Okay, I'll Say It: Chemotherapy Sucks!

There!  I said it! 

I know that above statement probably won't surprise anyone, but it has been a mere 2 days since my first chemotherapy treatment and I am starting to remember how bad chemo truly is. The last time I went through chemo was over 5 years ago and like some things, the more that time passes - the less one remembers. What I remember about my last go 'round with chemo was hair loss, some nausea, and that food lost all its appeal because tasted like crapola. I thought I got through it relatively easy and managed well.

What I am now experiencing and therefore remembering from the last time is how much worse it is than that. Here is a list of side effects that I'm already experiencing: the dreaded nausea, feeling exhausted, "chemo brain" (a kind of mental cloudiness), muscle and joint pain, neuropathy (tingling of fingers and toes), and taste changes. Even water tastes awful! The one thing that cancer patients need more than anything is to keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water. I was instructed to drink 2-3 quarts of fluids (preferably water) per day, which normally is a no brainer for me as water is my beverage of choice (other than an occasional tea). Consequently, it really sucks that my favorite beverage is ruined by chemotherapy. I've taken to adding lemon to the water which helps a little bit. All in all, it still tastes terrible. 

Chemo brain is a most annoying side effect. It's more than just a mental cloudiness - sometimes it's the inability to concentrate. For example, I'll start watching a movie and then stop because I've lost track of what is going on or I'll read a couple pages in a book and then put it down because I can't focus. It's really annoying. I should just watch movies that I've already seen before so I don't have to concentrate so hard to following a plot. Perhaps I could just watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians or something similar that's not taxing on the brain. Um, on second thought, no. I can't do that to my brain - it would be cruel and unusual punishment.

But you want to know what's annoying me the most these days? I keep seeing the most obnoxious television commercial for Cumberland Farms iced coffee featuring an annoyingly tanned David Hasselhoff singing about this amazing coffee. It makes my ears bleed every time it comes on, especially since that dumb song has been stuck in my head for days. Somebody make it stop!! 

TTFN!