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Chemo 5, 6 & 7

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   In December 2018, I started the second part of my chemo treatment, "T' known as Paclitaxel or Taxol.  The big change from the "AC" treatment was it is a weekly infusion for a total of 12 treatments.  As I imagined, the month of December flew by as my mind was excited about Christmas and by the day after Christmas I have completed chemo 1, 2 3 & 4.
   While it's not not been smooth sailing, I do feel like it's been gentler on my system than the AC treatment.  I have Neuropathy just about every day in my fingers, a numbness where sometimes I can't even feel keyboard while typing.  But I haven't had the Nausea like I did on the AC treatment and that has led to me eating more, cooking which I enjoy, and going grocery shopping, as I didn't shop for 3 months.  Physically I've dropped another 10 pounds, peach fuzz has started sprouting in my scalp and some whiskers have returned, as I haven't shaven in 3 months.  Mentally I've continued to work through counseling about how much energy it takes for my mind and body to achieve something.  My counselor doesn't lie, chemo is like having the flue all the time, being within arm's reach of the water bottle, but continuing to look at the water bottle because you can't move to get it.  I certainly miss my energy, I am tired and fatigued all the time.
   So is the life of a Cancer patient, I've only been at the Hospital for 25 appointments in a 3 month span, each one takes allot of energy and focus to give a perspective.  In the new year, after Christmas I thought I would start to have a little fun a infusion treatments.  Look, I have a pattern Over and Over, blood tests, meeting with doctors, infusion and so on, so I thought I could just have a little fun.  It's made me laugh, smile, cry and maybe because I'm probably breaking some rule in the Hospital, quite funny that I would attempt it.  I have hooked my a Nintendo Classic up to the TV in my room.  I'm playing Super Mario Brothers here.
   First of all, these Hospital TVs are secured to wall, and the TVs don't have any visible buttons like channel, volume or input buttons, so it's not as simple as plug it into an open HDMI and change the input.  So the steps are disconnect the incoming HDMI feed from the hospital, replace it with the Nintendo HDMI and then turn the TV on from the Nurse/TV call button.  Now the first time we turned it on, we didn't know that the Nurse/TV call button reverts back to the highest volume (and no you can't turn it down, tried) we had 5 nurses in your room pronto from all the loud Nintendo beeps and jingles.  It was a quite funny site, and my first nurse who did my first AC treatment said, well that has never been attempted here, tampering with the TV, I love it.  Our nurse helped us to wrap pillows around the Nurse/TV call button to muffle the sound, works quite well.
 
Nurse/TV Call Button
Nurse/TV Call Button Muffled in Pillow

"Galaga" on Taxol 54,000 points
"Dr. Mario"
   Since Chemo 5, it has been hilarious, it's made me smile, laugh, cry you name it, took the edge right off.  I had nurses scrubbing in to watch me play, ask if Zelda, Pac-Man and Super Mario Brothers was on it, and of course, yes to all.  I like to play "Dr. Mario" it's like Tetris, but you have to kill viruses by popping pills into a bottle, so fitting in a hospital setting, ha!  I play as soon as I arrive even challenging my score with pre-meds vs infusion of Taxol, so far higher scores on the chemo.  Nurses like to hear the Super Mario Brothers jingle when they are getting meds together.  Look if you ever in your lifetime have to go through this, think out of the box as I have, HammerOn and know Chemo can be fun.

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