Chemo 5.1A

I am now on Gemcitabine, trade name, Gemzar (easier to pronounce and remember).  I started the day with a trip downtown to see Mark, my therapist.  Time with Mark always makes the day better.  Winter has finally come to Northern California.  The air was crisp.  I wore thermals, a hat and gloves, and was pretty comfortable.
Vicki was the Minion of the day.  It was good to see her.  She is the one who gave her mother and me our birthday party last year.  I don't think I've seen her since then, but always see her on Facebook, so it's sort of hard to remember.  It was a really quick appointment.  I had labs done yesterday, so they didn't need to check that.  Red count was 9.5, so the Procrit seems to be doing its job.  Bad thing about Procrit is that they can't give it to me through my port.  The shot hurts.  The visit started with pre meds, then 2000 cc's of Gemzar--looks like it should take forever to infuse, but it goes in really fast--you can almost hear it going "Glug, glug, glug..."  The flush the port after the chemo is through glugging.  My platelets aren't bad, but I did try to exsanguinate when they took out the needle--always exciting.  Last comes the Procrit shot in the tummy, "see you next week," a visit to the bakery for petit fours, and then home for a nap.  I'm feeling a little nauseous and tired, but no pain.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.  The only thing on the schedule is a hair cut--postponed twice, once because I didn't have the energy and last week because my stylist's father died.  My hair is still thinning on top.  Back and sides are pretty full.  I think it will enjoy the attention of a cut and style.
I got a surprise when Vicki came to pick me up.  There was a package for me.  It was a quilt from the woman in Connecticut for whom I made wool mittens in December.  She loves her mittens.  I love the quilt.  A happy match.
xxooxx