Round 8 : the lingering side effects....

Today is the fourth day of my 7th chemotherapy session. The previous six sessions of chemotherapies has been working havoc in my system that my body is beginning to reject the idea of further administration of chemo drugs. The resistant for the administration of chemo drug is so strong that, few days before the chemo session, I was already overcame with anticipatory nausea and anxieties.

I had a disturbed sleep yesterday due to some minor discomfort at my abdominal areas and back pain, and subsequently, I woke this morning feeling extremely exhausted. How do I describe how I felt this morning ? It is kind of uneasy feeling radiated from every part of your telling you that all is still not well. I guess this uneasy feeling are caused by the disturbed sleep as a result of the side effects from the chemo drugs.

For a start, the rashes caused by the Tarceva drugs is still there causing slight itchiness to my scalp and body. Some of the rashes appear on the face, and looked like pimples and acnes. The Clobet Cream prescribed by the doctor has help to ease the itch and tapper off the rashes. So, the effect of rashes is manageable at the moment.

As of today, I am still having tingling sensation and sight pain on the side of the arm where the chemo drugs was intravenously administered. Based on my experience, usually, these sensory discomfort disappeared after a week or so. At the moment I am not worry about this minor neuropathy issues. Hopefully, my body can recover quickly enough to lessen the duration of this sensory discomforts.

When I first started the chemotherapy, one of my first fear was the loss of hair. My hair started to drop after the 3rd chemotherapy, but miraculous stopped after the sixth chemotherapy. By the grace of God, my hair now has grown back. However, I noticed, the texture of the hair is now slightly different compare to what it used to be. My hair now is “more fine” and soft, and it is easier to manage.

Personally speaking, the most dreaded side effects I encountered so far are Nausea and the sensation of feeling like vomiting. Usually, these queasy sensations last about 1 to 2 weeks. Sometimes, the sensations is so bad that, the mere sight and odors of foods caused mood swings and rejection of foods. Although the doctor had prescribed anti emetics such as Nexsum, but so far, the drug does not really help to lessen the discomfort. I had resorted to use deep and slow breathing techniques to lessen this discomforts, in a way, the breathing exercise does help a lot.

It's been more than 7 months I am dealing with this treatment issues. I learned to deal with the daily physical pains and discomforts cause by the tumors, and the emtional distressed caused by anxieties, uncertainties, and fears. But personally speaking, dealing with the side effects is the most difficult and challenging issues that confronted me daily. Come to think of it, I had been bombarded with all sort of side effects for the previous 7 months. Surprisingly, I am still able to handle it well. The Almighty is indeed graceful to grant me the strength to overcome these anguishes and adversaries. I realized, the quality of my life now is a consequent of how I manage these side effects. So far, I think I am managing these side effects well ! I look at life this way, I am a fighter ! At the end of the day, I plan to see my children have children of their own, and I will have my good laugh inside........

That's life....