Well, we
made it through yet another round of chemo. I will say this round wasn't
as bad (nausea-wise) as I was expecting. I consider that one in the win
column.
Dad and I went to my med-onc appt on Thursday morning, and I was anxious. I don't know that the anxiety, nervousness, etc. ever goes away. My CEA is stable (0.9 three weeks ago, 1.0 this week - no real difference, and he feels it will likely stabilize here). They put me on another anti-nausea medicine (Zyprexa), which is an anti-psychotic medicine (no comment) that happens to have some pretty amazing anti-nausea properties. So, it's worth a shot.
I asked the doctor some questions I really didn't want to ask, about long-term prognosis and potential for long-term remission, etc. But, I needed to have those questions answered. Basically, while I can get back into remission, it looks like this will likely be a maintenance thing - where, I go into remission, cancer tries to come back, we battle again, then remission again. *sigh* I expected it, but didn't like the answer. He wouldn't give me long-term prognosis numbers (which is fine - I refuse to fall prey to numbers....). I did set the expectation very clearly that I came to CTCA because they are the best, and because I expect them to put me on the far, far end of the bell curve for survivability. Dr. Granick looked at his nurse (my new care manager) and said, "We have our marching orders!"
Love.
We asked about what the next couple of months are going to bring. We are looking at three more rounds of chemotherapy with this regiment, then a CT scan to see where we are. Obviously, the best case scenario would be NED in the lungs, meaning No Evidence of Disease. This would be amazing news. If we can get to there, they will likely shift me to Xeloda, which is an oral version of 5-FU. (I can tell you this didn't make me happy, since that's the one I don't tolerate, but it's apparently absorbed and metabolized differently in the body and thus, the side effects are different.) There is talk about a PET scan, but that will be a ways down the road, since I have to be off of chemo for 4-6 weeks before we can PET; if we don't wait, there could be false positives, and we definitely don't need that.
I feel like I'm babbling - sorry about this. I'm still recovering....I'll use that as my excuse this time.
Ok - what else? I think that's it. The naturopath came in and put me on a supplement called maitoke, which is a mushroom used to help boost the immune system. We all figured this was a good thing, especially since I'm considering a part-time return to work (assuming I can make it all work out) and the kids return to school in two weeks. I'll be bombarded with germs here shortly, so anything we can do to help boost immunity will help. We also talked with the nutritionist, and all seems to be well there. They were all happy that I was back at the gym, which I'll take as good. :)
Oh! Due to scheduling issues, they accessed my port in the clinic (downstairs, where I see the med-onc team, rather than up in the infusion room, as it normally happens), and we were able to get blood return immediately! Woot woot! Such a relief!
Well, beyond that, the rest of the day is a blur. That's pretty typical of a chemo day - they gave me my pre-meds, the Benadryl made me sleepy, and I slept for the next 48 hours. I got up long enough to eat. That's about it. I'm finally starting to come out of it, and feeling better as time wears on. The challenge today will be to take it easy and not wear myself out.
So, three more rounds. Can I make it? Good Lord, I hope so. I always feel better the further I get out from chemo. And, having three weeks between chemo? Oh, yes. It helps!
Off I go - have a great day, my army! I intend to!
Dad and I went to my med-onc appt on Thursday morning, and I was anxious. I don't know that the anxiety, nervousness, etc. ever goes away. My CEA is stable (0.9 three weeks ago, 1.0 this week - no real difference, and he feels it will likely stabilize here). They put me on another anti-nausea medicine (Zyprexa), which is an anti-psychotic medicine (no comment) that happens to have some pretty amazing anti-nausea properties. So, it's worth a shot.
I asked the doctor some questions I really didn't want to ask, about long-term prognosis and potential for long-term remission, etc. But, I needed to have those questions answered. Basically, while I can get back into remission, it looks like this will likely be a maintenance thing - where, I go into remission, cancer tries to come back, we battle again, then remission again. *sigh* I expected it, but didn't like the answer. He wouldn't give me long-term prognosis numbers (which is fine - I refuse to fall prey to numbers....). I did set the expectation very clearly that I came to CTCA because they are the best, and because I expect them to put me on the far, far end of the bell curve for survivability. Dr. Granick looked at his nurse (my new care manager) and said, "We have our marching orders!"
Love.
We asked about what the next couple of months are going to bring. We are looking at three more rounds of chemotherapy with this regiment, then a CT scan to see where we are. Obviously, the best case scenario would be NED in the lungs, meaning No Evidence of Disease. This would be amazing news. If we can get to there, they will likely shift me to Xeloda, which is an oral version of 5-FU. (I can tell you this didn't make me happy, since that's the one I don't tolerate, but it's apparently absorbed and metabolized differently in the body and thus, the side effects are different.) There is talk about a PET scan, but that will be a ways down the road, since I have to be off of chemo for 4-6 weeks before we can PET; if we don't wait, there could be false positives, and we definitely don't need that.
I feel like I'm babbling - sorry about this. I'm still recovering....I'll use that as my excuse this time.
Ok - what else? I think that's it. The naturopath came in and put me on a supplement called maitoke, which is a mushroom used to help boost the immune system. We all figured this was a good thing, especially since I'm considering a part-time return to work (assuming I can make it all work out) and the kids return to school in two weeks. I'll be bombarded with germs here shortly, so anything we can do to help boost immunity will help. We also talked with the nutritionist, and all seems to be well there. They were all happy that I was back at the gym, which I'll take as good. :)
Oh! Due to scheduling issues, they accessed my port in the clinic (downstairs, where I see the med-onc team, rather than up in the infusion room, as it normally happens), and we were able to get blood return immediately! Woot woot! Such a relief!
Well, beyond that, the rest of the day is a blur. That's pretty typical of a chemo day - they gave me my pre-meds, the Benadryl made me sleepy, and I slept for the next 48 hours. I got up long enough to eat. That's about it. I'm finally starting to come out of it, and feeling better as time wears on. The challenge today will be to take it easy and not wear myself out.
So, three more rounds. Can I make it? Good Lord, I hope so. I always feel better the further I get out from chemo. And, having three weeks between chemo? Oh, yes. It helps!
Off I go - have a great day, my army! I intend to!
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