Ringing the Bell

I noticed this bell the first day Eric went for his chemotherapy and I wondered how people must feel when they get to ring it.

 

I can't even look at it without crying.  It's really hit me the past couple of days and I can't believe the time for Eric to ring the bell has finally come. After an unexpectedly difficult round of chemo this weekend, here's Eric leaving the chemo area today. Sorry for the blurry pictures. As I said, I was pretty emotional and my camera skills clearly weren't the best. 

After arriving home today to the hero's welcome he deserves, he's sleeping comfortably. It's been a far more difficult final treatment weekend than we ever would have imagined. Knowing it's the last one helps, though. Hoping the new prescriptions help with the nausea and sickness, and help him get his appetite back soon.

Thank you from both Eric and me for all of the prayers and support. We'll have final results of all the follow- up tests in about 4 weeks.

Maureen

It's finally here: chemo round six

Eric's blood work continues to be favorable. Yesterday, Dr. S. (oncology), said he feels certain that the ITP, which caused so much stress and worry in the early stages, is probably gone now. The weekly and bi-weekly blood work seems to evidence this with platelet counts now consistently in the higher range of normal at around 300 or so, normal being 100-400. So that's great news but we'll ask Dr. A., the benign hematologist, to confirm that and to see if the bi-weekly blood work can now be stopped. It will still be done prior to chemo and again in about 4 weeks.

So, this is where we are. Eric's chemo protocol is a six month treatment, with this Saturday and Sunday being the sixth treatment. The only consolation to the dread Eric is feeling is that this is expected to be the last treatment. Let me explain that qualifier "expected to be." In three weeks, Eric will have a bone marrow biopsy (a very painful procedure he's had done twice) and a PET scan. The last PET scan indicated little to no visible cancer in the lymph nodes. It can not analyze the bone marrow, however, which, in Eric's case, was greatly infiltrated with cancer at the beginning. The bone marrow biopsy is what is going to tell us if Eric is in remission or not. We are, of course, extremely hopeful and anticipating hearing the news, in 4 weeks. that the cancer is in remission. If we do not hear those words, additional treatment will be in the works. We don't even want to think of that possibility but we can't bury our heads in the sand, either.

Early on, Eric gained a lot of weight due to the steroids. He has since last all that weight and then some. Of course, he's glad to have the weight off, but it comes a result of persistent nausea that lasts for about 3 weeks now following the chemo. The medications have not helped very much. New ones are being prescribed one of which is only available at MD Anderson. Interestingly, it's called ABH, and is a combination of Ativan, Benadryl, and Haldol-- hardly drugs we would expect to treat nausea, but MD Anderson has lots of remedies you won't fine anywhere else. We'll pick that up Saturday and hope for the best.

Please keep the prayers, good wishes, and good thoughts and support coming. This battle is almost over!

Maureen

Post Round Five of Chemo

I wanted to wait a few days to see how Eric did before updating on this past weekend's chemo because we're never entirely sure how he's doing until several days past the treatment. This week went better than expected, in part because he was expecting it to be bad because last month so was tough. The treatment process was fine, followed by several days of nausea, weakness, tiredness, lack of appetite.

Eric hasn't been able to eat much at all. He has slept a lot- long 5 and 6 hour "naps". Yesterday he finally felt his appetite coming back and ate a meal for the first time since Friday. Taking all that Prednisone earlier in the treatment process caused quite a weight gain which has now all been lost and then some. He's at a healthy weight and, hopefully, will continue to have enough of an appetite to keep him from losing any more.

Aside from interim blood work, next on the calendar is the pre-chemo visit with Dr. S on 5/14, followed by the sixth (and hopefully, final) round of chemo on 5/17 and 5/18.

Thanks for checking in and thanks for the prayers, cards, and good wishes!

Maureen

Dreading the Inevitable but Necessary

Everything went well at the doctor today. Blood counts look good, platelets continue to be just above 300. Eric just has to keep taking the new meds and trying to stay ahead of the nausea. It's been such a rough month with this nausea that Eric says he gags when he thinks of going for the chemo. He's really dreading this weekend. Let's face it. He sure never looks forward to going, but he doesn't usually face it with such dread.

Maybe, just maybe, it won't be so bad this time. Each time has been different and you never know what to expect. Here's to hoping for the best! Saturday's appointment is at 7:30 AM and should take about 6 hours, once they get started. It sure would be nice to start on time.  Sunday's treatment is only about an hour and a half or so and should be around that same time. It's generally about 24 hours after they start on Saturday. I'll keep you posted.

Maureen

Getting Ready for Round Five

With Eric's blood work being done every two weeks now, and the platelets finally and continually stabilized at normal levels (376 last week), the only concerns remaining are the gastrointestinal problems which have not diminished since the last chemo, nearly four weeks ago. The Zofran (anti nausea) and over the counter histamine blockers (Pepsid, Zantac, etc.) have not provided significant relief for more than an hour or so. Dr. S. changed the medications to Compazine (anti nausea) and something else for protecting the stomach, stronger than the OTC medications (forget the name), but still not much improvement.

Eric normally sees Dr. S. the Wednesday before his chemo, the only day Dr. S sees patients, and that would be today since chemo is this weekend. Eric had to be out of town for work today, so we made arrangements for him to be seen by Dr. S's associate, Dr. O,  tomorrow instead. Hopefully we can get some better understanding and control of these GI issues before the chemo this weekend or it could be a rough week or so on the horizon.

Maureen

On the schedule

Things have been fairly quiet. The last round of chemo took a greater toll than usual on Eric's stomach, resulting in over a week of battling nausea, stomach upset, and a diminished appetite. Everything else is fine, though.

Bi-weekly blood work (CBC) is this Friday. Monthly appointment with the oncologist is scheduled for 4/17. Next chemo is 4/19 and 4/20 (Easter).

We're a bit disappointed that we won't get to celebrate Easter with our family but, on the bright side, there is only one more treatment after this one, tentatively planned for May 10.

Maureen

Things are getting better all the time

Despite our annoyance at having to wait three hours past our appointment time to get set up in the chemo room on Saturday, things went reasonably well. During Saturday's treatment of both Rituximab and Bendamustine, Eric started feeling nauseous which continued through the night along with the usual flu-like symptoms. They were bit milder than in the past, plus, knowing that it is not going to last for a very long time makes it a bit more tolerable for Eric. Yesterday was Bendamustine only which meant more nausea all day and not eating. By about 8 PM, Eric was able to eat a banana and keep it down. By this morning, Monday, he felt fine and went to work. He'll probably be fatigued this week but it seems the worst is behind us. Only two more treatments left! The next one is 4/12.

Maureen