We went to the IV lab around 11:30 today. After we got there they gave Melissa her fluids and started some of her premeds. All was going just like normal until they gave her the Benadryl medication. When they gave her the Benadryl she started to have an anaphylactic shock reaction (swelling of the throat, itchy hands and itchy feet).  She actually blacked out shortly and they ended up calling in the rapid response team to come and provide assistance (They determined that we should no longer be giving her Benadryl with any of her medications again). They gave her some oxygen and checked her heart rate, blood, glucose level and oxygen level. After a short time everything returned to normal without any other medications. During the other previous two treatments that she had received with Benadryl we noticed that there was a slight reaction but none were this severe. We also thought they were caused by the Taxol and not the Benadryl. After consulting with the doctor we decided that it would be okay to continue with the Taxol treatment. We did receive an option to postpone the Taxol for a couple of days but this would make it so she would have to have all the pre-medications again. The doctor and the nursing staff in IV therapy decided that we should slow the drip from a three hour drip to a four hour drip to see if it would induce any more additional reactions. By slowing the drip it would let us know if the reactions were going to happen and how severe they might be. Fortunately with the premeds she had received there were no more additional reactions to the Taxol treatment. She will have to go in tomorrow around five for her Neulasta shot. We would like to offer a special thank you to all those that provided care for her today, especially those who reacted in the rapid response team and the nurses in IV therapy. We have received nothing but the best of care on all of her treatments so far. And we are extremely happy that she will only have one more treatment after this. :) - Tyler
Tonight Melissa had a pretty bad headache which has been typical on treatment days. However, considering all she has been through today, she is okay.