Pizza, Zinfandel and chemo

So, the night before my first chemo, Jerry thought pizza would be just the thing for dinner, and he was right. I had no idea how I would react to chemo— would food taste different? Would I even want wine? So out of the freezer came a Trader Joe’s margherita pizza. I sautéed red onion, mushrooms and garlic and threw that on top and into the oven it went. I headed down to wine storage and picked out a Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel. Despite its youth (2015) somehow I knew it was going to be just right, and it was. Ridge Zins seem to be good no matter what. It filled my mouth with deep fruit and made the “night before” more bearable. Miraculously, I slept well until the phone alarm went off at six am. My daypack was prepacked with a new shawl, ginger cookies and candied ginger, and I slid in my iPad. Despite my nervousness, I ate some Greek yogurt and granola and we headed out. First stop was my doctor, and despite the early hour, he was running behind. The waiting did nothing for my confidence but my thought is, when a physician is late it means he is spending quality time with a patient, which is exactly what I want. When we finally got in, he looked at my incision and we talked a little bit about what was next. Then it was off to chemo class. Yes, chemo class. We watched a video and a nurse answered some questions. Then, off to the main event. Knowing my propensity for nausea, my pre-meds included a cocktail of three anti-nausea drugs and Benadryl. Then for the main event. Three different infusions over about five hours. And a couple blood draws. It all went incredibly smoothly and despite my fears, accessing the port was painless and the day left me feeling okay, but tired. When Jerry and I got home, I had some chicken soup and went to bed. I felt good enough the next day to run some errands and even go out to dinner with our guest from the Ukraine. I had a glass of a Black Ankle Bordeaux blend, and I was happy it still tasted good. I couldn’t finish my lovely dinner, but every bite I had was delicious. I have been told Chemo effects are cumulative, and not every day will be a good one, but I will relish each good day, and slog my way through the bad ones, keeping my eye on the prize at the end.