But first, a quick look back at the previous treatment cycle. It didn’t go particularly well because of the chemotherapy pills. On day four, the nausea struck again, followed by a vomiting marathon that was even worse than the previous round. For three days straight, the only things I managed to do were sleep and inspect the porcelain of the toilet bowl from very close range. Once again, I couldn’t complete the treatment because the chemo pills simply refused to stay where they were supposed to.

After being checked at the hospital for possible dehydration, it quickly became clear that the treatment needed to be adjusted. Fortunately, I bounced back fairly quickly and was ready for the next cycle. My hemoglobin (Hb) is still lingering at 6.7, but at least it hasn’t dropped any further. Now I’m hoping the next blood test will finally show an upward trend.

The treatment has now been changed to an R-CP regimen (Rituximab, Cyclophosphamide, and Prednisolone). The Cyclophosphamide is now delivered directly into my blue veins by IV, in the hope that it will work better and give my stomach a well-deserved break.

Since I’m a heavy consumer of butter (mainly as a topping for cookies), I felt obliged to replenish the butter supply in the Oncology department once again. One of the nurses laughed and told me she also has a husband at home who spreads butter on his cookies with what appears to be a putty knife.

All infusions were administered successfully; no allergic reactions or other unexpected surprises. Since I was already hooked up to an IV, they also gave me some Metoclopramide to help prevent nausea. And because I was receiving plenty of personal attention and we spent quite a bit of time chatting, I was allowed to stay for lunch as well. The curry soup was just a little too chunky to run through an IV line, so I decided to take that one orally instead.

For the next four days, I’ll be taking Prednisolone, with Granisetron on standby in case the nausea decides to make another appearance.