Day 1: extreme nausea (made some mistakes such as not taking my granisetron in time because it was not available at my pharmacy and not bringing enough food to chemo so that when I finally ate, I ate too fast and I ate everything on the sandwich, including the cheese), dizziness, and fatigue
Day 2: nausea in the morning, fatigue, slight cough, hyperactivity leading to sleeplessness (side effect of prednisolon), slight neuropathy, more hair loss
Day 3: slight nausea in the morning, slight cough, hyperactivity, a lot of hair loss in the shower, breakthrough pain
Day 4: slight nausea, heart palpitations, breakthrough pain
Day 5: same as Day 4
Day 6: same as Day 4
Day 7 (Queen's Day): slight nausea, heart palpitations, some breakthrough pain, fatigue, strange taste in saliva
Day 8 (took only Pantecta against nausea today): slight nausea, burping, very strong heart palpitations, slight cough, some neuropathy, some night sweats, toes black, thumbnails turning black, stiff/sore right leg, stiff right arm
Day 9 (took only metoclopram against nausea today): same as Day 8 but with only slight heart palpitations
Day 10 (took no medications against nausea today, started yoga/meditation/self-massage for hands): burping, congestion, slight cough, some neuropathy, toes black, thumbnails turning black
Day 11: same as Day 10 but with a bit more energy, actually one of the best days I've had since diagnosis
Day 12: same as Day 10 but with much stronger cough and congestion (I'm guessing that my dip period begins on Day 12)
Day 13: same as Day 10 but with much stronger cough and congestion (I'm guessing that my dip period begins on Day 12). I also accidentally cut myself on Day 12. It's was a tiny cut that would have ordinarily closed in an hour, but today it's still bleeding like a fresh cut. I put Bacitracin and a bandaid on it, to prevent infection, but the bleeding would probably indicate a low platelet count.
This chemo cycle seems to be better against nausea, though I have hopes that I won't vomit at all during Round 3, and I still feel queasy from time to time. I'm concerned about the atrial fibrillations. Even though they don't seem to be considered a serious side effect, I have this sensation that I need to take deep breaths to prevent myself from having a heart attack. I'm also concerned about the breakthrough pain; does it mean that the cancer is still fighting back?
I've had this cold since the week of March 1 -- thus, for more than two months. I am betting now that I'll have it for the entire course of chemotherapy.
Showing posts with label symptoms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label symptoms. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
American Cancer Society Description of Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma
This type accounts for about 2% of all lymphomas. The cells are large and resemble those of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.
This lymphoma starts in the mediastinum (the area around the heart and behind the chest bone). It usually is localized at the beginning and rarely involves the bone marrow. It can cause trouble breathing because it often presses on the windpipe (trachea) leading into the lungs. It can also block the superior vena cava (the large vein that returns blood to the heart from the arms and head). This can cause the arms and face to swell.
About 2 out of 3 people with this lymphoma are women. Most are young -- in their 30s. It is a fast growing lymphoma but it is treatable. About half of patients can be cured.
This lymphoma starts in the mediastinum (the area around the heart and behind the chest bone). It usually is localized at the beginning and rarely involves the bone marrow. It can cause trouble breathing because it often presses on the windpipe (trachea) leading into the lungs. It can also block the superior vena cava (the large vein that returns blood to the heart from the arms and head). This can cause the arms and face to swell.
About 2 out of 3 people with this lymphoma are women. Most are young -- in their 30s. It is a fast growing lymphoma but it is treatable. About half of patients can be cured.
Diagnosis
It's cancer after all.
The doctor gives me a written description of the biopsy in Dutch. At the bottom, it says that the WHO classification is Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma. He also, upon request, gives me a copy of the blood test results, which show that I have elevated levels of eosinophils, basophils, and serum LDH.
But now he's done with me. He's referring me now to the oncology/hematology specialist clinic, which is the desk next door. My appointment is for April 7. April 7? That seems such a long way away. I am impatient to get started with treatment. I tell him that my symptoms are worse now; I can sense that the tumor is growing fast. I can barely sleep through the night. He tells me to take painkillers and that he will ask if an earlier appointment is available.
He does ask, and low and behold, there is an appointment at 9am on Monday morning.
The doctor gives me a written description of the biopsy in Dutch. At the bottom, it says that the WHO classification is Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma. He also, upon request, gives me a copy of the blood test results, which show that I have elevated levels of eosinophils, basophils, and serum LDH.
