The third chemo session

So this blog/diary/whatever it is isn't going to be a daily or up to date matter. I had aspirations of such, but it turns out life - and cancer - really ruins those plans. There is simply too much stuff to do and not enough time, and a personal diary doesn't rank as high on the list of priorities as spending time with loved ones, annoying the cat, job hunting, managing post-chemo fatigue, or finally playing The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.

Note: The above list is not in priority order.

On Friday I had my third chemo session, out of hopefully only 4. It was the toughest session for me so far physically. I was pumped full of saline and tubes similarly to the other sessions, but this time my body was just feeling tired throughout. I was partially reclined and had my eyes lowered so the light of the room didn't disturb me much. I could have had the light turned off/dimmed, but my family was there and I didn't want to inconvenience them more than my cancer already has.

The other new unwelcome feeling from this chemo session was my reduction in appetite and my body suddenly hating the taste of water. In my previous chemo sessions my appetite was untouched, and I would normally eat a chicken caeser wrap halfway through my session. This time I barely finished half of it, and the only reason why I forced myself to have that much was to have something solid in my gut. The water revulsion was more problematic.

My chemotherapy schedule for Hodgkins Lymphoma is pretty standard. Every two weeks I head to the outpatient ward of the hospital and I get hooked up to the ABVD cocktail, which consists of four chemicals (A, B, V, and D) being administered to me one at at time over the course of 3-4 hours. I also am given about a litre of saline administered to me over IV before the chemicals, and another half litre after the chemicals. The point of the saline is to flush my body in preparation of the chemical warfare to follow. The chemicals, especially the A, are pretty gnarly on my body. I therefore normally drink about 2 litres of water from my water bottle during this procedure to flush the chemicals, and scurry to the bathroom every hour or so to relieve my overly filled bladder. The nurses and doctor are all friendly, and we can communicate reasonably well between my broken German and their much more proficient English. They are well used to my going between the rooms carrying my IV holder as I try to empty my body.

I have yet to endure nausea - just mild queasiness - but this total aversion to water is really bugging me. I really have to choke down my water now when I am thirsty or having to swallow my pills. I'm hoping that this is just temporary. In the meantime I am going to be buying bottles of distilled water from the store (it's super cheap in Berlin) and hoping that will do the trick.

The other side effects that I have experienced from chemotherapy haven't been that bad. It took about 3 weeks before my hair started to fall out (I'll tell that story in a different blog post). My blood cell count has plummeted, leading to less oxygen being delivered to my body and me having to manage fatigue. A 2 hour walk now requires about an hour of napping afterwards. I'm hilariously immunocompromised due to a lack of white blood cells so I mask up whenever I head out, and I avoid being inside of public places unless it's absolutely necessary (like riding public transit). My appetite hasn't been negatively effected. I've in fact gained weight because my mom has been so concerned about my health that she is stuffing me with as much food as possible. The weight gain has actually led to more stress for me because I was quite proud of finally achieving a weight my body was comfortable with in the months leading up to the cancer diagnosis.

All in all, I feel like I've been really lucky in my treatment. Cancer aside, the side effects could have been a lot worse. My body is still mostly functional, I have a strong support system around me, and I'm finally making a dent in my gaming backlog!

Only one more chemo cycle to go.