Post-Radiotherapy: Chemotherapy Cycle #01 Treatment #01

Last Friday was the first treatment for the first cycle of my first chemotherapy after my radiation-therapy. Went to the clinic not knowing what to expect but at least I know for the new regime, I do not have to carry a pump home and all the infusions are was done at the clinic.

Last week, I was progressively getting better from the Gastritis and started to feel and eat better although there were the occasional ups and downs. As I was sort of still recovering from the radiation induced gastritis, I was a bit apprehensive as to whether the chemotherapy would affect or make the gastritis worse. Therefore I was a little surprised that things turned out well enough on Friday and I was able to have a proper lunch and I was feeling well enough also in the evening. The next day though was another story. I was alright in the morning and went to Macdonald in the morning for Nathan’s weekly treat. A neighbor who is also a fellow church member was also at Macdonald and we had breakfast together and we chatted. That was around 10:00am in the morning. At around 11:00am, the side-effect (I assumed that it was the chemotherapy side effect) hit me like a ton of bricks and it was like a combination of all the things that I was suffering from in the last 3 weeks all coming together in that one moment. There was the pain, the bloated-ness, the feeling of wanting to vomit, the occasional sharp pain in the lower and upper abdomen, occasional sharp pain on the lower right chest where the liver is, the churning and spasm like those of gastritis. All in all, it was just bad, bad, bad… These lasted all the way through the day and into Sunday. Can’t eat but tried to and can’t sleep. Loaded myself with morphine but only helped moderately.

I am normally quite stoic but it was so bad on Saturday that I had resorted to “chanting” asking the Father in Jesus’ name to remove the tumor and pain and I kept repeating myself until I doze off at one stage.

Slightly better now but all the symptoms are still there but on a much reduced severity scale. Suspect that all these are part of the chemotherapy side-effects accentuated by the still recovering radiation gastritis. Suspect that the pain was that bad because I was also on the tail end (3^rd day) of the effectiveness of the fentanyl patch. Changed the patch last night and supplemented with morphine and overall I had a more comfortable night. At least I did not wake up from a sharp shock of pain from the abdominal region and I could sleep lying down instead of sitting.

Beyond these, I do now know if there is anything positive that I could report on but sadly I could really not think of any but the fact that I could still be writing now and report that I am doing better now compared to Saturday is a positive, that God is still with me and had helped carried me through the weekend. Last night, as my birthday is coming up, my mother cooked mee-suah in Bak-Ku-Teh soup base with pork ribs, kidney and liver, hard-boiled egg and Chai-Sin. Regardless of whether it is my birthday or not, that dish is one of my favorite and I guess it went in a great way towards opening up my appetite. Last night’s portion is roughly less than half of what I would normally had consumed when I am well.

What a way to celebrate my birthday but I am reminded of God’s goodness that I still have the opportunity to “celebrate” my birthday this year.

Yesterday, Josie received news that the sister of one of her closest friend was also diagnosed with Stage-IV cancer that had metastasised to multiple organ. Not certain what is the specific cancer but preliminary indication is pancreatic cancer but further test are been done. The metastasis is quite extensive and she is experiencing a lot of pain and I believe the pain is on a level that is far worse than mine. If you read this and have the time to pray for me, I ask that you pray for this sister as well, for God to comfort and sustain her and her family.

In God We Trust and in Christ alone my hope is found.

Hebrews 11:1