Choice of facility. Since NSHOA had a number of treatment facilities, I opted for the office in East Setauket, NY due to its extensive services and personnel, and, of course, Dr. Vacirca. It was also the home of Diana Youngs, the excellent nurse practitioner working with Dr. Vacirca.
Just before starting chemo, I had a special briefing about one of the drugs – Xeloda – because it had the greatest potential and dangerous side effects. According to MedlinePlus:
Xeloda comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is taken morning and evening for 2 weeks, followed by a 1-week break before repeating the next dosage cycle. Some side effects can be serious if you experience any of these symptoms or those listed in the IMPORTANT WARNING section. 13
Despite the numerous possible side effects, I wanted to at least try Xeloda. It would supplement my injected chemo drugs of Gemcitabine and Abraxane. More on this regimen shortly.
Now, I was ready to embark on my chemotherapy sessions. I took the Xeloda tablets every morning and evening as instructed (see above). Then, when I went to a chemo session, bloodwork was done every time to make sure I was strong enough for chemotherapy. I had chemo twice a week for several months – with breaks every few weeks. This ended on August 26, 2015.
At each chemo session, I received a saline injection into my port and also received my chemo drugs. It took several hours for one full treatment. Thus, I brought