[Reflection] (12) First Hospitalization and Chemotherapy (Surprisingly Easy?!)

As I wrote last time, my fate took many turns, and in the end, I decided to start with chemotherapy first.

◈ First Hospitalization! First Chemotherapy!

Once the tests were done and the treatment plan was decided, things moved fast! There was no time to think. Chemotherapy started immediately.

Since we didn't know what to expect from the first round of chemotherapy, it was decided that I would be hospitalized for three days and two nights.
(Especially since I am also using an immune checkpoint inhibitor, who knows what might happen💦)
I thought about how things have progressed, as they said if there are no particular problems, I can do chemotherapy as an outpatient.

However, I had no idea that I would end up going through such an ordeal later on...

◈ Day 1 of Hospitalization

Basically, there's nothing to do because of paperwork and such, so it's boring. (In the case of my hospital)

Is it because my hospital is a bit old, or do they just not care?
The room numbers, you know, like [4] or [9], I have an image that they aren't used much these days, but here they are used normally, and it's a bit... no, quite an ominous room number plus locker number... lol
(No, I don't care at all? But the fact that I noticed such a thing means I actually do care...?)

Recently, there are coin parking lots around that don't have a number '4', right? Even in some multi-tenant buildings, the entire '4th' floor is missing. And sometimes '9' is missing too...
I was surprised by the room number that had both 4 and 9 in it lol. I wonder how other hospitals are?

I was like, 'Wait, isn't that ominous?!' but then I thought, 'Well, whatever,' and just lounged around ( ＾ω＾ )
I think I had my temperature and blood pressure taken, but I wasn't particularly busy. I guess it's like relaxing in preparation for tomorrow's chemotherapy, what a luxury~ ( ´∀`) Even though it's a 4-person room.
The food is delicious, too.
People often say hospital food is bad, right? ( -д-) I think it's basically because it's lightly seasoned, but here, while it is lightly seasoned, it's on the line of being just right, and it was delicious. You can see the hard work and ingenuity of the people who make it... Thank you. (It must be very difficult)

◈ Day 2 of Hospitalization

Finally, chemotherapy starts today. To be specific, in my case, I will use two anticancer drugs, 'Carboplatin' and 'Paclitaxel', for 'TC therapy', combined with
concurrent useof an 'immune checkpoint inhibitor' called 'Imfinzi: generic name durvalumab'.

This treatment method, which uses chemotherapy as first-line treatment (TC therapy in my case) incombination therapywith Imfinzi (durvalumab), and then uses Imfinzi asmaintenance therapyafterward, was approved by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare as a treatment for 'advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer' onNovember 22, 2024.

It's relatively recent... the timing is as if it were waiting for me lol
I occasionally peek at this site to learn.

But, to me, who was feeling a little anxious about having chemotherapy for the first time, the nurse said,
'You might be anxious because it's your first time, but we nurses will come to check on you often, and the doctor is here too, so you'll be fine. Please receive it with peace of mind!' That made me very happy and gave me strength ( ；∀；)

I love all the nurses here!
They are really kind and cheerful. I get energy from them too!
But I always think it's a really tough job. I respect them.

I finished all the IV drips safely (it took about 5-6 hours, I think).
There was nothing unusual, and I was able to finish my first chemotherapy treatment...
Oh, by the way, to prevent allergies, I take an antihistamine called [Restamin Kowa] in advance, and this made me so sleepy...😪
Even when they were explaining various things, I was like (sleepy...).
Also, it seems that Paclitaxel contains quite a bit of alcohol, so people who are weak to alcohol might get sleepy. My mother was like that. (Super lightweight)

◈ What is an immune checkpoint inhibitor?

And, immune checkpoint inhibitors are interesting drugs 😃 No wonder they win Nobel Prizes~
Cancer is seriously smart, it's infuriating 💢. I only learned this after I got sick.

To put it simply (I wonder if I can explain it well?)
Cancer is naturally attacked if it is found by immune cells, but it has a technique to hide so it won't be attacked, or pretend it's not an enemy, toevade attacks from immune cells.
The [immune checkpoint inhibitor] acts as a brake to prevent that, or when cancer wears a mask saying 'We are not enemies~' and pretends to be a good person, trying to escape the attack by saying to the T-cells that attack cancer,
'Let's be friends~! Heh heh heh...(*｀ω´*)'
Then, the immune cells go, 'What!? This guy is cancer!! Hey!!' and attack it.

(I don't have the vocabulary to explain it well ( T∀T))
Anyway, it's an interesting drug that

attacks cancer with your own immunity😃However, there is a risk of activating your own immunity, so you have to be careful about autoimmune diseases. I also have an autoimmune disease called hypothyroidism, so I check it every time, and of course, I also check to make sure there are no other abnormalities.

◈ Day 3 of Hospitalization

For now, it's peaceful.
I received a capsule that I take for 3 consecutive days starting from the day of chemotherapy to prevent nausea, and various other things, but I didn't have any nausea at all. I had a normal appetite too.
However, at this point, my stomach was still swollen, painful, and I had a fever (probably what they call tumor fever), so my physical condition wasn't very good and I was sleeping.
Since the toilet was in a room a bit far away, I would go to the toilet while clutching my big, painful stomach, clinging to the handrail, and the doctor in charge happened to see me, so they talked to me about [medical narcotics], saying that if used correctly, they are not scary.
If I keep using Loxonin, it will put a strain on my kidneys (which I was worried about), and anyway, I don't want to endure pain! I will fight the disease, but I won't fight the pain! I had declared that to the palliative care team too lol, so I started using them right away.
This was a huge success! As expected of the doctor.

However, even though they are medical, they are [narcotics], so the management is very strict.
I take [Oxycodone 2.5mg], the lightest one, and [OxyNorm 2.5mg], I think? OxyNorm is called a rescue medication, and it can be taken as many times as you want as long as 1 hour has passed since the last dose.
For Oxycodone, a nurse gives me one tablet at 8 AM and 8 PM, and I take it on the spot. This alone makes me feel much less pain, but when it hurts a lot, I call the nurse and get OxyNorm (powder). I feel a bit sleepy, I guess? I didn't feel any particular side effects.
Just being able to say goodbye to pain makes a big difference in the loss of physical strength...
Japanese people tend to think that pain is something to be endured, but I think that properly controlling pain is also important for focusing on treatment.

For now, it's surprisingly easy!!
Thinking that, I was naive...
After this, a tough battle was waiting for me... (´；ω；`)

To the next story

Thank you for reading! 🙏 It encourages me!

#CreativeAward2025
#AllCategorySection