But now he's done with me. He's referring me now to the oncology/hematology specialist clinic, which is the desk next door. My appointment is for April 7. April 7? That seems such a long way away. I am impatient to get started with treatment. I tell him that my symptoms are worse now; I can sense that the tumor is growing fast. I can barely sleep through the night. He tells me to take painkillers and that he will ask if an earlier appointment is available.
He does ask, and low and behold, there is an appointment at 9am on Monday morning.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
First Appointment with the Lung Specialist
The earliest appointment I was able to get was for Tuesday March 17. In between, I went to Pasta & Basta, where the waitresses sing (well, but annoyingly) every 5 minutes while you are eating. I also had a visit from my friend in Nijmegen. We went to the Burger Bar and then to OT301 for a 50s/60s horror movie/sci-fi schlock surf rock concert put on by Messer Chups. On Sunday, there was the monthly storytelling show in Dutch called 'Echt Gebeurd' at the Toomler, which features writers, artists, comedians, and other public figures telling true stories without notes.
I was also too busy at work to think much about the lump. It didn't seem to be growing and I still had no symptoms. I showed it to a few people at work, mostly because I felt I should explain why I was going to be out of the office yet again for a medical consultation. It was March 17 before I knew it.
The appointment was brief. My doctor was an older man, who could speak English, but seemed far more comfortable speaking in Dutch. He showed me the x-rays and then ordered a CT scan and some blood tests. I went to get the blood tests immediately after the appointment, in what seemed like a fairly efficient process. My CT scan was scheduled already for the following day. The doctor didn't seem particularly rushed to get it, but I wanted it done with as soon as possible. While I couldn't detect whether the lump was growing, I was starting to feel twinges in the lump once in a while and a burning/itching sensation there in the evenings, that made it sometimes difficult to sleep right away. I told him this, but didn't press the point, maybe because I didn't want to believe myself that things were getting worse so fast.
I was also too busy at work to think much about the lump. It didn't seem to be growing and I still had no symptoms. I showed it to a few people at work, mostly because I felt I should explain why I was going to be out of the office yet again for a medical consultation. It was March 17 before I knew it.
The appointment was brief. My doctor was an older man, who could speak English, but seemed far more comfortable speaking in Dutch. He showed me the x-rays and then ordered a CT scan and some blood tests. I went to get the blood tests immediately after the appointment, in what seemed like a fairly efficient process. My CT scan was scheduled already for the following day. The doctor didn't seem particularly rushed to get it, but I wanted it done with as soon as possible. While I couldn't detect whether the lump was growing, I was starting to feel twinges in the lump once in a while and a burning/itching sensation there in the evenings, that made it sometimes difficult to sleep right away. I told him this, but didn't press the point, maybe because I didn't want to believe myself that things were getting worse so fast.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
March 1
It all started March 1. I had a friend visiting from Boston, and her friend from Nijmegen came to Amsterdam for a night out. We had dinner at a Surinamese restaurant in the Pijp and then took the ferry over to the NSDM-Werf to Ms. Stubnitz, a real whaling vessel that houses a 3-floor dance club for half the year. We stayed up 'til 3pm, squeezed 6 into a tiny car to get back to my flat. When I woke up the next morning, I noticed IT.
A lump. A bump. A swelling. Actually, it seemed huge. Impossible that I wouldn't have noticed it the night before. I had been wearing a low-cut bodice shirt, one of my favorites. I could almost cup my hand around it. It poked through my chest, slightly to the left of my sternum above my left breast, forming an irregular triangle with my other breasts. Being admittedly somewhat flat-chested, it was like I suddenly had a third boob.
It wasn't painful, and I had no symptoms of any illness. It was just a curiosity. "How strange", I thought. I considered telling my friends, asleep in the living room, but then decided against it. We were having so much fun. If it was still there on Monday, I'd go see a doctor.
A lump. A bump. A swelling. Actually, it seemed huge. Impossible that I wouldn't have noticed it the night before. I had been wearing a low-cut bodice shirt, one of my favorites. I could almost cup my hand around it. It poked through my chest, slightly to the left of my sternum above my left breast, forming an irregular triangle with my other breasts. Being admittedly somewhat flat-chested, it was like I suddenly had a third boob.
It wasn't painful, and I had no symptoms of any illness. It was just a curiosity. "How strange", I thought. I considered telling my friends, asleep in the living room, but then decided against it. We were having so much fun. If it was still there on Monday, I'd go see a doctor.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
