Lola's First Chemo, Part One

I'm sitting in the infusion room at my oncologist's office right now.
I opted to have my blood sample(s) for labs drawn through my Port-A-Cath in my chest so that the nurses would only have to poke me one time. It'll extend my stay in the infusion room for a little while today, but in the meantime, I get a bag full of saline for extra hydration. I just got some anti-nausea solution and antihistamine in my IV to prepare for my first chemo drug. The three infusions are given separately. The first infusion of each of the drugs goes more slowly for the first visit, so the nurses can make sure I'm not going to have any allergic reactions. Today, I'll be in this recliner until 3 pm.

First up - Taxotere. This infusion will take about an hour. This is the "nastier" chemo drug of the 3 drug cocktail I'll have once every 3 weeks.
Side effects - hair thinning or alopecia (We won't know how much hair I'll lose until I lose it.), aches/pains/flu-like symptoms, nausea, metallic taste, and a host of other things that are far more interesting/disgusting. I'll spare you all some of the more graphic details.

Second drug - Perjeta. The first infusion takes about 1.5 hours, so that the nurses can monitor me for any allergic reactions or severe immediate side effects. My next treatment (in 3 weeks) will be shorter.
Side effects - thinning hair or alopecia, rash, fatigue, nerve damage.

Third drug - Herceptin. The Perjeta & Herceptin are used together to block the HER2+ receptors in the cancer cells, mainly to kill the ability for the cancer to replicate & spread faster.
Side effects - heart problems. I'll get an echocardiogram every 3 months to make sure my heart is fine.

Finally, I get a shot every 3-4 weeks to strengthen my bones. It's a tiny needle, lots of fluid in the shot, and it feels like I have a stingy lump in my arm where my nurse injected it.
Side effects - achy bones, mostly, but there's a sliding scale on the pain level. I may feel icky, or I may not. We'll know when we know.

For now, I'm feeling rather good. No big side effects, but the nurses said it normally takes a couple of days to develop the nastier stuff.

I'll post more info tomorrrow or later tonight.