Several of you have been kind enough to email or telephone to ask how my first day of chemotherapy went. I was particularly concerned about my tolerance of toxic drugs, because I have historically had poor and atypical reactions to drugs in general and therefore avoid them if at all possible. For example, one of the glaucoma medications I use, as a side effect, causes dilation of the pupils. In my case, this drug causes my pupils to contract, a reaction apparently not found in the literature until a research scientist documented my reaction.
In the event, it seems to me that the infusions went pretty well. They had to be stopped only once, to give me Atropine when I started having an adverse reaction to one of the chemotherapies, Irinotecan.
The pleasant surprise is that I got an almost immediate increase in energy and decrease in pain from the session, which I am guessing is the result of an infusion of iron and some steroid tablets that they gave me prior to the chemotherapy. Dr. Saltz had expressed that it was his sense that I was on the brink of "sliding off the table," and I do not feel in that imminent danger as I write this tonight. In fact, I was able to take advantage of the pleasant winter's day by walking outdoors cumulatively for a good hour, with energy to spare!
