I looked at the date of my previous posting which was September 22. Sorry to have been so lax in getting any news out. But that just means there hasn't been any news until today. Today is John's second-to-last chemo infusion. The past three weeks have been a bit of a challenge for him with regards to keeping nausea at bay. But like the good pharmacist's son that he is, he is subscribing to the philosophy of "drugs -- they're a good thing."
As I type, we're 3-1/2 hours into this infusion session with about 2-1/2 to go. I don't know if I explained the process for this particular "chemo recipe." John receives a combination of cisplatin and epirubicin. Because one of these drugs is hard on the kidneys, he has to receive a lengthy infusion of saline to flush his kidneys and get them revved up before receiving the actual chemo. After the chemo, he has another lengthy saline flush to keep his kidneys busy. (Right now HE busy in the "lav" flushing his personal pipes.)
He has not needed any overnight "bag-o-meal" feedings since September 13 and is maintaining his weight right around 218 which is pretty close to ideal for him. (If I ever have to deal with this cancer crap, you won't see ANY postings about MY weight!) His appetite is good although he doesn't ever experience "hunger." We're still experimenting with food, i.e. what digests, what sits in his gut, etc. Salmon, pork, steak, rice are things we've found he needs to avoid. (Who'd think salmon would be a problem?) But salads, pasta, dark chicken meat, ground beef, vegetables, most fruit (except for a taste aversion to bananas) all seem to be good. Oh, and of course, wine is GREAT. Amazingly enough, John's sense of taste hasn't been affected very much at all.
You always hear stories about the problems people face when undergoing chemotherapy. Fortunately, John's doing better than most. We keep hoping that he can continue avoid another hospital stay, continue to work and, well, just continue. And that's due in no small part to all of you. Thank you for your friendship, your love and support. You mean the world to us both...As always, I sign off with gratitude...Nancy
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