Today is day six of my second chemotherapy cycle. I’m feeling a bit chilled as I look out my window to a dreary Manitoba sky and an unusually low August day time temperature of 16°
Chemo cycle two has been similar to the first cycle with day three once again making me feel “out of sorts”, with the poison percolating in my body. This time, I didn’t lose my sense of taste and have a less intense metal taste in my mouth. I still have dry mouth. I am more tired though than the first cycle, which is something that I have been forewarned about and is expected to increase with each treatment.
By the time my sixth treatment cycle occurs, I’ve been told that the fatigue will dominate my life and I won’t feel up to doing anything but resting.
As well, because I have acquired a low white blood cell count condition called “neutropenia” as a result of my first cycle of chemotherapy, I’m now navigating through having Neupogen in my body and dealing with its side effects. Neupogen will be part of my chemotherapy regime until I complete the sixth cycle of treatments.
I was prescribed this white cell count booster drug to stimulate my bone marrow to produce more white blood cells so that my chemotherapy cycles could resume to three-week intervals. Neupogen is also needed to help prevent infections because the army of white blood cell counts in my body needed to fight off infection is not as plentiful due to being killed off with chemotherapy.
My doctor said that I can expect two main side effects with Neupogen--bone and/or muscle pain. The injections are given daily for seven days on the same side of my body as the blood thinner, alternating sides each day.
Generally, Neupogen is injected in the abdomen. Because my tummy is already bruised and tender with the daily blood thinner injections, my chemotherapy nurse recommended that Neupogen be given in my upper arm. The Neupogen needles can still be very painful like the blood thinner shots, but at least they don’t leave me feeling tender and bruised.
My first day Neupogen was two days ago with a 7:00 a.m. injection in addition to the daily blood thinner needle. It was only a matter of hours before I could feel Neupogen at work in my body on the first day of the injection.
As I was getting groceries on Friday afternoon, an achy fatigue started in my calves. I’ve felt this ache before when I over-exerted at the gym or took too long a hike when my body should have quit earlier. The aching has not left since it arrived.
Yesterday, I could feel the aching starting earlier in the day. By last night, I gave in and took some Tylenol to make coping with the aches more comfortable. The only other recommended relief for the pain is warm baths.
Today, the aching is pretty much constant. It hurts even more if I bear weight on my legs for any length of time.
Neupogen is an interesting drug. It is made using E-coli bacteria and is extremely expensive. The daily one ml dose is $200. I need seven doses of the drug during each chemotherapy cycle. Fortunately, the costs of it are covered by the organization treating me for cancer. Yet another gift I have been given by our provincial cancer organization to fight off cancer in my body.
Although I am feeling a bit tough today, I realize that this discomfort provides me with dividends in my fight against cancer. I’m moving a bit slower, but I continue on this cancer journey with Strength, Courage, and Determination.