By now I have been told by many Doctors, Nurses and friends who have walked down the chemotherapy journey that it “effects everyone differently”. This is true. Round 1 was very difficult for me to handle. Round 2 is more like a heavy 7 day flu without the vomiting. I have a very cloudy head or “chemo brain”. I have heavy body aches that my sponge and chair help relieve. I have dizziness, nausea and I feel very disoriented. I have extreme tiredness. It takes all my energy to sit upright and eat. As predicted the rest of my hair is falling out. I see the evidence in the bath. I am eating and eating, every 2-3 hours. I crave some sort of carbohydrate. Eating seems to relieve the nausea along with the anti-nausea medication.
Yesterday I managed a walk with Paul to the end of my street in my PJ’s. The neighbours were cheering me on. I did not care that I was in my PJ’s. It felt good to walk. I drink on average 3-5 litres of room temperature water a day to flush, flush, flush. I have been adding some white cranberry juice to the water to help it go down easier. My mouth tastes like metal and I can only handle certain flavours. My mom helped me into the car to head to the market to satisfy my craving for fresh peaches and pick up a Globe and Mail paper. I find it difficult to look at technical devices and TV. I am able to read the old fashioned print. This helps to keep my mind working and relieve any mental frustrations I have. Our outing resulted in the Globe and Mail being out of stock, so I settled for the Saturday Star. Mom came back to the car and reported the paper is up to $4.50. I am still shocked by the rate of inflation. I thought the paper was still 50 cents. I am up during the night to eat and drink fluids. I also write with a notepaper and pen. I can’t stress enough how much and how often I have to eat. It is difficult to decide what I want to eat because the medications have disrupted my mind to taste connection, from my stomach. For some reason I thought people going through chemotherapy don’t eat and loose weight. It is the opposite. My cat Oscar joins me by my side and benefits from a treat or two. I figure I have another 2-3 days before I start to feel like myself again. I wait and let the time pass.
– Amie Banting