Round 2, Night 1

I made it through the first night, usually easy for most, but for me following last round's pattern of strong nausea. This time I didn't get sick. I still have the Cytoxin headache, despite the slower drip. I somehow am having 5 pounds of fluid retention since yesterday, something I noticed last time. I'll ask the onc nurse about that. The new nausea meds combine to make me very tired, and the computer screen makes me a bit woozy, so no long posts today, methink.

I wanted to share a typical good-humored exchange between my mother and I in the car ride home from chemo:
Me: So I read an article about chemo hair loss, written by dermatologists. They said that our oil glands produce less and we need to moisturize more than ever, so the dry skin doesn't break and let in bacteria we're susceptible to.
Mom: That's interesting.
Me: Also the stories you hear about hair coming in a different texture or color after chemo, it appears it's not just a temporary effect until it grows out. The the follicle itself is comprimised from the chemo, causing it to change, except no one knows the process.
Mom: Right, I've heard about the new hair sometimes growing in all curly.
Me: I hope mine comes in the same red it was when I was 20.
Mom: Maybe it'll come in all black.[evil grin]
Me: Well, I'd dye it.
Mom: You can't dye black hair without bleaching it first.
Me: Hm. Thanks for putting that new fear in my head. Brown would be better so I can weave in warm and copper highlights like I've been doing the last few years since my auburn hair darkened. They said my hair could come in baby-fine or very course.
Mom: Maybe you'll be a blonde.
Me: No thank you, I'd dye it. Just as long my hair doesn't grow in all-white, like you hear about happening to people after a big shock.
[I sit a moment trying to imagine what this new me will look like a few months hence, and actually get a little excited by the surprise of it, and so without any irony intended at all...]
Me: [smiling] It's always nice to have something to look forward to. [this one of the wise expressions she has always said to me]
Mom: Yes it is.
[Then the irony of approaching hair loss with this enthusiasm hits us both, and we laugh]
Mom: You need to write these things down in a journal. I'm so very proud of you.