Round 3

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 9:30 am, Round 3.  Blood drawn yesterday and everything is still looking good. We can move on to another round of chemo.

I love my chemo port! It's so much easier than having to use the veins in your arm, especially since my right arm is the only arm they can use. I had my lumpectomy and sentinel lymph nodes taken on my left side. Due to the removal of the lymph nodes, the left side is off limits to IV's, blood draws, and no blood pressure can be taken on that arm. When you have lymph nodes removed you are at high risk for lymphedema swelling of the effected area. In my case, it would be my left arm.

The nurse proceeded to start my chemo IV, everything went well. No problems and it took the usual 3 hours. At the end of my treatment, the nurse gives me heparin in the port to prevent blood clots. When she pushed it into the port I felt this bubbling gurgling sound go up the right side of my neck. I told her about it. She checked me for any leakage and asked me if I felt any of the chemicals on my skin. If the chemicals got on my skin, that would mean I would possibly have to have plastic surgery to repair any damage that the chemo drugs may have caused. However, it was a relief that no problems occurred. She did no further exam and she told me that every thing was alright. I went home, had my lunch and like clock work the Mack truck arrived!