STEROIDS: A Cancer Patient's Miracle Drug (and Other Exciting News)
Dearest Readers,
I have exciting news for all of you. I think the steroid I was given on Day 9 (yesterday) may have been an overdose (not really), or at least it feels that way. Let me break it down for you. Actually, let me first explain why this is exciting. One, because I can say I overdosed on steroids (again, not really). And two, because it makes me feel powerful. Okay, now let me break it down for you. Yesterday's treatment started off with an appointment with my oncologist. She looked at my rash from last week--which, by the way, is an embarrassing thing to say on the internet--and realized that there was some skin discoloration. I look like I've been beaten and battered on the right side of my rib cage, and that is what I will tell people because it's a better story than an allergic reaction. After the appointment, I watched some TV and patiently awaited my drugs. Remember that I got my picc-line in last Thursday so my waiting time did NOT include getting stuck with an IV needle (yaysies all around)! My treatment started off with some Decadron, the steroid of choice, and then came the Benadryl to pre-medicate my allergy to Bleo, and finally Bleomycin, the chemo drug. I have no idea why I decided to do this, but I did. I fought the Benadryl. I just felt like it needed to be done. I didn't want to pass out, ass up in the middle of the treatment center from the sedative effects of Benadryl. So there I am watching the View conducting a slurred, high-off-Benadryl conversation with my nurse about her kids and Education Policy in today's America. If you're wondering--I do sometimes regret decisions that I make.
After I finished treatment, I went home and passed out, ass up in the comfort of my own home. With my dog. Once again, yaysies all around. Once I woke up from my nap I felt the side effects of the steroid start to kick in. These included things like alertness and hunger, or in the case of a cancer patient, normal functioning. I finally felt like myself again. My energy level was the highest in been in a long time. Even after my surgery I felt tired and had a lessened appetite, and my first 8 days of chemo treatment didn't make it any better. So when my steroid overdose on Day 9 rolled around, it was welcomed with open arms. The only downside to the effects of the steroid is wakefulness. I couldn't fall asleep until 4 AM last night and I woke up very alert this morning at 9. An upside to the steroid is hunger, or in my case, too much hunger. For breakfast this morning I had 3 pancakes, 2 slices of pizza, half a bag of pistachios, a granola bar, and a big glass of milk. It felt amazing to be able to eat again, even if that breakfast could have fed a small village in Ethiopia. I'm a horrible person, I already know. Haters gon' hate. My energy level today also felt pretty awesome. I spent most of the day reading and painting and playing with my puppy. I even drove 20 minutes away to a Barnes and Noble BY MYSELF just to read and be all intellectual and shit BY MYSELF. As you can see, I'm totally cool and hipster because I go out and read and do smart things by myself, and it's NOT because I don't have friends, it's because I'm really cool and really hipster. Just chillin' over here by myself writing on mah blog, because you knowwwww, that's what hipsters do. Hipsters have blogs.
Okay, I think it's time for other exciting news...So, I started this blog so that friends and family could keep up with my treatment. Lately, I've realized that my blog has gotten around and strangers have begun to read the blog as well. THIS IS AWESOME. I did not expect that at all. Actually (this is the most exciting part), so far I've had two total strangers message me and tell me that they were really "inspired" by my blog and "proud" of me. I used quotes so my friends would know I didn't make that up. The strangers may or may not have also said that I'm "really really ridiculously good looking"...note the quotes...
ANYWAY, I think it's super cool that total randos (credit to my good friend Daisy for that one) find my blog interesting. I hope my blog continues to intrigue! As for my audience, my blog dashboard tells me that I have readers in the U.S. (possibly including Alaska--Iva Karoly-Lister???), Canada (thanks to the Jenners), Australia, Egypt, Finland, Bermuda, Czech Republic, UAE, Switzerland, and Vietnam (Thanks, Ashley Hughes ;)). This is all really exciting stuff to me. If you're a stranger and you find my posts funny or you want to message me and tell me how offensive you think I am for making jokes about my cancer, that's cool too! I love talking to people! Just go ahead and message me, I'll definitely respond. Or make a fake blog account and post hate comments on my blogs, I don't care. I just want to talk to someone. I'm so lonely--I mean, hipster.
Last but not least, some weird side effects from chemo this week: random ringing in my ears.
