I had another CT Scan today in preparation for an appointment with the Oncologist next week. They picked up a blood clot in my lungs on the scan, apparently it is not uncommon with ~25% of Chemo patients getting clots.
Just more medication to add to the list.
Continue to feel reasonably well all things considered. Thanks to everyone for the continued prayers and support.
Expect to get a full read on the scan and the effectiveness of the treatment next week. Will update once we have details.
Days 3-5 – Apologies for the lack of updates in recent days. Been feeling ok, no appetite but think a little less fatigued than previous cycles.
Day 2 – Boring … not really had a couple of visitors and mid week EPL to fill the day. But in terms of side effects etc its all very consistent with previous cycles, appitite is disappearing, bit fitigued but otherwise feeling OK.
Day 1 – Blood counts remained low so Round 3 involved a reduction in dosage.
Treatment started with some unwanted excitement … at the start I had a brief but obviously intense reaction as the nurse activated the emergency button and every nurse in the clinic and 2 doctors quickly congregated in the cubical. Looks like some sort of random event, doesn’t seem to be a drug related reaction so thats good. The treatment resumed and was completed without further incident. Enough excitement for this round … planning on keeping it boring for the remainder of the cycle.
Since the last update the acne breakout has reached new heights … full blown teenager zit face!!! Another series of meds to sort that out … going to make for an interesting summer as I now have a trifecta of sorts … ginger, Chemo which increases UV sensitivity and now the Acne meds further increase sensitivity … if I think about the sun likely to get sunburnt I reckon.
Had an oncology appointment earlier today … blood test results a bit of a mixed bag. Low white cell count, nothing imminently worrying but if they don’t increase in the next 24 hours the Chemo dosage might need to be reduced on Wednesday.
Encouragingly he cancer markers in the latest blood test have signifcantly reduced, while encouraging it is by no means a conclusive means of assessing the affectiveness of treatmeat. There will be more definative answers following a CT scan scheduled for mid December.
Days 6/7 – Starting to get some energy back, got out a couple of times today … including dinner on the beach. Developed a rash which is a very common side effect of the new drug … I was advised there is chance I could revert to being a teenager and break out in acne … at this stage it is minor, not sore or itchy and confined to the chest.
Days 4/5 – Continuation of the same theme. Slight nausea, low energy. But lots of good football results over the last 24 hours (2 NZ teams top of the A League and a chance for LFC to go 8 points clear overnight)… shame the AB’s were so untidy.
Day 3 – Following a similar pattern to round 1. Limited appetite, slight nausea at times, bit of a lack of energy but generally ok.
Day 2 – Quiet day, continue to feel well.
Day 1 – Had round 2 of Chemo administered today, no immediate adverse reaction to the newly added drug. In fact no side effects yet … so seemly similar pattern to round 1 at this very early stage. Slow release drug being infused over the next 2 days.
Round 2 of Chemo starts tomorrow, given my reaction (or lack thereof) to Round 1, the next cycle will include the introduction of Cetuximab to the treatment plan.
This will add time to the process, and potentially further side effects. The first they give you the drug they take extra precausions and slow the administration, the end result is the process tomorrow is likely to take around 5 hours. Kindle is charged, might also need to find some podcasts/movies etc pass the time.
I am extremely thankful that I continue to feel well.
