Second day of chemo. We went straight to the infusion center and met with nurse Carly. A similar routine to yesterday, except no Cinvanti. It took about 5 hours, 11-4. At the end, Carly showed Maureen and me the patch for the rescue medication, Neupogen. It goes on the arm and is automatically triggered to inject the dose 27 hours after you apply the patch. I’m feeling a little more fatigued after this session, but nothing major.

In the evening got a text from Vasu Kolli from the ACY Tech Center. The gang is still together after all these years and was meeting for dinner. We video-chatted a bit over a poor connection, and it was good to see some familiar faces.

Had the first day, first cycle of chemo at MGH Waltham. So far so good. We had three appointments, 1^st the blood draw, then the consultation with Choy, and then the actual infusion with nurse Erinn. The infusion is broken up into multiple segments with hydration in between. They also add Zofran (anti-nausea) and Decadron (corticosteroid), and Cinvanti. (long-acting anti-nausea). At home I can also take Zofran as needed – the medical term is PRN standing for the Latin “Pro Re Nata” literally “As the thing arises.” I want to be cautious about taking more than one new med at a time so I can evaluate side effects. I remember doing some infusions at Dana Farber back in 2006, but I don’t remember them adding in additional drugs to mitigate side-effects of the chemo drugs (Doxorubicin and Cisplatin). Came home and felt ok, but had a poor night’s sleep (55). The nurse warned me that the steroids can make you jittery.