Blog creds to this little one for helping me write this bad boy:
I have exciting news for all of you. I think the steroid I was given on Day 9 (yesterday) may have been an overdose (not really), or at least it feels that way. Let me break it down for you. Actually, let me first explain why this is exciting. One, because I can say I overdosed on steroids (again, not really). And two, because it makes me feel powerful. Okay, now let me break it down for you. Yesterday's treatment started off with an appointment with my oncologist. She looked at my rash from last week--which, by the way, is an embarrassing thing to say on the internet--and realized that there was some skin discoloration. I look like I've been beaten and battered on the right side of my rib cage, and that is what I will tell people because it's a better story than an allergic reaction. After the appointment, I watched some TV and patiently awaited my drugs. Remember that I got my picc-line in last Thursday so my waiting time did NOT include getting stuck with an IV needle (yaysies all around)! My treatment started off with some Decadron, the steroid of choice, and then came the Benadryl to pre-medicate my allergy to Bleo, and finally Bleomycin, the chemo drug. I have no idea why I decided to do this, but I did. I fought the Benadryl. I just felt like it needed to be done. I didn't want to pass out, ass up in the middle of the treatment center from the sedative effects of Benadryl. So there I am watching the View conducting a slurred, high-off-Benadryl conversation with my nurse about her kids and Education Policy in today's America. If you're wondering--I do sometimes regret decisions that I make.
After I finished treatment, I went home and passed out, ass up in the comfort of my own home. With my dog. Once again, yaysies all around. Once I woke up from my nap I felt the side effects of the steroid start to kick in. These included things like alertness and hunger, or in the case of a cancer patient, normal functioning. I finally felt like myself again. My energy level was the highest in been in a long time. Even after my surgery I felt tired and had a lessened appetite, and my first 8 days of chemo treatment didn't make it any better. So when my steroid overdose on Day 9 rolled around, it was welcomed with open arms. The only downside to the effects of the steroid is wakefulness. I couldn't fall asleep until 4 AM last night and I woke up very alert this morning at 9. An upside to the steroid is hunger, or in my case, too much hunger. For breakfast this morning I had 3 pancakes, 2 slices of pizza, half a bag of pistachios, a granola bar, and a big glass of milk. It felt amazing to be able to eat again, even if that breakfast could have fed a small village in Ethiopia. I'm a horrible person, I already know. Haters gon' hate. My energy level today also felt pretty awesome. I spent most of the day reading and painting and playing with my puppy. I even drove 20 minutes away to a Barnes and Noble BY MYSELF just to read and be all intellectual and shit BY MYSELF. As you can see, I'm totally cool and hipster because I go out and read and do smart things by myself, and it's NOT because I don't have friends, it's because I'm really cool and really hipster. Just chillin' over here by myself writing on mah blog, because you knowwwww, that's what hipsters do. Hipsters have blogs.
Okay, I think it's time for other exciting news...So, I started this blog so that friends and family could keep up with my treatment. Lately, I've realized that my blog has gotten around and strangers have begun to read the blog as well. THIS IS AWESOME. I did not expect that at all. Actually (this is the most exciting part), so far I've had two total strangers message me and tell me that they were really "inspired" by my blog and "proud" of me. I used quotes so my friends would know I didn't make that up. The strangers may or may not have also said that I'm "really really ridiculously good looking"...note the quotes...
ANYWAY, I think it's super cool that total randos (credit to my good friend Daisy for that one) find my blog interesting. I hope my blog continues to intrigue! As for my audience, my blog dashboard tells me that I have readers in the U.S. (possibly including Alaska--Iva Karoly-Lister???), Canada (thanks to the Jenners), Australia, Egypt, Finland, Bermuda, Czech Republic, UAE, Switzerland, and Vietnam (Thanks, Ashley Hughes ;)). This is all really exciting stuff to me. If you're a stranger and you find my posts funny or you want to message me and tell me how offensive you think I am for making jokes about my cancer, that's cool too! I love talking to people! Just go ahead and message me, I'll definitely respond. Or make a fake blog account and post hate comments on my blogs, I don't care. I just want to talk to someone. I'm so lonely--I mean, hipster.
Last but not least, some weird side effects from chemo this week: random ringing in my ears.
Blog creds to this little one for helping me write this bad boy:
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No animals were harmed in the making of this water color painting.
"I even drove 20 minutes away to a Barnes and Noble BY MYSELF just to read and be all intellectual and shit BY MYSELF." Interpreted the end of this sentence differently than I think it's meant to be. Love you!
ReplyDeleteNo, you interpreted it correctly...
Delete