Chemo 4, Day 1

Yesterday was day one of round 4 of chemo. So far so good. I feel pretty good this morning, not really much fatigue. I go in at 1:30 today. I was supposed to go in yesterday at 1:00, but they were waiting on my lab results so I didn't get in until 2:45. Not fun. So we didn't get home until 9:30 last night. Hopefully I will get in on time today and we'll get home at a decent hour. That's all the news for now. More later on...

Good News!

We went back to MD Anderson again today to get the results of Lauri's CT Scan. Recall that Lauri's CT scan on July 6 yielded some mixed results, namely the discovery of new "stuff" in the left lung. At the time the "stuff" was thought to be either due to an infection or inflammation, or perhaps additional tumor growth.

The good news is that Lauri's latest CT scan, taken yesterday, shows vast improvement in the region where they found the "stuff". The imagery report states that the "stuff" was likely infection and/or inflammation. This is really good news, because it means the chemotherapy is effective, and we don't need to change to a more aggressive treatment.

The three tumors that we have been watching all along are still there, and remain unchanged in size from the last scan on July 6. The imagery report states that the nodules are "stable", which again is good news. Stable or reducing in size is what we want!

Lauri has been advised to start eating more, more often, to combat significant weight loss. You may recall from previous notes that Lauri has been having little to no appetite. Some of this lack of appetite is due to the chemotherapy, while some is due to the study drug Palifirmin (refer to the totally gross pic of Lauri's tongue, and then tell me if YOU want to eat!!). Lauri is supposed to eat something nutritious every hour. Our Doctor said that reduction in weight can cause the patient to not tolerate the chemotherapy as well. This is really evident in the fact that Lauri did not tolerate the previous round very well, which was when her weight was lowest.

Overall, Lauri is looking great, and feeling pretty good. I believe she will feel much better when she starts eating a little better. As a counterpoint, though, her Doctor said that her blood counts look great, specifically those that indicate nutrition and hydration!

Clear as mud...

Weekend review

Yesterday Jeff and I made a whirl wind trip to Lafayette, La to attend a wedding of a good friend of mine. We weren't sure we would be able to make it, but my white blood cells (the infection fighting ones) came up to a good enough level on Saturday that we figured it would be safe to attend. The wedding was great and Kristi and her family were very happy that I was able to go. I wore my wig for the first time and I think it looked ok. Jeff and I had a good time and it was really good to get out of the house and go somewhere other than MD Anderson.

Pictures from the wedding:















So today I had blood work drawn for the 7th day in a row. Yes, I said 7 days in a row. AND I have more to do tomorrow. That makes 8 days in a row. My poor arms are all bruised up. I feel like a pin cushion. The good news today was that my WBC's came way up and my platelet count (these help your blood clot) came back up. The only thing still going down was my hemoglobin. If it drops below 7 I'll need a blood transfusion. It was 7.6 today, so hopefully by tomorrow it will be on the way up.

Week 2

I know it's been awhile since I posted something so I figured I should write about my week. It's been pretty low key. I've had lab work everyday so my arms are pretty bruised up. My blood counts are still pretty low so I am in semi-quarantine mode right now. Trying to stay away from large crowds and sick people.

My sister and niece came to visit Sunday through Wednesday and we had a nice visit. My niece is a very energetic and entertaining 17 month old. She provided a lot of comic relief for a few days. My mom came on Chemo day 2 and just left yesterday. She was a big help to me and Jeff while she was here. Here is a picture of Jeff, Kirsten and Maggie:

Ayway, that's about all. Oh, my tongue is completely back to normal now so I can taste things again. I know that my white tongue picture is gross, but I wanted everyone to feel my pain with the visual. I hope I didn't offend anyone. Just keeping it real!

Chemo Round 3, Days 2-5

Finally, an update!

This round of chemo has hit Lauri harder than the rest. Her energy level has been very low, acoompanied by zero appetite. During days 2-4, Lauri would require breaks to lay down while trying to get ready in the morning, getting so tired that she couldn't stand up by simply putting on a shirt. The most concerning part of it all was that she wouldn't eat, either. Her face was drawn, and she wouldn't smile much. I tried all the jokes I knew of, and it just wasn't working! She would even fall asleep as I would tell them! Ugh! Maybe I need some new material...

The good news is that it is day 5 now, and Lauri has gotten rid of her "friend" the backpack, and she is feeling better. She has eaten a little more today, and she is getting good rest at night. She is not quite as tired during the day today.

The trial drug that she takes to combat the mouth sores (a potential side effect of the chemotherapy), causes the tissue in her mouth and her tongue to become really thick, greatly reducing her sense of taste. This combined with a general fatigue and exhaustion from chemotherapy caused Lauri to feel really tired, and not hungry. We expect that over the coming days her energy will return, and her appetite along with it.





Lauri asked for me to post this picture, showing how much thicker the tissue is on her tongue. It's white from all the extra cell production!

Although she IS sticking her tongue out at you, don't take it personally!

Chemo round 3, day 1

We just got back from the hospital at 3:30. I actually got in almost on time at 9:50 and the nurse was already in my room preparing my medicines. She was on the ball. So today was actually pretty good. Not much waiting around and got on the road before the traffic got real bad. I'm just really tired today. Not much else to report. Maybe more tomorrow.

CT Scan Results

I had a ct scan on Thursday and I got the results yesterday. There was good news and bad news. The good news is that 2 of my nodules are shrinking with the chemo. The bad news is that there is some new things that showed up on the scan. They are calling it "a clustering of new nodules" which means new tumors or it could be infection or inflammation. The infection route would make sense since I was just in the hospital for 5 days and I still have a wet cough. My doctor is going to try the same chemo regimen I have been on one more time and then I'll do another ct scan in 3 weeks. If there is no change or the new cluster is growing, I will switch to 2 new chemo drugs and see if those work better. So we are hoping that it is infection since the big nodules are responding to the chemo that I am on now. We'll just have to wait and see.

Other than that, I am doing fine. I got my pallafermin (study drug for mouth sores) yesterday. My fingers are sort of burning a little bit, which is a side effect of the drug. My mouth feels a little full, but my tongue is not white yet. Still waiting on that one. Anyway, that's all for now.

Freedom!

Lauri FINALLY got to come home today! She was discharged from the hospital this afternoon, and is comfortably resting here at the house. She is still pretty tired, due to a combination of "less than ideal" sleeping conditions at the hospital and a reduced red blood cell count. I anticipate that she will feel much better after some rest in her own bed.

We head back to MD Anderson again tomorrow for another doctor appointment. This trip we meet with the integrative medications doctor to discuss diet, nutrition, and natural supplements and their use in fighting cancer. Should be an interesting meeting, although I am beginning to think we live at MD Anderson, and merely visit our old vacation home in League City when our schedule allows!!