Chemotherapy Treatment #1

On Thursday, October 7, I met with Dr. Keller for a consultation about my first chemotherapy treatment.  He showed my family and I the PET Scan on the computer, and it was amazing how many infected lymph nodes I have in my chest!  There is one large node, in particular, that is right on the verge of being considered "too big" for chemotherapy to completely destroy.  This means that if this mass is not gone at the end of my chemotherapy regimen, then I may have to have spot radiation in order to completely destroy the large lymph node.  The good news about the PET Scan and bone marrow biopsy results is that I am officially classified as stage two cancer (out of four).  Stage one means that there is cancer in one place.  Stage two means that there is cancer in two places (that's me--my neck and chest).  Stage three means that the cancer is in more than one place and below the diaphragm.  Stage four means that the cancer is in more than one place and below the diaphragm and in the organs or bone marrow. 
My chemotherapy treatment will consist of 12 total treatments, one every two weeks (6 months of treatment).  It is called ABVD, which is an abbreviation for the four types of chemotherapy drugs I will be given during treatment.  Each treatment takes about three hours, where I am hooked up to an IV drip through my port.
My first chemotherapy treatment was last Thursday, October 7.  It was very painless and all of the nurses were extremely nice.  My Big, Rachael Heister, came and visited me, bringing with her a grape slushy from Sonic!  I felt fine the day of my treatment (slight queasiness, but alleviated with medication), and I also felt pretty good for two days after my treatment.  Sunday and Monday, however, I barely moved from the couch, and I slept 12 hours both nights.  I just felt really tired and shaky and very weak, but nothing unbearable.  Monday, I had lab work done to test my levels, all of which were fine.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (today), I have felt really well!  It's nice to have some energy, even if it is not 100%.