they were going to compare two different types of cold therapy. It’s just one type, the same on both sides. They are trying to put together a study of 50 people to prove whether or not the cryotherapy works to prevent/minimize neuropathy. I’m the 6th person in their study. I get these big oversized mittens for my hands that remind me of boxing gloves. On my feet I get slippers that are light blue like the Ace ice packs. Before each treatment they check my finger and toenails for any changes. The ice packs on my feet are colder than the ice packs on my hands. It’s rather uncomfortable on my toes for the first 10-15 minutes the ice packs are put on. The mittens don’t bother me quite as much. The cryotherapy has to be started 15 minutes before the Taxol, and I leave it on for 15 minutes after, which adds up to about 90+ minutes. They switch the ice packs after 30-45 minutes, so I get new ice packs 2-3 times. Thankfully I can watch HGTV during my treatment, which probably scares Brad from all the ideas I’m going to get. 

The Benadryl they give me before Taxol could make me sleep away most of the afternoon. The Benadryl eventually wears off later in the day, and then the steroids keep me awake until 2-3am the first night. Whether I take a nap after treatment or not, I’m up late the first night. When on the AC, I felt like I was in a funk for 8-10 days before I felt normal again. With Taxol, I haven’t really felt that funk at all. I typically just feel sleepy, like I haven’t slept enough. Sometimes I take a nap part way through the day, and sometimes I get worn out and need to take a break after doing stuff. I didn’t realize it at first, but I’m sleeping more at night on Taxol than I was on AC. 

It’s harder for me to feel like I should be stuck at home on the Taxol, but I also see my white blood count falling and know that pretty soon it will be below normal, which will make fighting off infections much harder. I really don’t want to deal with even a cold, much less influenza or “You Know What,” and we all know how much that’s starting to go around. If Brad would happen to get Covid and I successfully keep myself from getting it, I would have to continue to quarantine for 2 weeks after he gets over it, which means I would miss 3-4 treatments. Not something I want to do. Also, due to the rise of Covid, Brad can’t go into the hospital with me anymore. He is determined to drive me though, so he sits out in the parking lot for 3+ hours while I see the doctor and get treatment. He observed last week that he is not the only one. He noticed several people that would get out of their vehicle and walk around the lot every once in a while. Maybe in January I’ll be able to talk him into letting me drive myself. 

One of the side effects of chemo is dry skin. I have to say that my skin is dryer than it was, but I haven’t needed much lotion. I imagine that has a lot to do with the fact that my skin has always been so oily. It is nice that the acne I’ve had for the last 25+ years has cleared up, even if it is temporary. I also have dry eyes, but only at night. If I wake up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, it’s like my eyelids are sandpaper. I started having a constantly runny nose. Sometimes it's light, it's generally annoying, and it's always when I eat. Apparently that’s common too. 

So far, I don’t have the same sense of dread about getting the Taxol treatment that I had started to have when getting the “Red Devil.” Not that I’m looking forward to it, but I am so thankful that this treatment is much easier than the AC.