Hey everyone,
It’s been a couple weeks since the last update. Laurie had her 4th weekly chemo treatment of this 2nd round (Taxol and Herceptin) yesterday and appears to be doing well. Her dad went with her this time and that gave them a chance to have some one on one time. We had been told that she will get used to the Taxol and Herceptin after a few treatments and I’m hoping that is the reason for her new found strength. The answered prayer is that we were able to drop the steriods from 5 to 2 pills on the 3rd and 4th treatment of this 2nd round, and her hemoglobin reamined the same as last week, which is very positive. It means the body is learning to create the red blood cells by itself (during the 1st Round of A/C, I gave Laurie Neulasta shots to help the body create new blood cells).
Looking back, the past two weeks were a time of trial and error. During the 2nd chemo treatment, the nurse told Laurie that her hemoglobin had been dropping regularly, and we should be watching that. When we asked how we could help raise it, one of the options was “eat red meat.” What was very interesting about that is that the weekend before this, Laurie had spaghetti with meat sauce on Friday and steak on Saturday! So even though this food leaves a metallic taste in her mouth, after this advice, she was determined to do better the following week. On Tuesday, April 14th, we went out for the twins' 8th birthday, and she got pork barbecue, and even had some dessert that night courtesy of Terry and Gail. Thanks for the pies ladies! Unfortunately, perhaps because it was too much for her system to handle, on Wednesday, she had some stomach issues that ended her work day at 12:30 and left her very weak thereafter. Over the next two days, working and resting were the only order of the day, and she was ready to make the trip on Friday to Rehoboth Beach to watch Forrest’s baseball team play in the Spring Fling tournament at Sports at the Beach.
Again, very aware of the hemoglobin deficiency, on Saturday night, she decided to get a very well done hamburger (that’s the way she likes them) at the restaurant we went to. It was very tasty but somehow, Laurie’s gastrointestinal system just wasn’t ready for it. The good cells that chemo attacks are the “fast creating” ones, such as hair and gastrointestinal ones. So these immature cells or limited cells just couldn’t manage this fantastic hamburger, so Laurie again suffered from stomach issues that evening. But Sunday brought a new day, and a softer diet. :-) At that point, Laurie decided to see if she could get a consult with the dietician on other possibilities, but if any of you health experts have ideas on how to get her hemoglobin up, please let us know!
One more note on the hemoglobin. The nurse Laurie saw during the 3rd treatment had many years of oncology experience and when asked, said there is nothing Laurie can do to increase the hemoglobin number. The body will do it by itself, and her levels should begin to increase soon on this weekly regiment as it is not as harsh to the body as the 1st round of A/C. If it doesn’t, the doctors would have to consider a blood transfusion, but that is not a consideration right now.
As noted above and in earlier notes, Laurie was very concerned about continuing on a high dosage of steriods. Since she didn't have any reactions during the first 2 weekly treatments, during her 3rd weekly treatment, the doctors let her take only 2 instead of 5 pills the night before and 2 hrs before so that she actually cut the steriods substantially. We believe this success is again a result of your prayers so thank you once again for your diligence. All went well, and Laurie felt rather good that evening. Her mom went with her to that treatment so I could work a little longer and then be with the kids that afternoon. While my bosses have been great about me going with Laurie to her treatments, we are also conscious of my work demands, so we are letting family and friends who wish to go with her to the weekly sessions have that opportunity. They just have to not mind seeing her at “her sleepiest best”. It definitely is a learning experience and gives her an opportunity to catch up with friends and family.
Also, during Laurie’s last check up with the doctor, she mentioned that she wasn’t seeing as well as before. The doctor said that although he hates the term, chemo can “accelerate aging”. Thanks Doc! Anyway, he said that other examples include bringing on menopause earlier as well as needing reading glasses and similar things. Well, the good news in all this is that within two weeks after the end of the 1st round, Laurie’s eyes were seeing better, and she was able to read Bible verses on Sunday morning again without reading glasses. Before that, most of them were blurry. Once again, God answered another prayer. Thanks God! So it seems that particular symptom was due to the first round of A/C and things are looking brighter!
You can probably tell that some of this was written last week and some written today. Yes, I tried to combine the two. I just want to get the updates out so all of you that are praying for Laurie and supporting us know what’s going on. Thank you all so much for your time, thoughts and prayers. You make it possible for us to get through this to the end when we will hear the doctor say: “Laurie is cancer free”! Keep praying and we will hear that soon. Many thanks again to you all!
.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
April 16th Spring update
Hey everyone,
I would like to wish you all a belated Happy Easter greeting!
I have been notified by several individuals that I have not presented an update since Laurie started her second round of chemo. For that I do apologize.
