Chemo Treatment 2 - Day 1

 Yesterday (Monday May 17, 2021) we went in for her 2nd treatment. 

She had labs done and we were pleasantly surprised that her white blood count was not low at all, thanks to the Neulasta On Body Injector she got last Wednesday while we were there to get her 5FU Pump un-hooked. 

The Neulasta shot is supposed to boost your white blood count, so your immune system does not get compromised by the chemo, and it worked great. So that is one thing that it looks like we don't need to worry about, which is fantastic!

After labs, we talked to the doc, and were advised again of the side effects associated to the 3rd drug she would begin getting on this 2nd treatment, the Oxaliplatin. They went over the cold sensitivity, and the neuropathy in the hands & feet information again. After that, we were off to Pod A to begin treatment.

She got her pre-meds, then Irinotecan, then Oxaliplatin, then got her little 5FU Pump hooked up that she has until we go back on Wednesday afternoon to get it un-hooked. The little pump is in a small black bag with a little strap. It almost looks like a tiny purse. She has named it Franklin.

During the treatment, her bosses & friends stopped by Dr. Powell, and Debbie, to check on her and see how she was doing. Her friend (and co-worker) Valerie stopped by and brought us some lunch as well.

She did a few crossword puzzles, read some magazines, and played some games on her phone too.

We arrived at the Cancer Center at 9:30am, and we left at 4:30pm. It was a long day, but it went very well.

Her car also needed an inspection, and the place she takes it is right in front of the Cancer Center, so we dropped it that morning to get that done while we were there. So that was nice.

After we left, we were both hungry, so we grabbed 2 cheeseburgers on the way home. When we got home, we went for a walk in the neighborhood with the dog, then watched some TV and relaxed.

She began to have a some tingling in her fingers last night but it went away after a few minutes. She had been holding a cool glass of apple juice before that, so I am thinking maybe the cold sensitivity was slowly starting to set in, but we will see. Other than that, and being tired from the long day, there were no side-effects last night.

She is still asleep right now, so we will see how she feels this morning. If there are any side effects that begin presenting themselves, I will put another post up to share that with everyone.

When I did her checkout (during her treatment), we went ahead and scheduled the rest of her appointments and the very anticipated scans (both MRI & CT Scans). That schedule is below. It could change if for some reason something needs to be pushed back obviously, but this is the plan.

Tuesday June 1, 2021:    Treatment #3 (not on a Monday like normal because Memorial Day)

Monday June 14, 2021:    Treatment #4

Friday June 18, 2021:    MRI Scan

Monday June 21 2021:    CT Scan

Monday June 21 2021:    Meeting with Dr. Paluri to discuss MRI & CT Images, and path forward

That's all for now. I will update with info as it becomes needed. Thanks for all of the thoughts & prayers, messages, cards, etc.. It all means a lot and we know there is a huge support network on this thing.