Cycle Two done- one third of the way through

I completed my second cycle last Friday and this time, it went fine with no incidences. It probably helped that I had a different nurse this time around and she said that she would make sure that nothing would happen on her watch. To counteract the pain I had experienced the last time around during chemo, she gave me pain and antihistamine medication upfront and so this time around, I did not get the chills and lower back pain as before and everything went smoothly. The only "pain" I experienced was being on the phone with Comcast and trying to get them to turn on my Red Zone Package for the start of the NFL season!

We also ended much earlier this time around too and I got out at 230pm. After the chemo, I felt very foggy which I contributed to all the different drugs that had been pumped into me. They pump so much liquid drugs into my system that I usually gain about 5 lbs after my chemo session. (I weighed in at 146 pre-chemo and was at 151 later on that day. Today I'm back at 146).

The morning after my chemo (Saturday), I woke up and felt fine. Like the first cycle, I did not experience any nausea (thank goodness!) or any headaches. I did have some fatigue but I just forced myself to wake up and try to go about my daily activities. I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones that do not have to experience the negative side effects of chemo following each session. I still have yet to take my Compazine medicine (drug to alleviate nausea) that they gave me after my first cycle. So, all in all, I would say that I've been responding well to my chemo treatment and I'm now 1/3 of the way through with my treatment regimen. I just hope that it continues to be this way where I have little side effects, I have strength to walk and exercise every day and I don't get sick from having a weaker immune system. I worry about when the weather turns colder and flu season comes around but I will just have to be extra diligent about not being exposed to people who may be sick.

The other big highlight from last week was that I got my nephrostomy tube exchanged. I had a tube inserted into my kidney (which started the whole process which led to my diagnosis) due to the tumor growth which blocked my ureter and caused my bladder to not function as well. The nephrostomy tube helps me pee and I have to get it exchanged every 6 weeks. So, I haven't really had the urge to go pee at all since the tube was doing all the work so for the couple weeks, I had no use of my bladder at all. Well, after about 1.5 weeks after my first chemo session, I found that I could actually go to the bathroom! I know none of us would ever think such a trivial thing as going to the bathroom to pee would be a great feeling but if you haven't been able to pee for about two weeks, let me tell you, it really is a great feeling! It just felt natural to once again go to the bathroom the normal way! I was overjoyed that I could once again pee but that joy didn't last too long as I then got the UTI. Probably from not having much use of my bladder and also it's a common side effect of chemo as well. But since being on antibiotics, I'm fine again now. I still have the tube- even though I'm able to pee again (which is a great sign that the tumor is shrinking and causing less blockage of the ureter) the doctors recommended that I keep the tube in for the entire duration of my chemo treatment so that my kidney can continue to heal further. I don't mind having it in there; it's just an inconvenience (especially when I have to take a bath) but I'm used to it now. A small inconvenience and a price to pay on my road to recovery.

I wanted to recognize that today is World Lymphoma Day and September 15 is a day dedicated to raising awareness of lymphoma. Before I was diagnosed with lymphoma, I did not know much about the disease at all and I'm not alone. From Wikipedia:

"Lymphoma is increasing  in incidence and is a potentially life-threatening disease. One million people worldwide live with lymphoma and nearly 1,000 people are diagnosed with the disease every day, but there continues to be very little awareness of the signs and symptoms of lymphoma.
New international survey results show that:

• When asked if they know their nodes, only half (49 percent) of people said they know what nodes do
• Although most respondents have heard of lymphoma, 52 percent of people know very little or nothing about it
• Two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents did not know lymphoma is a type of cancer and that it has one of the fastest growing incidence rates worldwide
• 90 percent of people do not think enough is being done to fund lymphoma research

Increasing awareness of lymphoma will allow people around the world to better recognize its signs and symptoms, leading to earlier diagnosis and more timely treatment. Greater awareness will also empower patients and their families to demand specialist treatment and care from qualified lymphoma physicians as well as gain access to the most up-to-date information, support and treatment."

Every day, I learn more and more people have been diagnosed with lymphoma- a high school friend, a friend's coworker, a coworker's husband, a friend of a friend, etc. Lymphoma is on the rise and is affecting younger people too and the more we know about the disease, the better we can recognize the early signs and combat it. You can learn more about lymphoma by visiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society http://www.lls.org/ or the Lymphoma Research Foundation www.lymphoma.org

I am going to my support group meeting tonight and we're all going to wear red to celebrate lymphoma day. I'll post pics later on.