I'm Here!

Well, I'm here and ready to get this party started even though admittedly, I'm scared to death! Fortunately, I had my Hickman replaced yesterday without incident. A little extra sedation and my new hypnosis techniques helped a lot. I will remain on 750 mg's of the antibiotic, Cipro for 3 or 4 more days.

I'm settled in my room awaiting my first dose of Busulfan (or Myleran), which is one of two chemotherapy drugs I'll receive during my 6-day prep. Busulfan slows or stops the growth of fast growing cells such as cancer cells and bone marrow cells (hair has fast growing cells too). It is given before bone marrow transplants in very high doses to kill cancer cells and to make room for new bone marrow to grow. I got it in pill form - 29 teeny tiny pills that are distributed in 4 clear capsules with 6 tablets in each and 1 clear capsule with 5 tablets. After this first dose I'll have approximately 10 blood draws in two-hour intervals to insure that my body is getting the correct amount. For this first dose, I can't eat or drink anything for 2 hours before taking Busulfan or 2 hours after because food changes how quickly it gets into my blood stream. Today I stopped eating/drinking at 3:00 PM with the expectation of getting the Busulfan at 5:00 PM. Not! Instead I got it at 8:30 PM - guess there'll be no dinner for me tonight.

Not everyone has side effects from Busulfan, but it's possible that I may experience nausea or hair loss as I receive it over the next 4 days. I have been given and will continue to receive an anti-nausea drug as well as an Adivan to help relax me. Another side effect of Busultan is that my skin color may darken, especially in areas where skin touches skin. The darkened skin color will gradually disappear over time. Very high doses of Busulfan can very rarely cause seizures so I'll also be given a drug called Dilantin to take before, during and for a short time after taking the Busulfan. So, your guess is as good as mine in regard to how things are going to go for me - every patient reacts differently. I'll be sure to let you know! More to come on Cytoxan, the other chemo drug I'll be getting in a few days.