First Chemo Treatment - Late Update

First, I need to apologize for not providing an update during the week. I know that many of you have been checking and were concerned that there was not an update. It has been a busy week, but that's really not a good excuse. I will try to do better!

I received my first chemotherapy treatment on Monday November 17. It was the "big" session and the entire process took over 8 hours. I got 2 chemo drugs (Cisplatin and Gemzar), plus drugs to help with nausea and other side effects. It was a long day, but went OK. The staff is friendly and supportive and did everything possible to keep me comfortable. I ate a little dinner and rested in the evening. Nausea symptoms were fairly strong Monday night, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but the anti-nausea medicines were a big help. One unexpected side effect was....hiccups! Tuesday and Wednesday they were quite strong, but certainly better than nausea. The reality is the chemo drugs cause significant fatigue. Resting helps, but in some ways I just have to deal with it. I felt better each day during the week and by Friday went into the office for more than a half day. This weekend I feel pretty good and enjoyed visits with several friends.

On Monday November 24 I will have a "small" chemo session lasting only about an hour. Hopefully the side effects will be small as well. However, the reality is that each person reacts differently and I will need to learn how the drugs affect me.

In other news, our son Bryan formally started his law career with Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal on November 17. The first week was primarily for orientation, but he has already completed projects for two lawyers and another lawyer talked with him about an upcoming media case. He is excited to finally be working after so many years of school. He is also enjoying the view of Lake Michigan from his office on the 79th floor of the Sears Tower, but doesn't expect to have a lot of time to gaze out the window.