One infusion down, 25ish to go.

Today was for all intent and purposes some of what we expected, and some not so much.

So here is the skinny... we had light traffic (Seattle is notorious for horrid traffic in the mornings and evenings), mostly due to it being Friday, and that put us there about 30 minutes ahead of time. We checked in to the blood draw lab at about 9am. Spent a few moments there, and it was off to a patient education one on one with Deb (one of the nurses of Dr. Lindon's oncology team). We received our "everything you need to know about the chemo thing book" and had a very nice discussion. Lots of "if this happens, then call us" items. We'll have to get those organized in a FAQ (frequently asked questions). However, it started to become a little evident that it was prepping for the worst and hoping for the best.

The regimen was more specifically laid out for the treatment (and a daily routine). Toni's daily routine will start out with a Prilosec for stomach acid, and then a good breakfast. After breakfast she will take 125mg of Cytoxin. That is the C of the CMF chemo treatment. The rest of her day is managing symptoms. Then, like today, on Fridays she'll get the infusion of the MF.

Following the education piece, we went to the Infusion floor. Got a pile of drugs (stomach acid control, anti-nausa, the Cytoxin (the C part of the chemo of CMF) and back ups for other possible side effects. Once called into the Infusion Suite, which took perhaps 10 minutes of waiting room time or less, we were met by a few nurses that did some rountine vital sign gathering and toured us around the Infusion floor. The most important stops were the bathrooms and the snack area. Everyone was quite nice.

There are a lot of checks and balances to ensure the appropriate amount of drug is provided. They even have two persons verify everything right there in the room. That is reassuring.
We thought Toni would be lying down in the bed and be receiving her doses over a long period of time throughout the morning. However, it was about 1.5cc of M and 12cc of F and the nurse simply added them to Toni's port hook up over about a 20 minute period of time. Toni just sat on the side of the bed in the room. Obviously, this is that "Chemo" light aspect. That may change slightly over time but it appears Toni will only have to spend 3 hrs on a Friday from start to finish. And that is a bit of a welcomed surprise.

We finished around noon, and blessed with light traffic again on the 520 floating bridge arrived at Panera Bread in Redmond at 12:30ish. Then it was off to the Post Office, and Ben Franklin store for some Toni shopping errands. Right back into the normal routine of life.

It is now going on 7pm. And other than a slight headache, Toni is feeling ok. So, not a lot going on today... but we have to remind ourselves... this is all cumulative from here on out. Diet, exercise and symptom management for the next 6 to 8 months.

Visit the blog tomorrow afternoon, as we will have a few pictures of today's events.
Love to all, Bryan and Toni.