The day after the halfway mark

So here's the short of it,
The day after my chemo and I'm feeling very tired and have napped off and on all day.

And here's the long

It's the day after my chemo treatment and I have that false sense of security. I have not been hit with any big symptoms, just overwhelming tiredness. So I've napped off and on most of the day. I did have the energy to put dishes in the dishwasher and take Sophie for a walk. But I remember that after my first treatment, I felt pretty good for the first two days. I probably at one point even thought something trite like - "oh, I'm one of those women who will find chemo a cakewalk." Alan had the trip to New Haven to see Max scheduled. (Actually we both were going to go until I got my diagnosis!) Anyway, he left on day two or day three, before the symptoms really hit - and then when I couldn't even answer a phone or text the next day, he got really worried. That's the marker that keeps me reminded that it's the 3rd day in that it really hits. Several of my "chemo sisters" have shared that they have/had the same experience.

So I'm on wait. I am hopeful that the reduction in the Carboplatin dosage will make the symptoms less severe; however, my oncology nurse seems to think that it's the Taxotere that's causing most of them! We'll see.

This half way point is a good place to be right now. I found, on Monday, that I really had to screw up my courage to go to the treatment. Now the treatment itself is not difficult at all. The actual infusion doesn't hurt or cause any difficulty. The infusion center is warm and inviting. The people are just the most wonderful medical professionals I have ever encountered anywhere. And I've always got wonderful companionship with Alan and sometimes other family or friends dropping in. But the days that follow are so incredibly difficult, that I found myself feeling a bit like the child who starts crying in the doctor's office at the sight of the needle! So being halfway through feels so liberating in some respects. If I can make it this far, I can make it the rest of the way!

Tonight I am especially grateful to my family, friends, and colleagues who have supported me in so many ways. My heart is full with the knowledge that so many are holding me in their thoughts and prayers.