Hello everyone, and Happy New Year to you all!
Having completed my first cycle (of six) Paclitaxcel & Carboplatin chemotherapy on December 29th, here's an update on how it went.
The second treatment on December 18 went ok without any adverse effects, apart from it took three attempts to get the cannula in my left hand. This time I was more prepared for any constipation and took two Laxido sachets that day, plus one a day for the following five days. That worked well with no issues.
Interestingly, in four days I managed to raise my magnesium levels to just over normal through diet - adding bananas, avocados, chocolate (85% dark) and spinach. At the third treatment, I was disappointed to see the Mg level had dipped a bit, so I'm still working on that.
On December 29th, the cannula went in on the second attempt. The anti-sickness infusion went fine, but 20 minutes into the Paclitaxcel, I developed an extravasation where the drug leaked into my arm. The infusion was stopped and an area 24cm x 10cm from my wrist to elbow was swollen.
It felt tender, but was not unduly painful. The nurse outlined the area with marker pen and injected hyaluronidase in five places to neutralise the drug. The initial swelling subsided quite quickly thankfully. The rest of the infusion (40 minutes) went OK in my right hand.
That evening I was advised to apply heat and rest it. Five days on, the arm is improving and the skin is fine, just some bruising in the middle from the central injection. It's a rare complication of chemo apparently, but now I'm wondering whether to switch arms regularly for the remaining 15 treatments in my cycles. On December 30th, I went back for a check up. They were happy with the appearance of my arm. Their quick actions had prevented anything more serious, but I'm carefully monitoring things. The nurse mentioned the option of a PICC line, not sure about that yet...
I'll be seeing my oncologist on January 8th for a scheduled catch-up, so will add this to my list for discussion! Cycle 2 starts on January 12th.
Apart from that, no adverse effects so far, still eating, drinking and walking normally... my hair has started shedding, but not in huge amounts. On the plus side, the pain in my right buttock disappeared a few days after the first treatment and I can now feel the pressure in my perineum is visibly less. I have been experiencing on-going mucus from the fistula, which is manageable.
Hope everyone is doing well and that you enjoyed the holidays.
Kathy
