Round 2 - Chemo 1

The Red Devil (the drug not Donna) just starting

Hi everyone!

Well, round two has begun! And I got one of my favourite nurses, Donna!

Because of the drugs I am on this time, the protocol was done a little differently. I had to take my two anti-nausea drugs (Ondansetron and Dexamethasone) at the cancer clinic, just prior to getting the chemo. And have to take the two drugs on a schedule until Wednesday. The Dexamethasone this time is less pills (and I don't mind that). I was given a couple of prescriptions for additional meds that I may need. Metolopramide which I can take any time if feel nausea setting in and I am hoping that it won't decide to visit me! All I can say on the drugs - is thankfully my drug plan pays for them - almost $700 for them!

Donna had a little problem in finding a good vein - and I thought mine were good! But she did find one and got the IV in just fine, just a mild bruise. She started with the Doxorubicin (aka the Red Devil), this one is not done via a bag of solution, the drug came in two tubes. The drug is pushed in via one of the additional ports that are in the IV. After every 5cc's of the drug, saline is put through and then the line is checked to see if the blood is coming back - this is a good sign. This continues until both tubes are empty.

The Red Devil going in

Then the Cyclophosphamide is let loose! This one they put in very quickly - usually 30 minutes, but if any congestion or headaches start, then it is slowed down. Went ok for the first 15 minutes and then a mild headache started - right then, Donna slowed the drug down so that it would take 45 minutes.

That was about it! I see Dr. Pansegrau on March 13 (and yes it is a Friday again), bloodwork is done on the 14th and chemo is on the 16th - time to be determined.

No side effects yet but they could appear whenever they want! And yes, the hair will go again - just as it was coming in!

Ciao for now.

Roni

Having a laugh with Donna

New Look!

Hi everyone!

Well, now that the initial shock has worn off, I can add a few words.

I, along with lots of help from my family and friends, made it through the first round of chemo. Now we are about to battle the second round and it had better look out. Some of the side effects (rare cases) are a little scary, but for the most part, they are just about identical to the first chemo drug. So, here we go - and what a ride it will be! I plan on kicking some cancer butt!

Today, we (Brian and I) went to see our family doctor - she hadn't received the report yet, so we filled her in. She is a very nice doctor and was quite surprised and very sympathetic. Got my prescriptions for my pain meds - I am good for a while! Though our cabinet now looks like a mini pharmacy!

Later this afternoon, off to another doctor - Meghan came this time, as Brian was off to an interview, but he did make it back - we waited about an hour and a half! Saw my thoracic surgeon, Dr. Bond - I wanted to get a referral to see Dr. Klimo - and he is sending in the requisition for it. He also warned me, that the other oncologists will "get their shorts in a knot", but I just want to see what other options there are out there, other than just the chemo. Dr. P is wonderful and has been very open and honest with us. So, we shall see how long it takes to get in to see Dr. Klimo - he is a very busy doctor and from what I have heard from people who have seen him or have friends/family who have and they all speak very highly of him. And after waiting for all the time we did, Dr. B said we could have just called it in, but he has a new MOA and guess she didn't know about this.

And we have a new hairstyle!!! Guess you will just have to see if it stayed as shown!!!!

I am still waiting to hear from the cancer centre what time my appointment is on Thursday - they could also be waiting to find out my blood work - they took 5 viles this morning! There will be an update sometime on Thursday - will depend on how I feel! But as long as I take all the pre-chemo meds and do as I am told, I think I will be ok! Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Thank you all for your kind words on Meghan's post - means a great deal to me for sure!!!

Roni

Just prior to the new "do"- and yes, it does look strange with no eyebrows or eyelashes!
Mohawk, Brian style!
And a back view!!!

Not what we were expecting. . .

Well, it’s been a while since we have done any updating on here. Mom has had her ups and her downs with the side effects lately, but she has been a trooper through it all!!!!

So what’s going on now?? Well, we were hoping for some good news today but that wasn’t really what we got.

Mom had her CT scan and x-ray done on Feb 3rd to determine how the tumors had reacted to the last 3 rounds of chemo. There had been some shrinkage of the tumors after the first 3 rounds so we had some hope that there would have been so shrinkage after the last three. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The CT scan/x-ray determined that there was growth of the tumors rather than shrinkage. It seems that the docetaxel (the chemo drug Mom was on) stopped working after the first 3 rounds.

You may be wondering what this all means then…

Well, it means that Mom is going to be doing more chemo. Her first round of treatment will be on Feb 19 (next Thursday). She will be doing another 6 rounds (about 4-5 months) on a different drug called AC or BRAVAC. AC stands for A- Doxorubicin and C- Cyclopisopamide. This drug, like docetaxel, is quite strong and has some side effects that can cause some concerns. One of the main ones is that it can cause heart problems, so they will be monitoring Mom closely to make sure she isn’t having any complications of that sort. She is also scheduled to go in and have an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart) on Feb. 22 at 8:30am.

Some of the other side effects that this drug causes are:

• Hair loss-Mom is going to get Brian to shave what had started to grow back in this weekend.
• Nausea & vomiting (usually within a couple hours of treatment)
• Weight loss

Mom will be on the same anti-nausea medication she was on before, only she will have to take it once she is at the cancer clinic just before treatment.

Mom has a couple dr.’s appointments coming up next week-both of which are on Monday. I will be going with Mom to see Dr. Bond (her surgeon) on Monday afternoon to get a referral to go see Dr. Klimo, an oncologist who thinks outside of the box.

Mom had mentioned that it seemed like because there were no new blogs being posted that the comments stopped. She misses seeing them and would love it if people posted a quick line or two-even if it’s just to say hi. :)