Cycle #3 Update

Today is Thursday -- three days post-cycle #3 of FOLFOX -- and I am thrilled to report that this has been my easiest cycle yet. Yippee!!! Although, keep in mind that the prior two were pretty darn horrific, so it's still no walk in the park. But overall I am doing okay.

My ever-ready Chief Cancer Officer (aka, Pete) was completely prepared this time with all of the paraphernalia and supplies that I needed upon returning home (e.g., Gatorade to better balance my eletrolytes, thin wool gloves to keep my hands warm and to ward off neuropathy, a completely full 3-liter container of water, etc) and so far, they all seem to be helping. Although fatigue set in pretty hard last night and I am still really wiped out today, I am happy to report that the weird hand cramping that I had last time has been pretty minimal as long as I avoid anything cold (hence the gloves) and I haven't had any bad chest cramps yet.

In fact, you might remember that my doctor eliminated the calcium-magnesium infusion this time around....well, my mom and I did a bit of research in a nutrition book that I have and uncovered some really interesting info:

Magnesium in considered the "antistress" mineral. It is a natural tranquilizer, as it functions to relax skeletal muscles as well as the smooth muscles of blood vessels and the gastrointestinal tract. (While calcium stimulates muscle contractions, magnesium relaxes them.) Because of its influence on the heart, magnesium is considered important in preventing coronary artery spasm, a significant cause of heart attacks. Spasms of the blood vessels lead to insufficient oxygen supply through them and pain, injury, or death of the muscle tissue that they nourish. To function optimally, magnesium must be balanced in the body with calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium chloride. For example, with low magnesium, more calcium flows into the vascular muscle cells, which contracts them -- leading to tighter vessels and higher blood pressure.

I am no bio-chemist, but after reading this and knowing that I am not having any chest cramps this time versus last (with the only difference being the elimination of the cal-mag supplement) I have to wonder whether the cal-mag infusion was causing my problems. Maybe my body just couldn't metabolize the infusion correctly and too much calcium was absorbed versus magnesium, causing the chest spasms. In the end it doesn't really matter -- I am just thrilled to be doing better and feeling less like I am about to have a heart-attack.

So today, I am just laying low (Thursdays seem to be my hardest days of the cycle.) I think I'll go watch some mindless TV for awhile and catch up on all my celebrity gossip, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to re-join the real world, at least for a short while.