A Lesson and a New 'Do

Thursday kept me busy with things to do. At 2pm, my Dad and I headed into the hospital for what they call a "teaching" on chemotherapy. This is simply an hour-long session where the chemo patient and a family member are taught all about the various side effects of chemotherapy, how to control these side effects, who to contact in emergencies, programs available, etc. etc. I found out nothing that I hadn't already learned through reading and asking questions over the past little while. Basically, the major side effects would be nausea and vomiting, sore mouth, fatigue, and hair loss. Longer term effects could be leukemia, infertility, and osteoperosis. She also touched on what is called "chemobrain," which refers to slower cognitive functioning in chemo patients. This means that for a short time I may experience inattention, irritability, and trouble concentrating.
She stressed the idea of avoiding infection, because between approx. the 10th and 14th days after each treatment, my white bloodcell count would be extremely low. This means I will have very little "fighter" cells available for fighting infection. She warned me to wash my hands FREQUENTLY and to avoid high-traffic areas and people who are sick. If I was to have a fever over 38, I would need to go to the ER immediately for an antibiotic.
I was to avoid becoming pregnant, although ovarian function would probably STOP half way through the treatments, (hopefully temporarily). This also means no periods during chemo (which I can't complain about)!
She warned me to drink lots of fluids for a number of reasons: a) to avoid and/or help dry, sore mouth; b) incase of diarrhea or constipation; c) because one of the chemo drugs collects in the bladder, causing bladder infection-like symptoms.
Finally, she suggested getting lots f rest, but also trying to maintain a normal life. She suggested not staying in bed (as some people will stay there for a month at a time) and trying to move around and be with people as much as possible.

After our meeting, I met Mom and Mike at the salon, where I was to get my FIRST EVER short haircut. Kim (my hairdresser) was confident it would look great and I was feeling pretty excited about the new change. I had always wanted a cut like this but found it hard to be adventurous and break out of the routine ... now I had no other choice! So it was a good way for me to experience a needed change in looks.

I was actually extremely satisfied with the end result, which may make it even harder to go bald!!! This kept me distracted for the remainder of the night and boosted my spirits. Thanks Kim for the wonderful job!

Check out the pics below and let me know what you think :-)