Update

Some people have asked me what chemo feels like and honestly it feels like nothing when it's going in. I go to the cancer center and I sit in a big room full of other people whose lives have been affected with cancer. Often I'm the youngest one in the room.

I have an attending nurse who does everything for me for that day. Usually this begins by 'accessing' my port which just means sticking a big needle into the port. This doesn't hurt because ahead of time I apply a numbing solution to the area. This needle is attached a little plastic thingy which sits in my port and has a tube running out of it. This way they can do everything through the tube instead of having to poke me constantly.

First they withdraw blood from me to do a CBC (complete blood count) to make sure my white blood cell and red blood cell counts are OK. Then they hook me up to an IV. First they give me an anti-nausea solution which takes about half-an-hour to drop into me. After that is when I get two of three drugs in the FOLFOX regime. This takes about an hour and half to drip into me and usually by the end of it I still feel fine.

After that is done they hook me up to a pump which I wear around my waist for the next two days. This is probably the hardest part of the chemo as it's a constant reminder of my illness. The pump is about the size of a tourist's fanny pack and is actually contained in a fanny pack.

During the weeks I have chemo, Monday (the day I go in), Tuesday and Wednesday are the hardest. Wednesday mornings I get the pump removed and by Thursday I'm usually starting to feel a little bit better. By Saturday I'm usually back to 'normal'.

Tomorrow I go in for my third round of treatment. I'm hoping it goes as smoothly as the second round did, but without the fever.