I’m finally back in the hospital for my third round of chemo. Like last time, it’s a 1-3-5 schedule, with two bags of chemo on days one, three, and five. After that I get to go home on day five, which is Wednesday. Short and sweet!

Hopefully this round goes as easily as the last one. I didn’t experience any of the stomach pain, bloody noses, or burning hands that I had in January. (Although even then I had it lucky as far as side effects go. Apparently, many chemo patients experience burning rashes on their entire chest and back, and sometimes all over their face and scalp.) All I had was a little nausea, some dark skin on my hands and feet, a few days of bone pain, and now a few days of muscle pain in my legs (when I move even a little bit, it feels like lactic acid buildup from running long distance).

For the first time I have a roommate, a lymphoma patient who’s home is 130 miles from the hospital. She actually started out in Sacramento for three months, then was transported here by helicopter when they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. I’m so lucky to live only 3 miles away!