So there I was, coasting along thinking this is not so bad.  Every other week I sit in a chair for about 5 hours getting pumped full of drugs, then take another one home for 46 hours, easy as pie. And then came the blood clot. That changed everything. Now I have a different drug that, lets face it, if it had been less likely to have bad side effects, I would have been on from the start. I switched out a targeted assassin for a blunt instrument. The old drug (Avastin) was specifically targeting the blood vessel growth to feed the cells. The new drug blocks the surface receptors on the cells that promote cell division. That is a much more brute force attack, and it is showing.

I have continued signs of what looks like a rash on my face and upper chest. It isn’t really a rash but more like some form of acne. This was described in the side effects of the new drug, so not entirely unexpected. I am definitely still feeling more fatigue than before, so pretty much all of my energy reserves are occupied with the healing from the “shock and awe” bombardment of the drugs.

None of this is getting me down though. I continue to be able to work and provide value. I look at this as a temporary condition and since I am about half-way through my planned chemo treatments, I only expect to be dealing with this for about 3 more months. If you can put up with anything for 5 minutes, you just need to string together enough 5 minute periods to get to the end. (That sentiment is stolen from “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, but it does not make it untrue.)

I appreciate the continued well wishing and prayers and I will get through this. On the plus side, I no longer feel guilty that I have dodged most of the side effects.