Welcome to the chemo party!

At 12:30, I arrived at the hospital full of anticipation. Eager and bushy tailed.. I don’t know, it’s just who I am. Since I was much younger, I’ve also welcomed every challenge with positive energy. I walked to the main campus registration desk, and Peggy greeted me cheerfully. She said “you were just here the other day.” I returned, “Peggy, I’ve been here just about EVERY day!” We laughed and she pointed me to the Chemotherapy Infusion Center. My mom and I head that way and I begin to walk ahead of her. Don’t ask me why.. I mean honestly, the chemo session can’t start without me, so what am I rushing for? Once we get to the Infusion center, we see a familiar face sitting in the lobby. Now who could this be? It’s T - the bestie!

Now let me give you some background. We met 25 years ago on the campus of Morgan State University. It was our first day of class there as a freshmen. We were smart, ambitious, and cute, and you couldn’t tell us ANYTHING. We thought we knew it all.. Chiiilllle, oh the stories we could tell and the lessons that we’ve learned since our time in the Engineering Building, Since Morgan, we’ve probably not lived in the same city for longer than 1 year. Actually, it’s a fact that we have not lived in the same city for more than 1 year. I blame it on the fact that she is a serial mover, while I hate to even pack a box. But none of that matters, because she always makes time to be there when it counts. You see, a friendship is not based on how much the person does for you, how much time you spend together, how many trips you take (though we’ve taken a few), or how many selfies you take together.. A true friendship is about being there when it matters, when it counts, and not just when it’s convenient. So, when I told her that my first chemo treatment was on Jan 9, she booked the a red eye from LA to Houston .. getting her in town just 2 hrs prior to my appointment. She stayed long enough to ensure that I was ok, and will be headed back to LA on the first flight in the am. You see, my bestie is an entrepreneur. She has things to do! 😆 (Excuse me while I enter a shameless plug for the SAX Agency : a multidisciplinary design and marketing company. Visit them at www.thesaxagency.com) You can meet her below (she’ll probably kill me for a few of these pics, but I feel like I can get a few breast cancer sympathy points 😂)

CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP - Shon Frames.jpeg

So we walk into the Infusion center and we are instantly greeted with smiles and good cheer (wait that sounds a bit Christmas-y huh?). Anyway, I was checked in, my credentials were verified, and then asked to have a seat for a few minutes. I reminded her that she hadn’t taken my payment and she confirmed that my insurance company would bill me appropriately. We got into a little side convo about the cost of chemo vs deductibles, and I almost fell to the floor when she told me how much one chemo treatment costs. Immediately, I felt blessed in my situation. Sure, I have breast cancer, and I have a pretty long chemo regimen, but I can afford to pay for my care. I thought of all of the people that struggle with a “matter of life and breast(sic)” merely because they don’t have the funds to support their medical care. In that moment, I am humbled and thankful. The nurse calls us back to my infusion suite. They start with weighing me and then proceed to take my blood. Before every chemo treatment, they’ll need to ensure that I am sufficiently healthy to receive the medicine. (We’ll talk about why the weight is important a little later. Don’t let me forget. 😃 Sidebar-don’t you hate when someone says, “Don’t let me forget.”, and then you remind them and they still don’t remember what they were supposed to tell you!?!?). This is the first use of the port. I like it already.. Didn’t feel a thing. The nurse, Ashley (we call her Ash, because it’s just way cooler), also made a minor modification to the port adhesive, and I could kiss her for it. I could actually move my neck in all directions now. What a wonderful feeling it is to be able to move your neck as it was intended. Now, expecting a 45 min cycle time, Ash sends my blood off to the lab for results. In the meantime, I have an appointment with my Oncologist at 1, so I head over to his office. My mom and T stay to hold the fort down in Suite 18 until I return. Apparently, they have some catching up to do.

The bestie and my momma thinking of a master plan ..

