Doxil round #2

Yesterday I had the second treatment of Doxil. I was much less stressed than the first one, and my blood pressure was suitably lower. I received 8 mg oral Decadron (steroid) and 1 mg oral Ativan (anti-anxiety), plus IV Emend (anti-nausea) as pre-meds, all exactly the same as last time. I was relatively relaxed and the Ativan actually made me doze a bit.

The Doxil went smoothly. I also received my monthly treatment of Zometa, the bone building wonder drug that also has cancer fighting properties. L the charge nurse was so on top of things! Last Friday she was looking ahead and saw that I was due for Zometa this week, called Dr. G and got him to order it. Everything was ready when I arrived, although it did take a while to get all the drugs.

I asked Rik to take me to Molly Moon's for ice cream afterwards. (I needed the sugar hit to counter the Ativan drowsiness.) With a half scoop each of salted caramel and ginger covered with hot fudge sauce in me, I felt so terrific that I didn't need a nap and was able to bake a pizza for dinner. And I slept well at night without any sleep aids.

This morning I took the second of three doses of Emend. I also went back to the Cancer Institute for a shot of Neulasta, a drug which builds white blood cells. Because my white count was down a bit (but not too much to cancel treatment), and because the Doxil will continue to lower my white count, Dr. G prescribed Neulasta to help my body build neutrophils (immature white blood cells). Increased white counts should keep me from getting an infection. The shot hardly stung when administered in the fatty part of my upper arm. I may have bone pain in 12-18 hours that might last for one day, but this is hardly new to a woman who has had bone mets in more than 20 sites for the past almost eight years.