My Dad Has Cancer

Chemo was crawling closer and we were preparing as much as possible. There were many warnings of what to expect and we did research on it too. But a big message we also got was that it varies for everyone. We expected nausea, hair loss, possibly mouth sores, but we weren’t sure. So, we prepared as much as we thought to. Some of that included really enjoying the weekend before chemo.

The Weekend Before

On Saturday we were going to do some shopping – like for sweatpants and whatnot – but ended up watching the grandbaby for much of the day. We went to a park and played on the swings and slides and platforms. It was some nice activity and a fun time.

On Sunday we visited with some friends and shaved my dad’s hair off. We all got a crack at it. He eventually ended up with something like a monk hairdo, where there’s a crown of hair around an otherwise bald head. It was hilarious.

Then he popped a hat on and we went for a drive in the country (a favorite of his) and visited a friend. We shared the blessing of seeing the monk hair. Then we grabbed some food and came home to finish the job. It was funny to see him without hair. He’s got quite thick hair, and it really showed how much weight he’s lost already when the hair came off. Overall, he wanted to control when that hair came off and also avoid just random clumps coming off when it did start to fall off. But he also turned it into a hilarious time, very in-character.

First Day of Chemo

The first day was the short session, only a couple hours. We took a first day of chemo picture, complete with a sign and everything.

After he got home he was wired. Definitely not what we expected but also not unwelcome. As long as we can put off the misery, we are here for it. He went through some waves of energy interspersed with napping, but overall quite normal. We even got some estate planning and advanced directive work done.

Second Day of Chemo

This day was the long one – 7 hours and 3 drugs. We tried to come up with a good bag to bring – headphones, phone charger, chapstick, snacks. We also got a special shirt because he’s got a port. It unzips so that you don’t have to take off the shirt. He calls it his titty shirt.

Still feeling pretty good when he got home, if a little fatigued. But, still not nauseous. Got some food in and a little walk. So far so good.

We have decided that we are just waiting for it all to come. Preparing for the next few days to bring the fun. Even more, we are thinking at this point that the later weeks will be the really side effect times. But, as with everything so far, we’ll see.