My $15,000+ Day... or Treatment Day 1

Yesterday was my first day of treatment. Everything went smoothly. Brynn arrived for her first day of school on time and without a hitch. I made it to my appointment almost on time. Despite having a minor infection we were still able to proceed with the first round of Adcetris.

The treatment itself started with pre-meds. Tylenol, Benadryl (to prevent an allergic reaction), a light steroid, and anti-nausea medication. The Benadryl knocked me out almost immediately. I fought my falling eyelids as hard as I could, but eventually had to tell my friend (who drove me to and from my appointment) that I was going to have to nap.

I did wake up long enough to joke with my nurse about giving me my new car. Unfortunately I wasn't really getting a new vehicle, just its cost equivalent in medication. It turns out that each of my treatments require 3 vials of Adcetris, and each vial markets for about $5,000. That means when he brought this tiny little bag in and plugged it into my IV, I began the process of absorbing $15,000 into my system.

Too bad it doesn't have a street value.

I can't complain though. It's been over 24 hours and I'm not experiencing any side effects. I did sleep for several hours yesterday, but that was just to wear off the Benadryl. I'm not nauseous, I don't feel cruddy, I'm still eating whatever I want. Actually, I feel pretty normal. We'll see over the next few days, but I'm feeling good about how my body is handling it so far.