The First Treatment!

Zoë has made it through her first chemo treatment!

After searching seven different pharmacies for Lidocaine cream and none of them having it in stock, we decided to go to the appointment about an hour early (it takes that long to take full effect) to see if we could get some from the hospital. After we applied it to the area around her port, we decided to get some lunch from the hospital cafeteria. Zoë had never been to the 50’s themed diner and was excited to see it for the first time.

Once we finished lunch we headed back up to the Hemotology/Oncology office. Her vitals were taken and we were escorted to an exam room. Lidicaine is a WONDERFUL thing. Zoë has never liked being poked and is always anxious when she knows it’s coming. The nurse told her she was going to count to three and then give her a little poke. Zoë was a squirming a little when the nurse said “three” and Zoë didn’t realize that the needle was in and she was done being poked. The nurse drew blood for labs (which took about an hour to come back). All of her blood counts were very good. We expect her counts to rapidly decline in the first 7-14 days and will go up and down throughout her chemo.

After some anti-nausea medication and Benadryl, Zoë received her first chemo medicine (Vincristine). Next up was Carboplatin. This medication is given over a period of about an hour. All in all, we were at the doctor’s office for about four hours. Zoe seemed to have fun while she was getting her medication. We played CandyLand, played on the iPad and watched Lilo and Stitch 2. She drifted off to sleep while watching Lilo and Stitch 2 just after it started. She was still sleeping when it was time to take the iv out of her port and although she was irritated that we had to wake her up she did very well when the nurse took it out. Once we got to the car and started on the way home Zoë said she was hungry. We stopped at Taco Bueno and got her a chicken quesadilla. I think it may soon become something we do every “Doctor Day” on the way home. We don’t have one in Joplin and it’s one of my favorite fast food places.

Zoë has had extremely mild nausea. Her anti-nausea medication (Zofran) is working well for her. I hope her nausea continues to be kept at bay and she can enjoy the weekends. She is also taking an antibiotic during the weeks to prevent a certain type of pneumonia. Most of her medications are on an as needed basis so she won’t be taking them every day. Zoë has been looking forward to “Doctor Day” every week and I hope her excitement for Fridays to come will continue.