THIS IS TOUGH
This part of healing cancer is a lot tougher then I thought. It is the chemotherapy that most cancer patients have to endure during their treatment. It is the injection into your system of various drugs that poison the cancer cells and flush them out of your body and in so doing also kill some healthy cells as well as leave you with a residual of these drugs in your system. The result varies from person to person but usually results in extreme exhaustion to the point of it being depressing. For me the worst thing is having no energy to do anything but sleep or rest. Thank God they have some great meds to offset the nauseous ness that accompanies these treatments.
I will have to go through only three treatments along with seven weeks of radiation concurrently. Many times the radiation and chemo or done separately. I would rather get it all over with. Based on what I have experienced and what I have been told by others this is one ordeal that tries the soul and patience even the strongest person. Once you have received the chemo into your system you almost feel as if you are having an out of body experience. It affects you up the base of your neck over your head and down through your body. It is like having the flu while trying to work 18 straight hours without eating. All you can do is lie down and rest…a deep sleep comes easily and waking from it is like climbing out of a pit. The worst part for a workaholic like me is not being able to function for even the easiest of tasks.
The radiation is a piece of cake. You go everyday and get a shot of Amifostine which is engineered to protect the salivary glands in your mouth. A half hour later with my webbed Darth Vader mask on I receive 10 minutes of radiation. I will have a sore throat in a couple of weeks and will lose weight…the good news is that some of my older suits will fit. The women at Riverview are just the best people you could have taking care of you at a time like this. They are attentive to a fault and let you know what is going on at each stage of this process.
I have to take my hat off to those women and men who have gone through long treatments of chemo followed by the radiation. It is a test of endurance and will to get through it. The good news that I am getting from dozens of people who have gone through this is that it does pass and your life comes back to you and perhaps you are a little stronger for it. My new best friend is Ann Longcoy of Red Bank an 85 year old that has shared the chemo and radiation with me every day and we compare notes as to how we are feeling. I might be physically stronger but she beats me to death in spirit each and every day.
