Round 4 of the Adiomiacyn/Cytoxin coctail (on 7/20) actually went better than the previous round. The big difference was Shermance taking the Lorazapam anti-nausea medicine proactively during chemo and that evening. She knew it would make her tired, but tired is way better than SICK! All went well for the 4th (and last) round of A/C until the Newlasta boost for her white blood cells. After that shot, her body ached and she was way more tired than previously - and perhaps a bit more moody...but she's been mostly a delight :). We found out at the oncologist on Friday, that many people recently have had bad side effects on Newlasta, yet previously such effects were minimal...the oncology nurse decided she wanted to check into it further with the phamacist since the trend is so pervasive. It took about 10 days for Shermance to finally feel like herself again.
Honestly, I am amazed at how strong Shermance has been through this whole process! She continues to work...most don't, she keeps an AMAZING attitude...most don't, and she pushes herself each day to be the best she can...most just settle back.
The best news is Shermance's cancer has shrunk from 26.5 x 12.8 mm (on 5/8 when we first found out) to 17.5 x 8.1 mm (on 7/2) to 7.1 x 4.9 mm (on 8/9) or almost 90% smaller by area in 3 months - WOW! Smaller is better to any degree, but this rate of change is FANTASTIC! Besides the great news, Shermance made more friends in Dr. Bombach's office and they shared their popcorn with her. In fact, Shermance went alone to this visit, and she was feeling so social by rattling off stories that she didn't get the numbers on how much smaller the tumor is. She was just glad to know it was smaller and then went on to share her cadre of cancer stories with the surgeon.
Her favorite story to tell right now is about the skin-healing powers of Aquaphor - she loves it!!! I guess her second favorite story is about her biggest request for retail therapy - a new car which nearly landed us in divorce court since I aparently just needed to listen better :). No car...but we now have new seat covers and a shiny new wax job! A bit cheaper than a new car - and WAY cheaper than D-court.
No comments:
Post a Comment