First chemotherapy treatment

by Saturday, September 28th, 2013Breast Cancer6 comments

I got one round of chemotherapy down and it didn’t go that badly, as you can see in the video above. When I got home, I decided to take the neighbor’s dog for a walk. I felt like I had all this energy and the evening was gorgeous.
Breast cancer patient Amy Czerniec with Brichon Frise dog Caspar
Our neighbor a couple of doors down has been battling throat and liver cancer for the past year. She is having trouble seeing and is very frail so it’s not safe for her to be out walking. I am a huge dog lover and these little walks give me time to soak in the love from Casper. Casper is an adorable Bichon Frise who is always so happy to be out making new friends.
small dog named Pickles
While we were out, we ran into a fellow dog owner whom I met briefly from across the street a week or so ago. She was walking her new puppy and I asked what the breed was. She said a Bichon Frise and  Miniature Dachshund mix. I had never heard of such a thing. She doesn’t look anything like a Bichon Frise. The little girl Pickles looked like she could fit into the palm of your hand. So I saw her again while walking Casper and made it a point to introduce the two. Of course, I was just as excited as Casper to get up close to Pickles and take a few pictures of her. She is absolutely adorable.

I told this woman that Casper is not my dog and that I was helping my neighbor out with caring for Casper, and at the same time shared with her what I was currently going through. We exchanged names and she said she is putting me on her prayer list. I found out that Pickles owner’s name is Laurie and that her mother is a 16-year survivor of breast cancer, and her sister also was stricken by the disease. I said, “Oh my what about you?” She said she had precancerous cells and ended up having a double mastectomy because she tested positive for the BRCA 2 gene. It is so crazy how we come into contact with strangers and find out that we are fellow members of the same club. It seems daily that I am being put in touch with one strong woman after another.

I hadn’t had much of an appetite so didn’t have much food in my stomach. I really started to get nauseous and ended up taking the evening round of Zofar and a dose of Compazine. It took me quite a while to feel any better. I just had to sit and close my eyes while I tried getting some rice and broth in. I was able to hold off any vomiting which made me happy. I think I didn’t get the Zofar in soon enough and will be tweaking when to take each drug. I finally felt a little better by bedtime which was 11:00 p.m. I guess I jumped the gun on thinking this was not so bad.
stuffed animal: Gund brand dog named Bentley
Thanks to my sister-in-law Maria and her husband Wayne, our latest addition, Bentley, doesn’t need to be walked, but he’s still very comforting.

This post is tagged: chemotherapy, video.

6 Comments
  1. Maria

    That was absolutely beautiful, Amy. Not something I ever thought I would say regarding chemo but I can see women everywhere thanking you in the years to come. Pure and fearless. I think fear is what we all struggle with because it is so hard to understand for anyone inexperienced, and now I understand a whole lot more. Thank you for that, and of course Mark, too.

    Reply
    • Amy Czerniec

      Maria I just want to share what is going on and if you want to call it fearless I guess I will take it. I have been curious as to how this all works and feels. If I can help someone along the way that’s great but I believe all this sharing is helping me too.

      Reply
  2. Cindy

    The chemo affects everyone differently. Instead of drugs try ginger for nausea it does seem to help.

    Reply
    • Amy Czerniec

      Gingins candy is what I have to chew on. I just sent Mark out to the store to buy some fresh ginger. I am going to make some ginger syrup that I found in a book called The Cancer Fighting Kitchen, by Rebecca Katz. This will come in handy to make home made ginger ale.

      Reply
  3. cindy

    Hope u are feeling better today. Smile will be thinking of u.

    Reply
    • Amy Czerniec

      Feeling better today. Thanks for thinking of me.

      Reply

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