Saturday, March 31, 2007
CANCER JOURNAL - DRUGS
In addition to the chemo drugs, there are three drugs for nausea. One of them is very expensive--$400 for three pills--and must cause a lot of grief to those without insurance. The other two are old enough to be available as generics. By using all three I have been able to banish the nausea that chemo is known for. But it did take the third one that is used only as a back-up. For a while yesterday I was reminded of what it felt like to be pregnant, which is almost funny in a 59-year-old woman.
It reminded me of those nine months during which I had also to take three drugs to keep food down, Bendectin being one of them that was subsequently banned out of a fear of birth defects. In the 70s we were still too close to Thalidomide to tolerate much of anything being given to a pregnant woman.
I wonder today whether any of the nausea drugs being given for chemo would be safe during pregnancy. They are Dexamethasone (Decadron), Prochlorperazine (Compazine), and Aprepitant (Emend). Decadron is a steriod and is given as an IV just prior to the chemo drugs, and also as a tablet to use at home.
In any case, they are working. Today I feel fine, normal, actually, which is some kind of miracle in itself considering I have cancer.
Yesterday I was also given Nulasta, an injected drug that helps to rebuild white blood cells after a chemo treatment. It causes bone pain in the first couple of days after receiving it. So far, though, none here.
St. John Maximovich, pray for me!
