17 Mar 2008 - 1st part of 2nd dose (90mg herceptin, 40mg taxotere, 250mg carboplatin)
24 Mar 2008 - 2nd part (90mg herceptin, 40mg taxotere, 250mg carboplatin)
1 Apr 2008 - last part (90mg herceptin, 40mg taxotere, 250mg carboplatin)
7 Apr 2008 - 90mg herceptin
31 Mar 2008 - Cancer marker 48.1 , down from 309 on 15 Feb 2008. It was exactly one and a half months ago, and my cancer marker had nose-dived. It is only in instances like this where a graph showed such a sharp drop and everybody is happy. This was before I had completed my second dose of chemo. I was responding well to the chemo.
I was normally given herceptin first, then taxotere and lastly carboplatin. During one of the chemo sessions, less than 5 minutes into taxotere, I started scratching all over. I was still drowsy from the benedryl and initially I tried to control the itch. But it became worse and I casually asked the nurse tending my machine, why was I feeling itchy all over.
She immediately stopped the drip and went to get a senior nurse. They checked my rashes and reported to the doctor on duty. The doctor prescribed more benedryl. I was told this was a delayed reaction to taxotere, and that a lot of people are having more and more reactions to taxotere, some seriously.
Normally, my chemo sessions would last 3-4 hours. But this particular session lasted 5-6 hours as I had to wait for the doctor and also wait for the benedryl to take effect before they can start the drip again.
With so much fluid in my system, I normally had to make 2 or 3 trips to the toilet. Fortunately, the monitoring machine is mounted on a stand with casters and I just pushed it along, drip and all.
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