Laurie’s last two treatments, this past Monday and the week before, went very well and her only side effect was not being able to sleep the night of the treatments because of the steroids. Once the steroids wore off she was fine and had a great week last week and so far this week has been good. The first treatment was a “double dose” of Herceptin which kicks off the treatment and then and also included a “double dose” of steroids. The second treatment had the normal dosage of Taxol and Herceptin and the double dose of steroids. Her treatment next Monday should be the “normal” dosages of all three so we anticipate a good night’s sleep that evening and a good week following the treatment.
We understand that after several Taxol and Herceptin treatments she may experience soreness in the joints but that has not occurred yet and we are praying that this continues.
We enjoyed celebrating Easter with our family at Laurie's sister Carlene's home. We also celebrated Brooke and Ridge's 8th birthday last Tuesday. Quite a week of celebration!
We were blessed to have Martha from Oak Hill ES prepare our meal last Thursday evening. The Teriyaki chicken, brown rice, salad, and cherry dessert were the perfect ending to an eventful Spring Break day! Thanks Martha!
We will be away this weekend at Rehoboth Beach for Forrest’s baseball tournament and are looking forward to getting away to the beach even if it is only for a couple days.
Laurie’s next treatment is next Monday. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts.
.
I would like to wish you all a belated Happy Easter greeting!
I have been notified by several individuals that I have not presented an update since Laurie started her second round of chemo. For that I do apologize.
Laurie’s last two treatments, this past Monday and the week before, went very well and her only side effect was not being able to sleep the night of the treatments because of the steroids. Once the steroids wore off she was fine and had a great week last week and so far this week has been good. The first treatment was a “double dose” of Herceptin which kicks off the treatment and then and also included a “double dose” of steroids. The second treatment had the normal dosage of Taxol and Herceptin and the double dose of steroids. Her treatment next Monday should be the “normal” dosages of all three so we anticipate a good night’s sleep that evening and a good week following the treatment.
We understand that after several Taxol and Herceptin treatments she may experience soreness in the joints but that has not occurred yet and we are praying that this continues.
We enjoyed celebrating Easter with our family at Laurie's sister Carlene's home. We also celebrated Brooke and Ridge's 8th birthday last Tuesday. Quite a week of celebration!
We were blessed to have Martha from Oak Hill ES prepare our meal last Thursday evening. The Teriyaki chicken, brown rice, salad, and cherry dessert were the perfect ending to an eventful Spring Break day! Thanks Martha!
We will be away this weekend at Rehoboth Beach for Forrest’s baseball tournament and are looking forward to getting away to the beach even if it is only for a couple days.
Laurie’s next treatment is next Monday. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts.
.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Round Two!
Ding!
The second round of Laurie's chemo began today pretty much like the previous four treatments of the first round. Temperature, blood pressure, and blood work. The results from the blood work came back and everything was good for commencing the Herceptin and Taxol treatments. The 20 minute Benadryl I.V. was administered and then the 90 minute long Herceptin I.V. was administered. The first dosage today is the double dose kick-off dosage to get the body going with the Herceptin. The 11 weekly doses that follow will be about half this initial dose. The nurse told us that the Herceptin is administered first because they have to monitor Laurie for 90 minutes once the Herceptin is finished for any type of flu like symptoms that the Herceptin may cause. The Taxol was then administered immediately after the conclusion of the Herceptin and the hour it takes to administer the Taxol is part of the 90 minute monitoring process. Any allergic reactions from the Taxol should occur within the first few minutes after the Taxol is first administered. The side effects of the Taxol include joint pains, hair loss which is not an issue now, and tingling/numbness of the hands and feet, but that does not usually happen until the 5th or 6th week.
As you probably have picked up by now, both rounds of chemo are designed to ensure there are no microscopic cells in the rest of Laurie’s body, which may have escaped from the original tumor. Although the surgery removed the tumor fully and there were no cells in the margin that was surgically removed, 4 lymph nodes did have cancer cells in them and the lymph nodes are the “side roads” of the main arteries. The PET scan, which scans the entire body from the throat down, did not show any activity but since the 4 lymph nodes had cancer cells in them, they want to be sure they kill any cells that might be elsewhere in the body.
