Here we go...At last we have a schedule for John's pre-surgery treatment. It's so ironic. You desperately want someone to do something proactive to treat rather than just test, even though you know the treatment is not going to be a walk in the park. John will undergo both chemo and radiation treatments beginning Tuesday.
On Monday, February 14, we have a 2:00 appointment at St. Joseph's Hospital to have a picc line inserted. This is a semi-permanent line that will provide venous (vein) access for John's chemo drugs. After the insertion procedure is finished, we have a "teaching appointment" with Tara, one of his oncology nurses, to get us better acquainted with the chemo process and answer any questions.
John will receive two chemotherapy drugs twice over the treatment course (hopefully on Tuesdays, one of his days off); Paclitaxel (also called Taxol) and Carboplatin. These infusions will take about 4 hours. In addition he will be wearing a pump 24/7 that will provide a continuous injection of a third chemo drug called Fluorouracil (also known as 5FU). This pump infusion will get changed once a week. John will undergo his first actual infusion at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, February 15. His oncology nurse will also check his pump at that time to make sure everything is working properly.
At 1:15 on that same day, John has his first radiation appointment. He has already been in for his "simulation" appointment where a mold of his body was taken and a pre-alignment for the radiation was mapped out. Right now he has three plastic squares marked with an "X" where the radiation will be aimed stuck on his body. His radiation tech will probably mark these spots with permanent tattoo dots (both of his sides and front below his sternum) and remove the tape on Tuesday before beginning treatment. After this first session, he will be going in daily -- Monday through Friday -- for radiation therapy. Subsequent sessions will normally take only about 15 minutes except for the days when he will have a doctor/nurse consult.
The cancer support team in Bellingham is really good. I met with a dietician yesterday who specializes in nutrition for chemo/radiation patients. Her name is Cathy Flanagan. But here's a surprise. I knew her as Cathy Winters. She was my first roommate at Wazzu when I first pledged Sigma Kappa Sorority! Haven't seen her since she graduated from WSU in 1975. It's a small world. In addition to consultation on nutrition for chemo/radiation treatments, St. Joseph's offers a free case of Ensure each week for a period of up to three months for patients. I have John's first case of vanilla Ensure in the pantry, along with Hershey's chocolate syrup, frozen berries, maple syrup and anything else I can use to flavor this supplement for him. I think food will become a challenge for him as radiation, in essence, burns the area at which it is aimed. In John's case it's the bottom of his esophagus which will probably make swallowing painful over time. So I'm also reading up on nutritional popsicles made with silken tofu and fruit, egg dishes, cheese dishes...all the things doctors normally tell us not to over-indulge in but are softer, easier foods to swallow. For cancer patients, they want their weight to be kept up and they place a big emphasis on protein intake to help the body heal. Who would have thought John would hear the words "Don't try to lose weight"? I will have my own stash of 1% milk, fruits and veggies...And TRY to stay out of John's ice cream. I have also been given nutritional ideas on how to combat the nausea that usually accompanies chemotherapy that we can use in addition to the Compazine and Ondansetron prescriptions. We have a good supply of ginger tea, green tea and green tea with mint. These will be especially helpful in keeping John hydrated during the course of his treatments.
How long will the treatments last? About six weeks. At the conclusion he'll have about two weeks to recuperate before going to Virginia Mason for his next endoscopic ultrasound and the subsequent action.
So that's all we know for now. Many of you have walked this path, or know someone who has had cancer and been through it all. Statistics show that 50% of men and 30% of women will have some form of cancer. Pretty scary. But with the love, prayers and support you are all giving us we are taking these next steps with strength and a positive attitude. I've said it before but I'll say it again...We love each of you and thank you. We mean it. Even though you're not physically here, we're taking your hands and heading down this road together. I'll keep you posted on John's progress.
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