Day 9 . . .

Wow!  Who knew we'd make it this far??  All things considered, I'm doing well.  I was experiencing a little neuropathy (little shooting pains), but that seems to be gone for the moment.  It will probably kick up again after the next infusion.  Mostly, I'm just dealing with a bit of fatigue.  I think the fatigue is exacerbated by the Gabapentin I'm still taking for the Bell's Palsy.  Speaking of which, the Bell's Palsy is almost completely gone.  Woohoo! They'll probably take me off of the Gabapentin next Tuesday when I go in for another follow-up.  My next infusion is the Tuesday after that.

I hope everyone has recuperated from the hustle and bustle of the Holidays.  Our Christmas was one of the nicest ones we've ever had.  Our family felt such an outpouring of love this year.  Sometimes when the weight of this trial feels like it's just too much for our family, the Lord sends angels to bear us up.  Those angels came in the form of extended family members whose kindness and generosity touched our hearts, and friends and co-workers who truly exemplified the true spirit of Christmas.  Thank you.

Now, on to 2012!  Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year full of love and promise.

Until next time . . .

Day 2 ....

I’m doing pretty well with this new treatment so far.  Of course, it’s only been one day.  However, I noticed a couple of days ago that the left side of my face was feeling a little funny.  My smile was a bit off and I wasn’t able to close my left eye tightly. I knew it was a very mild case of Bell’s Palsy now on the other side of my face.  I didn’t say anything yesterday when I went in for my first treatment.  It’s not very noticeable, so I just let it go.  I didn’t want to take any chances that they might not let me on the study.  So, I waited until today when I went in for a blood draw.  I told them it was my birthday, so they weren’t allowed to give me any bad news.  Fortunately, there is nothing in the wording of the study that would cause me to have to quit.  I’m so glad.  No more drama.  That’s my mantra.  NO MORE DRAMA!

Just taking it easy today.  I am a bit tired.  Don't know if it's the chemo or the gabapentin I'm taking for the Bell's Palsy that's making me tired.  Could be both I guess.  It's rainy and yucky outside, so it's a good day to stay in.

I hope you're all ready for Christmas.  I can't believe it's this weekend!  I'm looking forward to it.  Just wish we had a little snow.  

First treatment on new study.

I am so happy to report that all went well today. No headaches, no nausea, no surprises. Woohoo!  Here's hoping the side effects will continue to be minimal.  I go back in tomorrow and Thursday for blood draws, then next week Tuesday and the Tuesday after that for blood draws.  Then we start another round.

Many, many thanks again to all of you for your prayers and well-wishes.

Heartfelt thanks go to our "Christmas angels".  You know who you are.  We have been richly blessed this Christmas season.

I will keep you posted on how things are going.

Love to you all.

CT results a mixed bag.

My CT scan results showed some growth for most of the tumors except for a couple.  The one in my left lung that was causing pain on my left side got smaller as well as one in my right lung.  Strange.  But, that's what makes cancer so hard to predict.  Because of the growth, I won't be going back on the study I was on.  We were given a couple of options.  We could sign the consent for the vaccine and wait 2 weeks while they test my tumor for the antigen, or we could get started on another study next week with a sister drug to a chemo that I've already had.  We opted for this study.  The good news is I showed some response to the chemo, so we're hoping we'll get a good response with this drug.  The not-so-good news is I will lose my hair AGAIN. Other possible side effects include fatigue, flu-like symptoms and neuropathy. Ugh. I'm kind of looking at it as a stop-gap measure - something to get me by until something better comes along.

That's the scoop for now.  Everyone have a great weekend!