ERBATUX DAY

Mom spent the afternoon at the doctor's office today receiving her 3rd to last dose of erbatux. All of her counts were up and within the allowable limits to continue treatment. Her white blood cell count was actually quite high, so maybe her body was just reacting to food (on top of normal side-effects). I imagine she'll still be pretty tired from this treatment, given that she was pretty tired to begin.

Overall, they were really encouraged by the numbers they got at the doctor's today, and we're hoping that the news will translate into a good coming week! If anyone wants to share a favorite recipe that includes cooked vegetables or cooked fruit, that would be great. She has to be careful with raw stuff.

Hanging in There...Still...

Well, it's Wednesday night and mom is still fighting side-effects from the last round of chemotherapy. Her bowels have been acting up pretty bad, preventing her from sleep and normalcy. Usually, the day before her next treatment is good because she needs to be, but I guess it's like getting knocked down over and over again. Eventually, your body isn't as excited about getting back up! Mom is still in good spirits, but physically, she's definitely in the middle of rough times. Her appetite is still really supressed. I love all of the suggestions of potatoes, crumb donuts, Parker's...

Tomorrow is supposed to be her next round of erbatux. We hope that she can feel decent for the next 15 hours, or so, until she visits the doctor's office again. They'll evaluate before her treatment to make sure that her body can handle another dose. Keep her in your prayers! Thanks for all of the love and support!

Hanging in There

Mom is hanging in there. Her chemo is in full swing right now, and her energy is definitely limited. Her acne/sores on her face have spread somewhat, but it still isn't too bad. Her voice is REALLY hoarse and sounds like she has laryngitis. Her positive attitude is still there! When I came over this morning, she had windex in one hand and had just made her bed. That was about all she could do for the day. So, energy = low, attitude = good and courageous! We're trying to think of some foods that sound good because her appetite and nausea are a little stronger now than after past treatments. Hopefully, she'll start feeling better by Wednesday.

CHEMO LOADED

Mom had her chemo pump removed this morning, and she's hanging in there while the chemo does its thing. She was able to get a decent night of rest last night (she was making up for Thursday night, I guess). Her voice is really scratchy from her sore throat and mouth, but she really is more rested than she sounds. She said that she's feeling "kind of puny." I have a feeling that's an understatement! She really does look strong and is being so brave. I don't think that we'll ever really understand how mom feels inside because she still has a beautiful smile.

QUADRUPLE CHEMO DAY

Today was the mega-heavy-duty-dose-of-chemo Day. Mom spent all day at the doctor's office getting hooked up to her pump with 3 different chemos (earlier I said it was 2. It's really 3). She also received her weekly dose of erbatux. Included in her chemo are lots of drugs that make her sleepy and wiped out! She slept the entire rest of the day and woke up at 8:00 tonight, wondering if it was already tomorrow!

She is feeling good and in good spirits, though. She's just extremely tired. Dad doesn't believe that she'll have a problem sleeping tonight. We're just hoping that we can get through the next 3-5 days okay. These are the rough days, for sure! She is starting get open sores and acne-like bumps more and more on her face.

The pump will be removed on Saturday, and we will have only 1 more quadruple chemo day left (two weeks from today)! The doctors did decide that a "complete" chemo regimen will require her to get one extra erbatux treatment on May 15th. So, scratch the 8th of May. The 15th of May is now mom's glorious day! She'll then have 4 weeks to recover until surgery.

THIS WEEK

I thought I'd post a new update on mom. She has done amazingly well this week. Having only erbatux has been a much easier dose to swallow. She has had some normal side effects that have made her somewhat uncomfortable, but nothing too harsh that she hasn't handled well. I think the hardest part this week is cabin fever. She knows she needs to stay away from the public, but for a social gal like mom, that has proven a challenge. She does have to stay on top of the anti-nausea medication. Yesterday, she had a close call. If she doesn't take the medication IMMEDIATELY upon feeling nausea, the medication doesn't work. She starts her round of quadruple chemo treatments tomorrow. We know that those days aren't good days, but we'll enjoy today as much as we can and prepare for the next major treatment.

Again, thanks so much for all of the messages, jokes, letters, and gifts. They mean so, so, so much!

SUPER SLEEPY SATURDAY

Mom had another sleepless night in Albuquerque last night, but was able to get to sleep at 8:00 in the morning. The doctors never told us that werewolf-like behavior was a side-effect! Luckily, she slept soundly until noon, and woke up feeling pretty decent. She has some cute, hardly noticeable zits on her nose, but otherwise, she's feeling pretty darn good. Her voice is still scratchy. She think it's from the tissue in her esophagus being sensitive to the chemo. She is doing an awesome job at finding projects to start today, but dad has to finish them! Dad is such a hero!

To sum it up: so far, so good with this week's round of chemo!

TODAY'S DR. VISIT

Mom did excellent today with her doctor's visit. She had a white blood cell count of 2.6. That's very good! Her neulasta shot on Monday must have done some good! The erbutux only took about 2.5 hours to administer this time. She is feeling fine so far. Hopefully, it will take a while to kick in again!

We Love Thursdays

Yes we do. Thursdays are usually happy, healthy days because it's the day before chemo starts, and mom MUST feel good on Thursdays. Maybe it's a catch-22, but we'll take healthy days when we can get them. Mom's voice sounds a bit scratchy. She has mouth sores now, but she acts like it's no big deal. I have a feeling they're not very fun...