In a great mood, I skip on over to Dr. S’ office and sign in at the front desk. I’m 8 minutes early, so I call my friend Ramona to catch up on a few things. You know that friend at work that you’ve grown really close to over the years ..the one that you can confide in and trust to tell you the truth (about yourself) in any situation. That’s Ramona.. hey girl 👋🏾 They call me to the back and the whole nurse gang greets and hugs me on the way back. FYI - Katherine and Jennifer are the most amazing nurses. When I have questions, I can text or call, and they respond back almost faster than some of my friends (enter side eye .. y’all know who you are, I won’t call you out). They maintain a seamless flow of information and ensure that I don’t let questions swirl in my head. Once we are in the office, the nurse asks me if I have any questions and if there were any changes in my health.. Nope, let’s get this party started!

Dr. S walks in with a huge smile on his face. We exchange greetings, and he asks if I am ready. Yes, let’s go!!! He begins to explain that I may need an additional biopsy, but ensures me that this does not delay my treatment. Based on the results of the MRI, my medical team was evaluating the need to perform a biopsy on one internal mammary gland. He doesn’t anticipate a positive result based on the results of the lymph node biopsy and CT scan; however, a biopsy would help with surgical decisions which take place after chemo. I agree to reconvene the discussion once the team has a path forward. So I need another biopsy? Ok.. I will not let this news take away my joy. I am excited to be starting the first clinical day of my journey. Dr. S tells me that I look ready, and much better than the last time that we saw each other. He notes that I looked a bit down. At this point, I reminded him that he had just told me that my MRI read like a landmine of potential explosions, rushed me to get a lymph node biopsy the same day, expedited an echo and the ct scan, and lastly advanced the start date for my chemotherapy. “Ummm, sir, I think I had a right to look a little less than pleasant.” He laughed, and nodded his head in agreement. Well, that’s all behind us now, and it’s time to get this party started! But first, we must selfie 📸

I head back over to the Infusion center. Theo was sitting in the waiting area. He had to circle back home to get the mouse that he’d erroneously forgotten. I guess he figured that he could be plenty productive in 4 hrs. Moreover, he’s also known the bestie for 25 years, so it was probably very clear to him that we would thoroughly entertain ourselves and everyone else in the Infusion Center for that matter.

So let me tell you a little bit about our digs. Suite 18 was a private room where I would give blood for all lab work, receive, pre-chemo and chemo meds, and have my port cleaned before being discharged. The room had a comfortable reclining chair for me and two arm chairs for my guests. (They brought in a separate stool for the 3rd person) The room is equipped with cable tv and wifi. They also provide warm blankets if needed, snacks, coffee/tea/water and other drinks. You are allowed to bring/order your own food or get food from the cafe. Let me just tell you how amazing the fresh baked cookies were. Just know that the chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies were to die for.. (Wait, is “to die for” grossly inappropriate humor in this context?) Ash, the chemo nurse, advised us that she had never been a waitress a day in her life. So we needed to be patient with her ability to fill our snack and beverage orders. Imagine our surprise when she returned to the suite with every item in hand! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Way to go Ash! At the end of the day, I can appreciate a private setting for treatment. Most facilities are moving in this direction, but there are still a few with an open chemo area where all the patients are congregated in the same space to receive their medicine.

So now that you are familiar with the digs, let’s get to today’s schedule. After Ash saw that I had returned from my doctor’s appointment, she could order my chemo medicine, which is based on my weight. You see, they are required to have “butts in seats” before they can even request the chemo. This ensures that the life does not expire before it is used. Depending on what type of chemo you get, it could also be sensitive to light. So they don’t even hang it before you are ready to use it. She explains that the chemo is mixed in-house and would be available in an hour. In the meantime, I begin with my pre-chemo meds which include a steroid and anti-nausea meds. In addition, there is frequent use of a saline solution to clean the line between medicines, and to ensure that I get all of the medicine in each bag. She is super anal about ensuring that she checks everything 3 times, and frankly I am not mad at her at all! At some point, she even yells “Checker” to have a cold eyes review of the information on the computer before my infusion begins. She is super knowledgeable and enjoys talking to us about how the chemo process works. Scroll to meet Ash below.

