Chemo is stinky!

On so many levels. Yesterday was marathon day. Pre-medications, three chemo drugs and a two- hour observation. Also saw my doc in the morning who didn’t have much to say. I get my best information from my clinical trial nurse. Amy is a goddess. I email her and she gets back to me in five minutes. She is compassionate, realistic and honest. I love her. So Jerry and I sat in comfy chairs for hours, ate breakfast and lunch and surfed the web. Lots of additional fluids with the drugs so I get up to pee a lot, which is good for the circulation. My nurse was chatty in a good way, and we enjoyed talking to each other. Everyone enjoyed meeting my South African penguin, Dr. Cabernetska, who oversaw my treatment. She was a gift from a group of friends. A group of us who have gone through difficult medical procedures have penguins. A club no one wants to belong to, but once in, happy to have this symbol of love and closeness. But back to stinky. Chemo pee is stinky. Chemo sweat is stinky. I am no great fan of scents, but I am actually using a scented deodorant right now. Native deodorant is not an antiperspirant, so,it lets you sweat. Right now I am using the apple cinnamon scented. I think my favorite is grapefruit. It’s not overpowering, but it does keep me from being too stinky. Today, the day after chemo-heavy is a good day. I feel fine. Tomorrow could be another story, if the first round was any indication of what is to come. And Friday even worse. I am assembling my arsenal in homes of stemming the tide of nausea, achiness and exhaustion. But since I feel,good today I will take advantage. I’ll go out to run errands, then make a good dinner. Wild mushroom red wine risotto and a heap of steamed spinach. And the risotto will have a good red wine— maybe a super Tuscan, because that would be delicious to drink with dinner.