Good morning blogger buddies. Well, I'm into my first of 12 chemo series treatments. Yesterday I was there from 9:30-3:45 and today it should be only about 3 hours. Tomorrow will be about 1/2 hr to remove the buddy pack until the next series in two weeks. Yesterday took a little longer than expected because my port in my chest would not work right. It took just under 2 hours to get it working. It would allow drugs into the body but not allow for removal of blood. It's a two-way port and only one way was working. Apparently, sometimes the body produces a film inside that blocks the exit of fluid from the port. The nurse gave me a med that disolved it enough to allow full usage of the port...for the day. It will probaby happen again, but at least I was able to start the series. I didn't have too much trouble after that. Of the three types of chemo I received, I had a slight reaction to the Oxaliplatin. It sped up my heart rate from 60 to about 80 within the first hour. So next time I get it I will be given more bennidrill (I had 12.5mg instead of the usual 25mg) Today I will have Leuccvorin and 5FU bolus or booster like yesterday but without the Oxaliplatin. I am carring around my buddy pack again for 3 days each series. I Think over all I did pretty well, except my dear husband Casey gave me a bad head cold that came out the day before treatment. I had to take Sudafed during treatment to breath. They weren't concerned about me being sick at the start because it's not an infection...yet. I hope it doesn't go to my chest. As for nausea, I haven't experienced that yet and hopefully I won't. They gave me an anti-nausea drip, steriod drip, (are you jealous Barry?) and a few othet drips to help boost up the body. I did not start the Avastin drug yet because I was not 4 weeks out from surgery, whick is a must. I will start that on the next series in two weeks. In the meantime, I will see a doctor at UCSF for a second opinon on the drug regimine. I thought it was interesting that of the 6 patients in the room, 4 to 5 of us were dealing with colorectal cancer. You can tell by the buddy packs around the room, and the nurse mentioned a few. I hope you all are getting your colonoscopy !! Thank you all for your continual prayers and encouragement. Sometimes I get comments about being so positive and srtong, and that comes from not only knowing that God is with me every step of the way, but also from all of you who are praying for me, and encouraging me in so many ways. As I said before, I am truly blessed by each one of you in my life. Thank you
Mark 11:23,24
Truly I say to you, whoever says to the mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him. Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted to you.