So I’ve told you about the party guests (The Hubs, My momma, and the bestie). I told you about the facilities and the pre-chemo process. I can not move on the chemo until you meet Rosie. Who is Rosie you ask? Well, she is a super smart and functional infusion pump stand that houses the medicine that will kill this tumor! Everybody gives credit to the medicine and neglects to give her the props that she rightfully deserves.. Rosie holds it down for me (well, holds it up .. you know because the meds have to stay UP on the holder, oh never mind). She helps to ensure that I get the right dosage. She sends alerts to the nurses for various actions. She can be charged via an outlet and she also becomes mobile so that I can use the facilities when needed to stroll around the hospital like Max in the tv show, new Amsterdam. Everyone, please say hello to Rosie. (By the way, the first person to tell me why I named her Rosie, will get a special surprise. Hint: I grew up in the 80’s and Rosie’s name is based on a childhood memory

So we are just about done with the pre-chemo meds, and are awaiting arrival of the big guys. Theo heads out to get food, because we are starving at this point. Welp, perfect time to be serenaded, huh? Well T never ever ever knows the lyrics to ANY songs. It’s crazy to me. Like who doesn’t know the lyrics to the wizard of oz songs? Well, she has already rubbed off on my Sydney. She also never knows the lyrics to ANY songs. Catch my serenade below:

Ok, so usually I hear that song, and ball into tears. Somehow, that wasn’t even an option. Who could cry after that?

Ash returns to the room in a hazmat’ish looking outfit, and immediately everyone started questioning our safety gear, or err lack thereof. (Sorry guys, ExxonMobil has taught me to risk assess all situations) Ash explains that she is required to wear safety gear because she handles the chemicals; no safety gear is required for us. My current treatment consistent of 2 chemo meds. I get one bag for about 15 minutes and another bag for about 1:15 minutes. We appropriately rename the slang term for the first bag “Red Angel” (positivity is everything, right?) It’s red in color, and as a result temporarily turns your excreted fluids red in color as well. The red angel truly represents the point that I first receive chemo treatment, so I paused to give the moment the respect that it deserved, noticing the cool temperature of the medicine as it enters my veins.

Now, we are about halfway through the appointment. After completely devouring the food that Theo brought us, Ash returned to clip off the first bag and set up the second bag of chemo for entry. We’re in the home stretch now! While we are waiting, she reiterates the need to be careful around people that exhibits signs of sickness and to use hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial soap. Chemo causes a suppression of my white blood cells, which are used to fight illnesses. For support in this area, I am provided an onbody Nuelasta injector, which helps to create white blood cells after chemo treatment. It’s placed on my stomach, and blinks green until the medicine is slowly discharged at a later time. In my case, this is 5pm tomorrow; I am asked to remove it at 8pm. We’re down to about 30 minutes now, so what else is there to do but commemorate the occasion with more photos?

By the time we’re done with our last photos and packed up, Ash has come back to remove the needle that is attached to port. She explains sanitary requirements again, and dismisses us with checkout instructions. Thank you Sweet Baby Jesus! It’s 5pm and I’ve made it through the first day of Chemo! Now, I know that it will not be all sunshine and rainbows from here on out, but as I’ve said countless times, I will rejoice right now, because I know that victory is mine. I am extremely grateful for my mom and hubby, who have selflessly supported me on the journey thus far. I want to thank you all for the texts, calls, messages, Fb and IG posts that I received during the day. It makes me very happy to know that I have a village of compassionate friends and family cheering me on from the side line. And a really big thank you goes out to the bestie for flying in and out to be with me during this time.. Love ya Forever eva.

p.s. I am aware that that this was a long post, but this was also a long day. 🙃