Counting Down

Mary Jo is counting down the chemotherapy treatments that are left.  Just two more after today.  We expect the last one to be 4 weeks from now.

The last few days she’s felt pretty good and been able to have the energy to do a few things around the house.  She still gets tired, but the energy level is better than it was.

We’ve slipped into the treatment routine.  This morning blood test, then doctor visit, then chemotherapy.  The blood test showed her white blood cells were normal and platelets were good.  Hemoglobin was only 8.1 which is close to the point where our doc likes to do blood transfusion.  Today though he went ahead with treatment.  The whole treatment process is about 3 1/2 hours.  The hemoglobin will probably go lower so she has to watch to see if she has shortness of breath, chest pain, etc.  Those would signal a need for a transfusion.

We expect things to be pretty good for a couple of days.  3-5 days out from treatment, muscle aches, joint pain, numbness and tingling in her toes and fingers arrive.  She’s got some pain medication for that this time, so we’re hoping it won’t be so severe.

We snuck in a trip to see Dave’s Mom and sisters on Saturday.  It felt good to both of us to have a change of scenery and for all of us to be together!

As we go through this, we keep remembering that God is good, all the time.

Ouch!

Mary Jo has her first week in on this new drug.  The side effects are different this time.  For one thing, she has very little nausea for which she is thankful.  Most everything tastes good too.  That’s the upside.  The downside is about three days of muscle aches and joint pains.  They were severe enough for her to even question continuing treatment.  She also had numbness and tingling in her feet and her fingers but all of these discomforts are gone now and she knows about what sort of pain medication she will need on those days.

Today brought another blood draw.  The white blood cells has rocketed so the doctor called off the shots she had been giving herself, at least until after the next treatment.  Hemoglobin had dropped to 8.3 which apparently isn’t great but doesn’t warrant receiving blood.  So she avoided that today.

Outside of those painful days, she has felt pretty good.  She snuck into church for worship again on Sunday.  It’s good to see her back in her place. For her, God is very much in this process and walks with her through the valleys as well as the peaks.  We do have a gracious God.

The next treatment is Monday.  Then two after that… and then one… then!!!!!!

Round 2

Today Mary Jo began round 2 of her chemotherapy treatment.  It wasn’t easy to go back for treatment again.  She’s had a really good week of feeling good, getting out, and getting some things done around the house.  She even was able to come to worship on Sunday morning.  The first time in three months. Yahoo!

Today’s chemotherapy used a new drug for her–Taxol.  While there still are some tough side effects, the promise is that they won’t be as difficult as what she’s gone through already.  One of the concerns as they start this drug is an allergic reaction to one of the elements that they use to deliver the drug to the body.  So they watch pretty closely when they begin the drug and provide some benedryl and steroids to ward off that reaction.  She handled it with flying colors.  Slept through part of the infusion and seems to be doing well tonight.

It’s exciting to be on the countdown to the end of chemotherapy.  This was number 5 of 8, so only 3 more.  And then 2 more.  And then 1 more.  And then…!!!!!!!!!!!  We hoping for early March.  The next treatment is scheduled in two weeks.

We continue to give thanks for good treatment, for helpful and caring medical folks, for prayers, cards (Sunday school classes and a Confirmation group have taken turns providing them), and well-wishes.  You continue to be a blessing.

Blood test

The blood test was better today.  While Mary Jo’s hemoglobin stays below normal, it’s above where the oncologist calls for a transfusion.  The white blood cells were  in the low normal range.  So the decision was made to keep doing what we are doing until next Tuesday when Mary Jo will get another blood test.  If that looks okay she’ll begin her second round of chemotherapy using a different drug, Taxol.  It’s supposed to have different side effects but hopefully her body will be better able to tolerate it and that this drug will have less severe effects on her blood counts.   Then we can start counting down the weeks until she’s done with chemotherapy.

In this time of great need her oncologist continues to serve in Haiti for the immediate future.  While we are glad to have him there, we also look forward to a time when he might return and pick up Mary Jo’s treatment plan again.  We keep him and others in Haiti in our prayers along with all those who are suffering much there.

Oncologist in Haiti

In our last post we mentioned that our oncologist was in Haiti.  That post was before the earthquake hit.  After a couple of days of wondering, the news media here reports that the group he is with is fine.  He was supposed to return today, but this morning’s La Crosse Tribune had a picture of him and his team providing medical care for some of the earthquake victims.  So we’ll see when he  does get back.  We certainly are glad that he is already there and providing some help.

The sadder note is that a young man from our area, Ben Larson, who was studying for the ministry and the son of our former bishop, lost his life there.  He was in a building that collapsed.  His wife and cousin were with him in Haiti but they escaped physically unharmed.  We grieve for them and for Ben’s entire family.

