Rachel started feeling nauseous last night about 4 hours after the chemo had started, so they gave her some extra meds to help combat the nausea. They made her really sleepy, so they mostly helped her sleep through the nausea. Tonight she’ll have another treatment of doxorubicin, 24 hours after she had it yesterday.

Rachel’s primary oncologist saw her today. We discussed the long-term effects of chemo a little more today and learned that one of the major side effects is fertility problems, particularly with cyclophosphamide, which she’s already had one treatment of. With the amount of this drug and the dosage she’s scheduled to have, it is likely that enough of her eggs will be damaged to cause fertility problems for her in the future. This was pretty devastating news for Rachel to hear. Her doctor is referring her to a fertility doctor in Boston to see what, if any, options she might have.