Chemo Class

So anyway, I attended my mandatory (well, highly-recommended) pre-chemotherapy "chemo-class" yesterday: basically an hour-long PowerPoint presentation explaining what Chemotherapy is, how it works, along with long and detailed descriptions of possible side effects and how to manage them effectively. A nice section on nutrition, and of course plenty of reassurance than most people don't experience ALL of the side effects, and that today's chemotherapy is markedly better and less debilitating than the notoriously unpleasant experience of just a decade ago.

But the best part of the presentation was the big bag of cancer swag that each of us received, compliments of the pharmaceutical companies. Mine included a water bottle, a small fleece blanket (for keeping warm during my chemo, I imagine), TWO digital thermometers, a large plastic weekly pill organizer, a pocket calendar (for keeping track of all my Dr's appointments, I presume), along with various samples of lip balm, anti-bacterial gel, and of course a small bottle of Imodium caplets (just in case). Plus a lot more cancer homework, including a little DVD from Lilly Oncology titled "Taking back control." I've heard the book is better, but I'm still waiting to see the movie.

Wish I could say I was the youngest person in my chemo-class, but I wasn't' -- there was also a woman in perhaps her early to mid-thirties, accompanied by someone I assumed to be her mother. She was wearing one of those dark purple cancer awareness bracelets, which Google tells me could be pancreatic cancer, or domestic violence, or perhaps just general cancer awareness. Large diamond wedding band also, and a New York Yankees baseball cap...which is way more than enough information for the fiction writer in me to imagine all sorts of heart-rending plots about crushed dreams and orphaned children. So if any of you have a little spare prayer energy, I hope you'll direct some her way.

Meanwhile, my Dad has arrived to stay with me for as long as I need him or (in his words) "as long as you can stand me," my kids are arriving later this evening, and my brother and his family from New York (OK, technically Connecticut) are all arriving Friday. So I'm going to be inundated with loving relatives for Easter, which is a pretty rare and exciting thing for me. Especially since my brother's family is Jewish....