It’s chemo eve!
And I kind of feel like tomorrow is my first round of chemo after surgery and a nice long chemo break—because this last round of chemo was easy.
Maybe too easy. I think they reduced my dosage, because my liver levels were still elevated post surgery. And when major side effects didn’t show up this cycle, I started to get nervous. Like, what kind of whimp-ass chemo was that?? Why don’t I feel sicker, damn it?
On the other hand, they clearly had serious steroids running in my pump, because I was hungry all the time and couldn’t fall asleep before 2 or 3 am each night. Admittedly that last part kind of sucked. But frankly it felt so good to want to eat that it mostly seemed like an ok trade-off.
I’ve now had a few weeks of great eating, including earlier today, when a chat with my cancer buddy (we talk about food more than any other single topic) put me in the mood for a quesadilla. I made my first trip to the esteemed Supreme Burrito on the way to grocery shopping, only to absolutely bite it in the parking lot on my way in.
The resulting skinned knee was scary thanks to nightly anti-coagulant shots. It wouldn’t stop bleeding, which freaked me out, and Per had to come to the restaurant with medical supplies to patch me up.
By the time he got there, I had calmed down and was tucking into the most delicious bean and cheese quesadilla I’ve had in my life. (Like, I don’t think I even offered to share.) Sorry, Per!
Later, I came home and made homemade ricotta. (So easy! Did you know that?) And then dinner: crostini with whipped ricotta, lemon and olive oil topped with farmers market cherry tomatoes, and pistachio pesto pasta, an attempt to make the dish we most loved in Sicily.
Even Evelyn, who arrived home tonight so sick she looked like she could barely manage a broth, announced at the end, “Now that was a GOOD DINNER.”
So yeah. I really couldn’t ask for a better chemo eve!
Four more chemos to go until my next surgery and feeling good about getting another one out of the way tomorrow. Weirdly hoping for worse side effects—but either way hoping my appetite holds!
