The Finish Line
After four and a half months, I am finishing up my nasopharyngeal cancer treatments. My last chemo infusion was on Friday. Overall, I’ve had 35 radiation sessions, five Cisplatin infusions (both of these during the first phase), followed by three Carboplatin infusions and three 5-FU infusions. Right now, I’m feeling pretty good, because a) I know that I don’t have to get any more treatments and b) the side effects of this round haven’t kicked in yet (that’ll happen over the course of the next 10 days). I am fortunate that I feel relatively strong after all the treatments - I haven’t had any complications or illnesses, and of course I’ve had an amazing support network. Thank you for that.
With the treatments nearly finished (the 5-FU finishes its 96 hour infusion tomorrow, at which point I can ditch the fanny pack / murse), I have scheduled some follow up appointments. In particular, my CT and MRI scans are now scheduled for late November, with visits with my oncologist and radiologist the following week. Hopefully they can give me an update at that time about how everything went and tell me if the tumor is gone. I’m actually looking forward to those appointments.
Going into Friday, I was a little unsure whether I would get the treatment as scheduled. I felt as good as I did in September, but then, my blood counts were too low and I had to delay the treatment for a few days. As this third infusion is the last one, I wanted to get it done and not have any more delays. Fortunately, my blood count were high enough to get treated, so that was a relief.
There may have been a key difference between the second and third treatments. My PA said that stress and exercise (that morning) could increase the blood count figures. While I was on my way to the gym on Thursday night, my car broke down. My right front axle broke, so the car wouldn’t move. Fortunately, this happened while I was driving slowly and stopped at a busy intersection; it did not happen when I was on the highway or Lakeshore Drive. So, instead of working out, I had to wait for a tow (after cars stopped honking at me at the intersection of Stockton and LaSalle). Not only did my car get towed that night, it needed to be towed Friday morning as well, as the repair shop was closed by the time the tow truck came. I literally went from the tow truck to the hospital on Friday. So, perhaps the car breaking down caused stress that raised my blood counts?
My car on the tow truck Friday morning. In the past six weeks, my parked car has been hit and my axle broke. Why is this bad luck happening?
Before getting treated, Aiday and I returned to Cafe Spiaggia for lunch. We liked it so much the first time that we went back to get some favorites and try to new things. On the recommendation of a friend, we ordered the kale & cauliflower salad as well as the skirt steak salad - surprisingly, no pasta this time. Both salads were incredible and I’d get them again. There aren’t that many ingredients but they work so well together, with a great balance of flavor and texture. We can’t wait to go back.
Besides Cafe Spiaggia, I did try to take advantage of the period of solid eating and a more expansive diet. There wasn’t as much cooking this week, as I indulged some cravings. Namely, I got some pizza and chicken wings. Sadly, I couldn’t order any version of hot or Buffalo wings - I could just get BBQ and teriyaki. It was still worth it. Even after the treatment, I have been able to eat well, included more pizza and an Italian beef. I did have to skip the peppers and not eat the bread as much.
Following Friday’s treatment, the weekend was actually full of activity, even with the 5-FU pump. We explored the Chicago Architecture Center’s Open House Chicago. I walked over 9,000 steps each day. And I had enough of an appetite that I managed to gain a 1-2 lbs! I’ll post separately about the highlights of the weekend, which included amazing rooftop views, newly renovated buildings, buildings of historical significance, and areas not generally open to the public.
The finish line is so, so close at this point. Just one more visit to the hospital to get the needle taken out of the port and return the 5-FU pump, followed by the placement of the on-body neulasta injector. Once I take that off on Wednesday night, I shouldn’t have to worry about any more drugs going into my body. Then it’s full steam ahead on the road to recovery. There is much to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead.