Step-on-me vs. Ovarian Cancer

I hate being late.  I hate it when other people are late.  Maybe it is an obsession or maybe it is the 12 years of Catholic education and great teachers like Joe Kroh who taught the value of honoring commitments.     Stephanie will tell you too many stories about how I obsess about being on time to parties.  "Gregory (the name she only uses when she is upset with me) it is a party; why the do you want to be on time?" She says with a deeply annoyed and aggravated tone.  I am the guy who actually shows up at 5:30 when the invite says the party starts at 5:30 but most people   understand  that everyone will arrive around 7.  Whatever – maybe I am crazy.    I have learned that there is one exception to my perpetual desire to never be tardy.  Chemo days.  I become the pokiest person on Earth those days.  I move around without a care in the world. I drive in the slow lane.  I let everyone in front of me in line. ...

After months of waiting I was finally healthy enough to begin the chemotherapy regimen that my doctor recommended.  This regimen is known as IV/IP (intravenous/intraperitoneal).  The chemo drugs are delivered two ways, one through my veins in my IV port and one directly into my belly (aka - peritoneal cavity) through my IP port.  This regimen is on a 21 day cycle, and every 21 days the cycle is supposed to start over for four total rounds of treatment. On the first and second day of the cycle I am admitted to the hospital and stay over night to receive my medications.  To the best of my understanding, the only reason I am admitted to the hospital is because I receive a 24 hour continuous IV treatment of chemo called Taxol (which I received a lower dose of during "chemo lite").  An outpatient center would not be able to accommodate this treatment for the simple fact that it takes so long.  Once the IV treatment is over they switch to the IP treatment. ...