Dear Lisa,
I was glad to read about things progressing and that you are feeling better. I'm glad you got the port, I know they are funky things but they do spare veins, and I know many a'woman that has bemoaned this after the fact...wishing they'd had a port because when you are many years down the road it can be problematic just to get a decent blood draw.
You are young and strong, I bet chemo won't be as bad as imagined (what ever is?). Which drugs are you getting, do you know yet? Some are worse than others of course, and this could very well mean that some treatments will be worse than others if they are giving you a combo (most likely) and alternating them (also likely). Cisplatin is the drug that is almost always used for blc, and also happens to be tough. But years have shown it to be the most effective. There are newer versions of platinum drugs but none are in our accepted 'arsenal' yet, though many are being investigated in trials. When people find cisplatin too toxic- like when the kidneys are compromised- carboplatin, a sort of little sister drug, is substituted.
I am sure you'll get some answers here about what to expect. Get the best anti-nausea drug covered by your insurance and take it before the nausea gets a chance to hit. It's like with chronic pain...you take the pain killer before, because prevention is better than treating the acute attack, whether it's pain or nausea.
Thinking of you,
Wendy
