How are you being treated?

With 8 rounds of chemotherapy, followed by 15 rounds of radiotherapy (for a total of 30 Grey).

What type of chemotherapy?

The specific regimen is called CHOP.

This stand for:

• Cyclophosphamide, an alkylating agent which damages DNA by binding to it and causing the formation of cross-links
• Hydroxydaunorubicin (also called doxorubicin or adriamycin), an intercalating agent which damages DNA by inserting itself between DNA bases
• Oncovin (vincristine), which prevents cells from duplicating by binding to the protein tubulin
• Prednisone or Prednisolone, which are corticosteroids.

How is it administered?

Once every 3 weeks I have to go to the hospital. An intravenous line is put in place through which the first three drugs are administered. The IV is flushed clean with a Sodium Chloride solution between the different drugs. This takes about an hour. The prednisone (125mg) is taken the first 5 days of the cycle. In total I will go through 8 cycles of this. Before the next cycle is started blood work is done to ensure my body has recovered enough from the previous cycle to continue.

How does this work?

The chemo works by destroying cells in my body. The downside is that it destroys both healthy and sick cells. The difference is that the healthy cells have a much better ability to restore themselves, as opposed to the cancerous cells. This is why there is a rest-period between cycles: to give my body a chance to recover.

What are the side-effects?

The side-effects you may know of for chemotherapy will rear their ugly heads for me too. Even though it’s hard to say how the drugs affect each individual, these are the most common side-effects:

• fatigue
• hair-loss
• nausea
• light-sensitivity (burn easily)
• weakened immune system

The last one is especially important. I have to be very careful on the days my immune system is at its weakest. A bacteria or virus that would normally just give me a snotty nose could be fatal. I will spend those days alone as far as it’s possible. There is a plethora of other possible side-effects, some of which can be permanent. Damage to my heart, nerves, and reproductive systems are an example. My doctors will, through constant monitoring and feedback, try to prevent this.

Are you already experiencing side-effects?

The fatigue is especially bothersome. I sleep about 10 hours a night, and even doing small things takes lots of energy. The rest is not too bad thus far. The nausea was unpleasant for the first two days after chemo (it feels a little bit like a bad hangover) but that has (luckily) passed. Other than that I just feel weak. My skin is dry and painful. My eyes ears nose and mouth and throat hurt, although these are only a small bother at the moment. All in all it’s not as bad as I expected it to be.