Herceptin #2

I went to see Dr. Citron (oncologist) today and then had my second herceptin infusion. Dr. Citron asked how it was going since the first big chemo. I told him about all the side effects I was having. He said the first one is often the most difficult because we don't know what to expect. Now that we know, we can treat the side effects. He said the stomach pain, nausea and bowel issues are because the chemo kills the lining of the GI tract. Then, when you add the decadron (steroid) you can get lots of issues. Not everyone does. I did. He gave me prescriptions for axid, prevacid and carafate. They are all to reduce acid or coat the GI tract. He thinks these may help a lot. He said a lot of people are on these everyday for all the months of chemo. He also told me we will skip the neulasta next cycle. We can do neupagen instead. Neulasta is the long acting form of neupagen. They checked all my blood counts and everything was within normal range. So, the neulasta did its job. Next time I hope I have the same counts with the neupagen. He also weighed me. I GAINED 3 pounds. I can't even believe it. They say it is from the steroid. I would figure I could at least lose a few pounds while doing chemo.

I then went to the infusion room for the herceptin. I was looking around and the room was really full of sick people. I mean visibly sick. I can't help but think, what the h%^& am I doing here? I feel like I got on a plane to Florida and it landed in a foreign country. I sure hope my hair stays in and I don't get yellow, pale, puffy or gaunt. I do not want to blend in with this group.

I asked them if I could exercise and they said yes. The last few days there was no way but I am really going to force myself to walk if I can. I finally got the results of my MUGA scan and my ejection fraction is 69%. I am told that is excellent. So I have no excuse to sit around too long.

The herceptin infusion took about an hour. I had some port issues but eventually it got going. That's two down on herceptin. I am not 100% sure but I think I need 15 more.

Thanks everyone!!!!! Thanks for your support. Julianna says "donk do."