A little background on this second round of chemo. This round of Taxol is still a chemo therapy and the Herceptin is considered a biological treatment. Everyone is allergic to the solution the Taxol is administered through, so the oncologist wishes to minimize Laurie’s reaction with a massive dose of steroids and Benadryl. Once at the office they provided Pepsid, an antibiotic, and a large dose of Benadryl to ensure she doesn’t have a bad reaction. For example, during the first round, Laurie took 2 tablets of Decadron the first 3 days of her chemo. In this round, she actually took 5 tablets the night before and 5 tablets 2 hours before the chemo. If she does not have any reaction, then they will reduce it to 2 tablets each dosage to minimize the steroids and their side effects. The theory here is if you have a very bad reaction the first time, it is very difficult psychologically to go to the next chemo session, so they would rather have a little too much than not enough. The side effects of Decadron are increased appetite, irritability, insomnia, headaches, and mood swings, so Laurie really doesn’t want to take too many of these tablets and we don't either. We want her to remain her sweet, lovable self so please pray that she will not need much of the Decadron.
The Herceptin will be given with the Taxol for 12 weeks, and then she will have just Herceptin for 9 more months every 3 weeks. Yeah, I know!
Several people have asked about particular prayer requests at this time. Laurie’s request is that the doctors are able to minimize her reaction to the Taxol without too many steroids.
Today’s first visit of Round 2 went very well. Laurie had no adverse reactions to either the Herceptin or Taxol. God has already answered another prayer! She took a half hour nap earlier this afternoon and has been feeling well all evening.
We are both very encouraged with how this 2nd round has started and have God and all of you to thank. Your prayers and support continue to give Laurie and me the strength and encouragement we need to get to the end of this long road to the cure. We could not do all of this without you and thank you again for all you have done and continue to do for us.
.
The second round of Laurie's chemo began today pretty much like the previous four treatments of the first round. Temperature, blood pressure, and blood work. The results from the blood work came back and everything was good for commencing the Herceptin and Taxol treatments. The 20 minute Benadryl I.V. was administered and then the 90 minute long Herceptin I.V. was administered. The first dosage today is the double dose kick-off dosage to get the body going with the Herceptin. The 11 weekly doses that follow will be about half this initial dose. The nurse told us that the Herceptin is administered first because they have to monitor Laurie for 90 minutes once the Herceptin is finished for any type of flu like symptoms that the Herceptin may cause. The Taxol was then administered immediately after the conclusion of the Herceptin and the hour it takes to administer the Taxol is part of the 90 minute monitoring process. Any allergic reactions from the Taxol should occur within the first few minutes after the Taxol is first administered. The side effects of the Taxol include joint pains, hair loss which is not an issue now, and tingling/numbness of the hands and feet, but that does not usually happen until the 5th or 6th week.
As you probably have picked up by now, both rounds of chemo are designed to ensure there are no microscopic cells in the rest of Laurie’s body, which may have escaped from the original tumor. Although the surgery removed the tumor fully and there were no cells in the margin that was surgically removed, 4 lymph nodes did have cancer cells in them and the lymph nodes are the “side roads” of the main arteries. The PET scan, which scans the entire body from the throat down, did not show any activity but since the 4 lymph nodes had cancer cells in them, they want to be sure they kill any cells that might be elsewhere in the body.
A little background on this second round of chemo. This round of Taxol is still a chemo therapy and the Herceptin is considered a biological treatment. Everyone is allergic to the solution the Taxol is administered through, so the oncologist wishes to minimize Laurie’s reaction with a massive dose of steroids and Benadryl. Once at the office they provided Pepsid, an antibiotic, and a large dose of Benadryl to ensure she doesn’t have a bad reaction. For example, during the first round, Laurie took 2 tablets of Decadron the first 3 days of her chemo. In this round, she actually took 5 tablets the night before and 5 tablets 2 hours before the chemo. If she does not have any reaction, then they will reduce it to 2 tablets each dosage to minimize the steroids and their side effects. The theory here is if you have a very bad reaction the first time, it is very difficult psychologically to go to the next chemo session, so they would rather have a little too much than not enough. The side effects of Decadron are increased appetite, irritability, insomnia, headaches, and mood swings, so Laurie really doesn’t want to take too many of these tablets and we don't either. We want her to remain her sweet, lovable self so please pray that she will not need much of the Decadron.
The Herceptin will be given with the Taxol for 12 weeks, and then she will have just Herceptin for 9 more months every 3 weeks. Yeah, I know!
Several people have asked about particular prayer requests at this time. Laurie’s request is that the doctors are able to minimize her reaction to the Taxol without too many steroids.
Today’s first visit of Round 2 went very well. Laurie had no adverse reactions to either the Herceptin or Taxol. God has already answered another prayer! She took a half hour nap earlier this afternoon and has been feeling well all evening.
We are both very encouraged with how this 2nd round has started and have God and all of you to thank. Your prayers and support continue to give Laurie and me the strength and encouragement we need to get to the end of this long road to the cure. We could not do all of this without you and thank you again for all you have done and continue to do for us.
.
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