Last week I had my first treatments with the Perjeta, Herceptin and Docetaxel. It was like going through the first round of chemo all over again as I had no idea of how I would react to these drugs. And it wasn’t pretty.

I had a lot of muscle aches on Sunday and Monday. By Monday evening the aches were severe enough that I was about to take some Tylenol 3, but when I checked my temperature, I was running a fever, so 1) I couldn’t take the T3, and 2) I had to make a trip to Emergency because of the fever. So I spent from Monday evening until Thursday afternoon at the new hospital in Oakville. The staff there took great care of me keeping me isolated from all the germy people. And my overnight team combo of Angela and Gord learned how uncomfortable it can be to sleep in a hospital chair…Thanks to both of you for the extra babysitting duties!

The good news is that while I was at the hospital, all of my blood work and cultures showed as negative (meaning no infections). I talked to my PMH oncologist once I was released and he feels that the fever was likely caused by the immune booster that I receive the day after chemo, as it can cause a false fever when combined with the chemo. While the experience was a little scary at the time, I know now that it is not unusual, which is reassuring.

The other good news is that I also know that the worst part of this particular chemo only lasts about two days for me (it can last up to a week for some people!). So I’m no longer as apprehensive as I was heading into last week!