We're thankful to have a good, strong day today. It makes us feel a little less anxious about her next treatment. She goes in tomorrow morning for her erbutux (the treatment that takes about 5 or 6 hours to administer). She won't need the pump with the additional chemo this week. We'll see what that means for her health next week.

We made spaghetti, ham and bean soup, and chicken enchiladas today to prepare for next week and get through the weekend. Go mom!

FULL SWING

The chemo took a little bit longer to do its thing this time, but it is now in FULL SWING. Mom was absolutely wiped out yesterday. It was pajama day for her and it wasn't easy keeping her eyes open. Knowing that she has to go through another round on Friday, we're hoping that she can regain some energy over the next couple of days. Life is rough right now. We will definitely be looking forward to May 8th, when mom gets her last dose of chemotherapy.

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful mail, thoughts, encouragment, messages, gifts, and prayers. Mom needs it, feels it, and it means more than you know. The phone is pretty much on do not disturb 24/7. She still feels your love through mail and messages, though. Thanks so much for all of your love.

ROUND 2 UPDATE

Sorry it took so long to update. Mom is doing pretty darn well with round 2. Based on the lab results from her liver biopsy, they have her on a new regimen. The new regimen is much more intense. She will now go in every Friday for one of her chemo treatments. It's called erbutux. It has been proven to be more effective, but it also has harsher side-effects. She is expected to get an acne-like rash on her body within 2-3 weeks of starting the treatment. So far, so good. Mom said she really is getting younger - she's getting acne and losing weight! She's pretty wiped out, but other than that, her side effects aren't as bad as they could be. She didn't get a wink of sleep last night because the discomfort was just enough to prevent her from sleeping. Luckily, she fell asleep this morning as dad was getting ready for work. Hopefully, she'll catch up a little bit and energize her body.

So she goes in every week for erbutux (which is a procedure that lasts about 5 or 6 hours in the doctor's office) and every other week for the chemo pump that administers two other kinds of chemo. Those two kinds are the ones that she has to have for 48 hours. I can't remember the names of those, but if you're interested, I'll ask dad again.

She also found out yesterday that her liver is extremely healthy, so they won't have to perform embolization during her liver surgery. That is huge! It's a testament to the word of wisdom!(More embolization info: Embolization is a form of palliative (non-curative) treatment for liver cancer. This includes tumors originating in the liver or those that have spread (metastasized) to the liver from other areas of the body. The artery to the liver is blocked off (embolized) with small particles to starve the tumor of oxygen and nutrients.

In certain circumstances, chemotherapy drugs are administered at the time of embolization or mixed with the particles to block the artery (chemoembolization). This allows a higher concentration of chemotherapy (compared with systemic chemotherapy) to be administered to the liver where it remains for up to one month within the tumor. This increases the effectiveness and decreases the systemic side effects).

Following embolization of the liver you may experience significant abdominal pain that may start during the latter part of the procedure and usually lasts 2 or 3 days. This may also be associated with fever, nausea and vomiting, which is known as "post-embolization syndrome." You will receive medications to control the pain and nausea during your hospital stay, which can last up to 5 days depending upon the severity and duration of the post embolization syndrome).

Looking good 3 hours after pump removed on Easter Sunday!

JUST WHEN WE THINK...

that life is normal again, the reality of mom's cancer sinks in. She went to the doctor's office at 9:30 this morning and will be receiving chemo treatments until 5:00. Apparently the blood draw indicates a white blood cell count of 2.6, but the doctor says it's really 1.6. I'm not sure how and what that means, but dad will have to give an explanation later. She will definitely require a neulasta shot on Monday, the day after they end round 2 of chemo treatments.

They started to administer the same chemo treatment as last time, even after Dr. Kopetz from Houston told them to change the regimen based on the lab results from the liver biopsy. Luckily, dad is REALLY on top of things and made sure they got it right. They said that the new chemo causes a rash in 88% of cases. How that feels and where it manifests itself, we'll find out. Dad said that mom is already resting at the office and feeling tired. Essentially, this is going to be a tough weekend.

FRIDAY'S DR. VISIT

Mom's appointment with the doctor went great yesterday! She was thinking that her white blood cell count would be low enough to require a shot of neulasta (a HUGE needle stuck into her stomach to increase her white blood cell count). Luckily, she was at a 2.0, and she would only need a shot if she was at 1.5 or lower. She started her chemo at a 2.8. They were optimistic about the numbers, knowing that she still has a full week to increase her white blood cell count before her next chemo treatment. She will need lots of prayers on Friday, the 10th. That's when Round 2 of chemotherapy begins!

5 DAYS IS BIG!

It's amazing to see the transformation that takes place when chemo slowly makes its way out of your system! Mom went from rough, rough times, to being the perky Jan that we all know and love. She was a trooper this week. By April Fool's Day, she had enough energy to come down to our house and play a few tricks! Yup, that's the mom that I know! Today she said that she felt great! She has another blood draw tomorrow to see where her body is at, then starts her next round of chemo next week. We'll find out the date soon. She just might need a tranquilizer when she goes to get hooked up to the chemo again. Now that she knows what she's getting into, it DOES NOT make it easier. Cancer treatment is definitely one of those things where experience isn't necessarily a good thing. :)

Maybe I can convince her to take another stab at this blog (I think her first posts were great!). I think her sense of humor is one of the best, and I would love for her to share this experience from her perspective. Until then, I hope you all don't mind the updates from me! Your love and support is needed, felt, and deeply appreciated!