Chemo's Kick

I owe a big apology to chemotherapy in general, and gemcitabine in particular, for doubting the effect they would have on me. Gemcitabine, which has a reputation for being well-tolerated by many cancer patients, can still pack a whallop.

After feeling pretty good for about 24 hours, I found myself laid low by the cancer-fighting drugs I had taken early Friday afternoon.

I made the pretty major mistake of thinking a little muscle soreness could be "worked out" by a reasonably vigorous bike ride on Saturday morning. Wrong. Apparently, I broke down some muscles climbing hills that normally repair themselves very quickly. Chemo, which attacks all fast-dividing cells, apparently including the cells needed to rebuild muscles, interfered with this process.

12 hours after my bike ride my thighs each felt like they weighed 100 pounds, and I have only begun to feel normal in the last few hours. I wasn't exactly the life of a party we attended Saturday afternoon, but did manage to down a big piece of delicious birthday cake. The muscle pain was accompanied by an overwhelming sense of weariness as well. Apart from muscle fatigue and soreness, however, I felt ok, and had none of the nausea that often afflicts cancer patients. If this is the price to pay for destroying cancer cells, so be it. I'll be better prepared for its effects next week.