Could a banana be any match for these chemo drugs?

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Тажымаматов’s Newsletter

Ray Downs

Zarine Swamy

Amby Burfoot

, Longbottomnovel, Npdavies, Nm8trx, Laura, Rebecca, Victoria, Dpachou1, Dorothy, Jessica, Betsy Bowen, Motoko, to our Run to Write Community.

Every Wednesday I share a sneak peek into my next book (working title)— A Real Ballbuster: Untangling Testicular Cancer Together

I’m coming along. I’m organizing what I have written into chapters and working on the book cover design. The goal publishing date is set for March 4, 2024.

We will march “fourth” healthy, happy, and strong.

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Each round of chemotherapy was 21 days. Jeff had treatment for five days in a row with a break on the weekend. He would then return to the clinic on Monday for the hardest treatment of the cycle. He had the rest of the week off and then would return for one more short treatment on Monday.

It was after this treatment he would be given a medicine called Neulasta. It was a patch applied to the skin of his upper arm. It would self-inject the medicine and the dose would take 45 minutes to complete. He would then remove and dispose of it the next day. They gave him this medicine to reduce the risk of infection. Unfortunately, the side effect was bone pain and Jeff felt it awful in his legs and back. 

After each round, Jeff had a check-in with Dr. Duffy to monitor his symptoms and check his bloodwork. He had a separate appointment to monitor his lung function. This was the new routine after each 21-day cycle. The plan was to endure four rounds.

At Jeff’s first check-in after round one of chemotherapy, we were concerned about his hearing. His tinnitus had increased significantly and he noticed trouble hearing. Dr. Duffy was concerned. He recommended he have his hearing checked to have a baseline as treatments continued. It would be a guide to see if there was more decline after each cycle.

Dr. Duffy did mention we could switch out the drug that was the culprit in the hearing loss however the evidence showed taking this drug away decreased our chances for a cure. Jeff didn’t want to change the plan. He agreed to continue with the cocktail of drugs understanding hearing aids may be in his future.  

His hearing loss may possibly be irreversible. Jeff would take his chances.

He agreed to call an audiologist. He had a hearing test done at the end of the week and it showed some loss. We weren’t sure yet if it would return after the chemotherapy, get worse, or stay the same. Time would tell and we would cross that bridge when we needed to.

In the meantime, we would be proactive and monitor his hearing after every cycle of treatment. I encouraged him to eat bananas. They were loaded with magnesium and potassium both important to hearing well. I had hope in the mighty banana and a bowl of this fruit would be found in our kitchen in case Jeff wanted one.

I realize now how ridiculous I may have sounded…was a banana any match for these drugs?

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I know this isn’t rainbow and unicorns kind of reading today. I appreciate you being here and reading along.

Take good care,

Julie

P.S. If you’re up for it tell me the first word that comes to mind when you hear banana. Leave it in the comments below. Let’s have some fun! Go!Go!Go!