Well, this round of chemo was an unusual one…

As you may remember, I had to delay Round #4 one week because my pre-chemo labs indicated a very low platelet count. Plus, my red cell count was still below the acceptable range. Went back a week later (last Wednesday) for another set of labs and while the platelet count had rebounded, the red cell count was still low. So they scheduled me for a transfusion (one unit of blood) to be administered two days after chemo.

Due to the one-week delay and a few other factors (staff vacations), I was not able to have my chemo in the regular facility. Instead, they booked me into an “infusion center” which resembled a bus station: About 30 chairs, lined up in groups of 8 or 10, and people getting all kinds of wonderful IV therapies.

The only annoyance was that the place was so packed, visitors had to stay outside in a waiting room. Mom was not happy about that.

At first the chemo started OK. Thanks to my new practice of drinking a BOATLOAD of water the morning of my treatments, my skinny veins were nice and plump. So no issues getting the line in this time. And they had this amazing piece of technology, a “vein finder” that the nurses used to help identify where to stick. It’s this hand-held thing, about the size of a regular TV remote control, with a red light that shines down on your arm/leg, etc, and indicates the veins with a nice, dark line. The nurse let me hold it for her — it was so cool!

Everything was going fine, and I even napped a bit, until the final hour. That’s when the metal-based Carboplatin went in. I knew right away that there was a problem, because I could feel it burn as it flowed into my arm.

After about 10 minutes, I noticed that my arm was getting red… then 10 minutes later, I started to see blisters forming on my skin. That’s when the nurses got serious.

The problem was that we’ve been using my left arm for chemo (I’m totally right-handed), and apparently the vein they had used for the four rounds of chemo had “played out.” So the Carboplatin was actually burning the inside of my veins. Ugh.

The nurses switched my IV to my right arm to finish up the Carboplatin, and we treated the arm with warm compresses. I was a bit tender that night, but the blisters went away by Friday morning and I didn’t think anything more about it.

We went to the same infusion center on Saturday AM for my blood transfusion and the nurses immediately clustered around to check on my arm. I think they were pretty relieved that it looked so much better. They made a point to tell me that for my final two rounds of chemo, I need to use the right arm. Oh well.

It took about two days for the blood transfusion to take effect, and by late Monday I was feeling energetic to do some planting and help mom set up our freshly painted screened porch.

But Tuesday brought a new wrinkle…

About mid-afternoon, I noticed that my left arm (between the elbow and the wrist) was swollen, about 1 1/2 times the normal size, and there was a rash starting to appear in the area where I had the Carboplatin reaction. I treated it with heat and ice, and took Ibuprofen, and resolved to contact the Cancer Center if it didn’t get better in 24 hours.

By late in the day Wednesday, the swelling had increased a bit, the arm was red and there was a painful lump about 2 inches above my wrist. I was able to get an appointment with the PA on Thursday morning so she could tell me if this was something to worry about. I had visions of them having to cut open my arm and remove something; trust me, I’m not ready for another surgery in 2018.

After examining my arm, the PA sent me to another facility to get a Doppler ultrasound of the swollen area to rule out a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

Turns out the problem is a blot clot in my arm, possibly formed by the reaction to the Carboplatin. Or something else entirely. Luckily, the clot is considered “superficial” and the PA’s initial suspicion of phlebitis (an inflammation of the vein) was correct. It should clear up in 7 to 10 days and I’ll need to do warm compresses three times a day and continue to take ibuprofen to help the clot dissolve. Whew.

I’m glad they were able to fit us in yesterday, and to do the tests right away. I was worried that whatever was going on with my arm would mess up our trip we have planned for this weekend.

But I’m happy to report that we will be celebrating my 60th birthday in Savannah, my first visit to that beautiful city.

As always, I’m grateful for the wonderful medical professionals here in Greenville, to my mom, who is here with me on this strange and wonderful ride, and to my friends and family who never fail to check in on me and keep my spirits up. Love you all.