J. Dorsey Says........: My Journey With Cancer-Step 3 Chemo Begins

Hubby Cutting My Hair

I've been wanting to update the blog, but I really had to get my head right. This entire experience has taken me through so many different emotions as you can imagine. The first for me was disbelief. Then came fear. Then depression set in Big Time. I have a good friend and a cousin that fought cancer and being able to vent to them has been invaluable. They never let me sink. Along with my amazing husband, who is absolutely my rock and some other friends and family members, I know that I am absolutely not alone and I am very loved.

After we went to the conference with the doctors, they set up a chemo class with the nurse practitioner. I elected to go to the class alone. I needed to spend some time and let everything set in. I wasn't prepared to be presented with a huge binder. It was very overwhelming to read about all of the medicines and side-effects. I choked back the tears for most of the class. I got my temporary handicap placard and the dates for my chemo was set. NOW it was real!

Two days before chemo, I got my head shaved. I decided I would rather shave it than watch it all fall out. It was such a crazy experience. I thought I would be sad, but I wasn't at all. It actually felt quite good. It did make my youngest son really sad though. It finally hit him that this was all really happening.

1 day before chemo, We just stayed home. I hadn't slept well the night before and was utterly exhausted. However, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. I was actually ready to get started.

Chemo Day!! I managed to get some really good sleep overnight. Paul and I even hit our snooze buttons a few times.
We got to the hospital at 6:30am to check in. Used the handicapped placard to get a "good parking space."
We were taken straight up to the out-patient surgery floor, where they would surgically implant a port in my chest where future blood draws would be given and where future blood draws would be taken. The surgery took about 2 hours. When I woke up in recovery, the pain that hit me was, whoo!! My arm and chest were on fire. They immediately gave me some pain meds and by the time I got dressed and brought up to the cancer center, the was thankfully subsiding. I was taken to one of the pods to relax and meet my nurse. She explained everything that I would experience during my time there. It was a really comfortable experience. First up was all of the anti-nausea drugs. I asked why there were so many of them. The explained that they work very hard to make sure that patients don't get nauseous and don't vomit. My particular chemo regimen is going to last for 4 months. I will do a cycle of 2 separate meds for the first 4 weeks and then only 1 med for the last four weeks. I also have an auto-injectable med that they attach after chemo. It activates 27 hours after my treatments. It is to help prevent my white blood cell count from falling to a dangerous level. The side effect is bone pain. But of course, they made sure I had pain meds on hand if it's unbearable for me.

I didn't feel any discomfort after my treatments. And, I even felt good enough to go shopping afterward. Sleeping was kind of rough because of the surgery. This morning I was up to see the boys off to school and that made me happy. I ate well, rested a lot and even felt up to having a few visitors. My mood is great, my outlook is even greater. I believe I will beat this. I pray, meditate, and just talk to the Creator. This journey and fight are going to be a long one, but I'm up for the challenge. I'm disappointed that my acting in on hold, but its just temporary. And just because I'm not able to act right now, doesn't mind I can't continue to write my stories and work on scripts. I even told my agent that if she gets a breakdown for a cancer patient, I'm perfect for the job!

So, I'm doing okay. I have been so overwhelmed (in a good way) by all of the good thought, wishes and prayers sent my way. My next treatment is October 11th.

Peace and Love, good people.