Chemo 13 kicked my butt!
Pain from growing tumor is managed now
Nausea worse and lasting around the clock for the first week, better this week
Pretty much feel like I have the flue most of the time
Feet and hands peeling/cracking badly
Mouth sores from last round still flaring up - one just will not go away!
Dropped a few pounds which is fine- still have a good appetite
Eating smaller amounts more frequently to try and curb the nausea
Struggling to sleep at night — fear and sadness are twin companions but God grants peace here and there.
At the PET scan a week ago, just after I got the radioactive shot, I threw up! That has never happened before! Through all my chemo rounds, I have never thrown up! Fortunately, there were no dry heaves, but I felt pretty icky. Lying still was tough, but my tech worked extra hard to make me comfortable! She remembered me from last time and felt bad that I was so much worse off - she remembered how chipper I was and this time was really not!
I felt too bad to take advantage of any of the lovely invitations for Thanksgiving, so my fantastic Chef Todd whipped up a traditional thanksgiving meal - complete with pumpkin pie! He is amazing! I am blessed!
I did get the report from my PET scan, and my beloved, personal analyst evaluated every tumor and charted it all out to show that while some tumors are growing a little bit, some have completely changed shape The "glow factor" or SUV was slightly elevated also across the board as well. There was one tumor that I need to ask about - it was listed with only one measurement that had a high SUV (7) that the report says "This finding is probably new." I don't get what that means. It's either new, or it's not! However, it is not good that he thinks it is new.
Next Tuesday is my next chemo appointment and I'll talk to the oncologist then. I am sending the findings off to Oasis of Hope to see what they say. There the doctors actually look at the pictures and put them side by side with prior images. Hopefully will hear back from them Tues. or Wed.
We were blessed by a call with my oncologist's nurse practitioner. She stressed that while there is mild progression in the liver, everything else is relatively stable and stability is what they are looking/hoping for. She said that the chemo still had the cancer under control (which I don't understand if it is growing anywhere....) Regarding increasing the amount of chemo that I am receiving. (I am currently getting 80% of the amount that I could get for my height and weight) she said that the doctor was recommending not increasing the amount of the chemo because the growth is so slight. However, she will order some extra tests that will determine if I am a candidate for "targeted therapy", which evidently is a different kind of treatment which up to this point we have not heard of. Bottom line from my conversation with her, I'm thankful it is "mild" and that everything else is "stable" but it is still very troublesome that anything would grow while on chemo...
I’m trying hard to live in the present and not be fearful but it is rugged going these days! On my phone, there is a long list of scripture memory verses in the notes section, so when I wake up in the middle of the night and cannot sleep, I can read those and it helps calm the fears!
Despite the growth while on chemo, we are choosing be thankful that I got this heads-up to be extra diligent with my diet over the holidays. It also has caused me to realize that I have gotten lax with doing my other protocols. This happened due to travel and forgetfulness and feeling gross. It is motivating me to get back to charting my protocols...
We are also choosing to pray that God will work another miracle and allow me to live in a “peaceful co-existance” with this tumor — that the chemo would keep it in check and that life could continue as it has been, with me being a “walking miracle.” It sure would be nice if God demonstrated his love for us by doing what we want, the way we want it - but that is NOT how He operates and it would be really dangerous for me to equate His love with things going the way I want! He does love me and having me walk this path is serving His purpose that I do not understand. We stand firmly on Phil 4:13 - We can do all things thru Christ who strengthens us!
As we counted our blessings, y’all figured so largely in the list! Thank you so much for the kind notes, comments, gifts messages and e-mails - they have blessed us immeasurably! Let us enter the Advent season, continuously thanking Him for all situations in our lives - not just those that go our way! Much love to each of you! Thanks for checking in!
