Day 1 is officially over. Arrived at the James at 8:00 AM, got out of there at 3:00 PM. Long day, but better than I figured.

The chemo center at the James is awesome. Each room has flat screen TV, nice recliner, and staff are consistently offering water, coffee, cokes, and a full breakfast/lunch menu. I declined the food, not being sure how I would react, but plowed through 4 or 5 bottles of water and an equal number of cups of coffee.

By 8:30, they had started IV, drawn blood and started a 1 hour infusion of normal saline. Lab was busy, so they didn't get results back until about 10:15 or so. Gave me pills of Zofran and related pre-meds, and started the 90 minute infusion of Cisplatin about 11:00. About 15 minutes of flushing with saline, followed by the Amifostine over about 10 minutes. 10 minutes more flushing, and I was done.

My friend is head of oncological pharmacy at the James, so he made sure I would take my Compazine. My mother in law also gave me crystallized ginger, which helped her get through chemo for her lymphoma.

Off to radiation, and have to admit to some anxiety when they clamped the mask down. Seemed tighter somehow knowing that today was the real thing. However, about 20 minutes and it was done. Whew!!!

So far, no hint of nausea, which is a good thing. A little easier with no chemo and only Amifostene and Rad for the rest of the week.

Onward and upward!

Jeff,

Sounds like you are off to a good start! Keep a close watch on the Cisplatin and watch for any ear ringing. It did that to me after the first round with it and the Doc had to change me to a different blend. Now, 11 months later I still have the ear ringing which will probably be with me forever.

Bill D.