Well people, I’ve always known I was a sensitive person. Today I learned I’m even more sensitive than myself and my medical and support team imagined.
When I got chemo over that first year I would always get a minor allergic reaction to Cisplatin. The nurses would give Benadryl as one of my premeds and infuse it more slowly than normal. This worked well.
When I got chemo last week they did the exact same as times past and again, it worked well. Today that was not the case. My Cisplatin only chemo journey has come to an end because I had a pretty decent and scary allergic reaction. Started as a “wow, is it hot in here or is it just me?” And ended with, “wow... my throat is closing.” I think I was a living, semi breathing mixture of the wided eyed + face mask emojis for a solid few minutes.
Thankfully I have the best medical team ever who came to my rescue instantaneously. They stopped my Cisplatin, gave me more steroids, started me on oxygen, and gave me more Benadryl right away. I’m the luckiest cancer patient in the world to have them.
For now, the new plan is up in the air. One of the ideas being thrown around is trying the other two of three chemo drugs I was on before. If that happens I’ll lose my hair again and have more side effects. The beauty of the Cisplatin only plan was less side effects and very minimal hair loss. Obviously my body doesn’t like that plan and we are going to listen to it. Hair grows back. Side effects are a sign of being alive.
We will see what my next treatment plan solidifies to. They are also talking about immunotherapy being an option but that would be experimental. We shall see what comes of this sticky situation. As they say... when one door closes another opens.
Here’s to breathing normally again, here’s to remembering I’ve heard worse news than this, here’s to being grateful for this moment and having an open, and honest heart. And here’s to being brave like Evie’s sweatshirt suggests. Love to you all xo