Chemotherapy: Round 4

I just wanted to update everyone on Mom's progress this week. She had her fourth round of chemotherapy on Monday. This was the last of the "bad" treatments. Granted, the last four treatments are no walk in the park, but the side effects are much less severe for the remaining treatments. The most common side effect for the next round of treatments is muscle and joint ache, a reasonable trade-off for the nausea caused by the other treatments.

Monday and Tuesday were a little rougher than the past treatments, but this evening she is feeling much better. She felt well enough to have a little macaroni and cheese for dinner, and finished up the evening with some Ben & Jerry's ice cream that a friend brought by. It is always a good sign that she is beginning to feel better when she starts to get her appetite back. I know she feels fortunate that something actually sounds good to eat after having no appetite for several days. She is lucky in this regard, as it takes some chemo patients much longer to regain their appetite after treatments.

Her next treatment was originally scheduled for Christmas Eve, but was postponed until the day after Christmas, as this treatment will take at least 4 1/2 hours, and the clinic is only open from eight until noon. This will mean that she should be feeling good for Christmas.

We also got some good news from the nurse practitioner during the physical exam. She felt that the tumor had shrunk by at least 80%. We were very happy to hear that the chemotherapy is continuing to work and her immune system is staying strong.

For those of you following my Aunt Kathy's fight down in Texas, we have some news on that front as well. After looking at the tissue that they removed from one breast they determined that they did not achieve clear margins. In other words, although they removed both tumors in addition to extra tissue surrounding them, they did not feel, based on laboratory analysis of the tissue, that they had removed enough. After further consultation with her surgeon, and the knowledge that if she had another lumpectomy the surgeon estimated that there could be a 50% chance that it may return, therefore she has decided to have a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery on January 2nd. This will eliminate the need for chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She is eager to get this last surgery behind her and get up here to see Uncle Bill and take care of my Mother during her surgery next spring. Please keep Aunt Kathy in your prayers as she continues on her path to becoming a survivor.

I have added a few links on the right side of the blog for those of you seeking more information on breast cancer. There is a wealth of information on the web, and I would suggest you try to digest it in small pieces as it can be very overwhelming to look at it all at once. As always, thank you all for your support. Merry Christmas!