Get ready for a long posting. much has happened, much to talk about. First off, I have Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage IIB nodular. In stage II, cancer is found in two or more lymph node groups on the same side of the diaphragm. My treatment will be ABVD, a standard chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's. I will receive chemotherapy once every two weeks. Standard treatment is four to six cycles (which equals two chemotherapy sessions). ABVD stands for the four drug combo treatment. Adriamycin, which is red; Bleomycin; Vinblastine/Velban; and Dacarbazine/DTIC. All of these have side effects that range from hair loss, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, aches, rashes, fevers. I have been prescribed a number of drugs to counteract the side effects. Emend, to prevent nausea, taken on the day of chemotherapy and the two days following; Allopurinal, to clear out my system all the waste product from the chemotherapy (ie: dead cancer cells); Bactrim DS, an antibiotic; Diffucan, an antifungal; and Compazine, for nausea. My Dad picked me up at 11:10am. The appointment was scheduled for 12:00pm. The drive took about 20 minutes. We arrived in plenty of time. Too early. I checked in and began to wait. wait, wait, wait. Soon it was 12:25pm and I had watched the waiting room clear out. Glad I had my Dad to converse with. I was getting agitated, anxious. I checked at the front desk and the receptionist informed me I was scheduled for 12:15pm and I arrived early. I just didn't want to be lost in the shuffle. about 12:40pm I was called. The nurse took my vitals and said the doctor would be with me shortly. He came to see me about 1:00pm. He wanted to explain things and get me into treatment immediately. I was taken into the treatment room about 1:30pm. I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't expect to see a wide open space with recliners and chairs. Patients sitting next to each other getting treatments. My head was thinking sterile empty rooms, radiation suits, and big needles. This was much more relaxed. The nurse came over and started my IV, commenting on how nice my veins were! I was given an intravenous nausea medicine before I started with a test dose of the Bleomycin, which some patients could have severe reactions to. I didn't react. Then I was given the rest of the medications. While this was going on, the nurse explained the medications, the prescriptions, and provided me with a notebook with detailed information about the drugs, side effects, ways to treat them, dietary, and contacts. lots of information for me to read. Dad reviewed and pointed out things to me. He also got me a fruit cup and a muffin from the cafeteria to munch on. The whole thing took about three and a half hours. I haven't noticed any effects yet. While I was waiting in the main lobby, I noticed a man of a different ethnic background wearing a proud tshirt. His cell phone rang. He answered it. He had a robot voice. I was intrigued, fascinated, but I didn't want to stare at him. I did eavesdrop though, just to hear the robot voice. Amazing technology. Everyone say "Yo" in a metallic robot voice. Truly amazing.