Mary Jo seems to have tolerated this last treatment better though we’ll find out the blood counts on Monday.  It helps to have  the pneumonia out of her system.  That’s made her breathing better and maybe even given her a better appetite.  We are grateful for those small blessings.  We join our prayers with yours for the people of Haiti.

#4

After a couple of disappointing weeks of not feeling well enough for treatment, today brought a better report.  A  Z- pack antibiotic took care of the pneumonia and her blood counts improved so  Mary Jo was able to get her fourth chemotherapy treatment today.  The dosage this time was a 20% smaller dose.  The doctors felt that with her reaction to the maximum dose, this should be effective for her.  She’s glad to be able to finish this one set of chemicals so she can begin the four Taxol treatments over the next two months.

Mary Jo’s oncologist is on a mission trip to Haiti.  We’re glad that he takes the opportunity to serve the wider world and pray God’s blessings on that work. We are also glad for the community of medical personnel who stay behind and provide a continuum of care.  It’s one of the perks of being involved with a medical institution.

Things are looking up here in 2010.  We’re grateful each day for God’s grace in our lives.

Postponed again

In our last posting, the oncologist thought Mary Jo’s chest x-ray was clear.  However, the radiologist who read Mary Jo’s chest x-ray detected the beginning of pneumonia in the lower lobe of her left lung.  While she continued to take antibotics, she hadn’t improved enough by today to take the final dose of this particular chemotherapy.  A low hemoglobin count also dictated a wait and see attitude.  Another chest x-ray was taken and treatment put off for a week.  She’ll take a different antibiotic for the next few days and have another heart imaging session before treatment.  The next chemo treatment is scheduled for Tuesday, January 12.

The whole experience is a roller coaster ride with plenty of ups and downs. We find that the best we can do is hang on with the assurance that the ride is temporary and will come to an end with positive results.

Thanks for your continued prayers and thoughts and for the greetings many of you send through Dave to her.  They are appreciated.

Postponed

While we did go for our chemotherapy session today, it’s been postponed.  The oncologist reviewed how Mary Jo has responded to the chemotherapy and finds that her body doesn’t rebound like the average person would even with the help of some injections.  Of his patients in chemotherapy, he says he worries most about her.  At first he considered reducing the strength of the chemo, but later said his intuition led him to postpone the chemotherapy until next Tuesday to give her a little more time to recover.  We all agreed.  She has continued to run a fever following the treatments and also has a cough the last few days.  A chest x-ray is clear, however, so she remains something of a mystery. The next chemotherapy is January 5.  

Again, medicine is science but also art and intuition.  All are God’s gifts and we are grateful.

Merry Christmas!

We’re still celebrating Christmas this week.  A couple of our daughters with their families are visiting for a few days.  It’s a nice change of pace for Mary Jo and me and a source of energy as well.  It’s been awhile since we had this many at our house.  It does feel good.

This week’s chemotherapy was moved back from today to Wednesday.  We had asked for that change since the kids were coming.  That gives Mary Jo these extra days too, to get her blood cells closer to where they should be.  She’s apparently picked up a little bug of some kind despite our best efforts.  She runs a fever, so she’s staying on the antibiotics until Wednesday.

We wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and thank you all for your well wishes, both in the cards that have come and the ones you send through Dave at church.  So many have said that they keep us in their thoughts and prayers.  It’s part of the privilege of belonging to a faith community that cares.  We know that caring extends out beyond us to Char Vick’s family in their loss and to those in the congregation and community that we know are living with cancer and cancer treatment.  May God’s healing hand be stretched over all.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

2 units

A blood test yesterday showed low blood counts as is normal a week after a dose of chemotherapy. Therefore the same regiment of antibiotics and additional bone marrow shots have been added.  The hemoglobin continued to drop to about 7 so it was time to get a transfusion of 2 of units of  blood. We got to visit another area of the clinic we hadn’t seen before, “Ambulatory Infusion.”  It’s tucked away along with the infectious diseases.  It was an all afternoon affair as Mary Jo had to get her blood typed and tested before she could begin.   The “port”  allows easier access to the bodies circulatory system.  The day was not easy but we got through it.  The hope is that this will help  Mary Jo with the fatigue that is very evident for her right now.

We’re learning a lot about complexities of the body and the complexity of one part of it, the blood. The blood is indeed the River of Life.  It carries oxygen and other nutrients to the whole body and carbon dioxide and other wastes away from it.  It fights off invaders of every kind.  What a hard-working system!  We stand in awe of God’s genius.

Mary Jo felt some better toward the end of last week and enjoyed her food a bit more.  We look forward to the arrival of some family right after Christmas.  The next chemotherapy treatment is scheduled for  December 30.

May any who read this have a blessed Christmas!