Chemo Round 2

My second dose of chemo was on Thursday. If we’re successful with just four doses of chemo, that means I’m halfway there!

The standard chemo cocktail for Hodgkin Lymphoma is called “ABVD” and is compromised of four chemo drugs that are administered by one-by-one. The “A” stands for Adriamycin (aka doxorubicin) — the infamous potent chemo drug bright red in color known as the “red devil”. The others follow in order: bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine. The whole process takes about three hours (including infusion of steroids and nausea meds to start) and I get to go home as soon as it’s over.

My team was concerned on Thursday that I was having a complication called extravasation. Essentially, the chemo drugs leaked out of the vein and into the tissues of my arm. They immediately started an antidote to counteract against any potential damage. I went back to MD Anderson on Friday and Saturday to get two more doses of the antidote. So far, so good! I’m very happy I’m not back at the hospital today. Huge shout out to my mom for being with me through the whole experience — she is truly an angel!

That experience made me realize that a PICC line is probably a better option for me, so I will have one put in before chemo #3. A PICC line is an IV that goes into your upper arm with the catheter tip draining into the vena cava (the big vein that empties blood into the heart). The larger vein is able to tolerate the abrasive drugs better, and the overall infusion process should be more comfortable. I’ll also have blood drawn through the PICC and am looking forward to letting my arms rest.

Overall, I’ve tolerated the chemo pretty well. I take my nausea meds like clockwork and haven’t gotten sick so far — a major win! I’m mostly just drowsy, achy, and low energy.

I’m well into immunocompromised territory so I’ve put myself in lockdown at home. Besides visits to MD Anderson, I’ve only seen my parents. They are also staying at home to help keep me safe.

Thanks to all of my cheerleaders and prayer warriors — your support is keeping my spirits up as I fight through this!