Cycle One Complete - For The Third Round of Chemotherapy

It's been an interesting week. I had my Chemotherapy on Wednesday and so far, no unexpected results. I have an upset stomach and am very, very tired. Thursday, I had my Neulasta shot. Just like timework, 8 hours after pain developed in my ribcage and hips. So far it has been manageable - Alleve during the day and Percoset at night. Today, as a gift from my sister Maria, I had a massage. I was nervous as to how it would be given the muscle and bone pain but to my surprise it was very relaxing. Tonight, though, my pain is a bit more intense in my hips and legs so that may be from the massage - not sure. Overall, so far things are not bad. I don't have the enormous amount of energy and motivation I had last week - but I do know that things could be much worse - and I am thankful they aren't. For the next 2 weeks, I have to keep a close watch on the bone pain and take medications before it gets bad. In the meantime, I await my hair falling out again. Good thing I've always had short hair so this aspect doesn't bother me too much. The hardest part for me right now is mentally. I find myself constantly thinking about what the last 17 months have been like. I belong to several Lung Cancer Facebook groups and I know that I am much better off than many people. But, the bottom line is, it is hard. Mentally and Physically.

A New Chapter

My one month vacation from all treatments will come to an end this coming Wednesday.  While my radiation treatments have ended, I will begin Chemotherapy again.

This time the two Chemotherapy drugs will be Carboplatin and Taxotere.  Taxotere tends to aggressively attack the white blood cells making me extremely susceptible to infection.  So they will give me a shot of Neulasta the day after each Chemo treatment.

Neulasta^® works like a natural protein in your body to signal the growth of new white blood cells. Neulasta^® helps reduce your risk of infection in a chemotherapy cycle with just one injection. It is a prescription medication given approximately 24 hours after you receive chemotherapy treatment to provide ongoing support through that cycle. The most common side effect of Neulasta is pain in the bones and in your arms and legs.

These treatments will be every three weeks.  So this week, I have Chemo on Wednesday and then my Neulasta injection on Thursday.  My understanding is the bone and joint pain starts on Day 3 and lasts about 10 days.  Then day 21, I start all over again.

My doctor still feels I will get new scans done in September so we will know then if all of these treatments have done anything.