cancer – day 33

Yesterday the medical oncologist explained my chemotherapy options to me. Basically, there are three “generations” of chemotherapy, with increasing levels of intensity.

First generation chemo is 12 weeks of two drugs administered in three week cycles. This is the most mild chemo treatment, and they don’t recommend this for me because my cancer is more aggressive.

Second generation chemo starts with the same 12 weeks of two drugs administered in three week cycles, like the first generation chemo. Then second generation also includes an additional 12 weeks of one more drug also administered in three week cycles. 24 weeks total. Six months.

Third generation chemo is to have all three drugs at one time, administered every two weeks. It’s much higher risk in terms of infection and how debilitating it is, but it’s over in 16 weeks as opposed to 24 weeks.

The oncologist recommended either second or third generation chemo for me. He wants me to have all three chemo drugs. He told me that during chemo, I’ll basically go through a cycle of being sick from the drugs in the first week and exhausted with fatigue the second week. If I do the second generation chemo, I’ll have a third week each cycle where I’ll be somewhere from 50%-75% of my usual strength, but generally able to have a normal-ish life during that third week. With third generation chemo, there is no third week, and you don’t have that extra recovery time between chemo rounds, so you tend to get gradually weaker and weaker throughout treatment.

Still, the idea of spending six months at Mom & Dad’s with no semblance of my own life is just, well, a little depressing. Four months, even if it’s four months of feeling like death, actually sounds better to me than six months of being away feeling tolerably well. Six months just feels like too long of a time to abandon my life. I wouldn’t be back until my birthday in December! It’s a lot to get your head around, especially when you have a cold.