Celebration and Prayers

So here's the short of it,
Today's Chemotherapy treatment makes me 2/3 of the way through my series of Taxotere and Carboplatin.

And here's the long

My doctor's appointment went very well today. Dr. Schlabach explained that Taxotere, which is the drug that has such harsh side effects, is one of the Chemotherapy drugs that does not have lasting effects. I'm sure he had told me this before, but I just processed it today. I'm especially pleased because one of the problems that many of the drugs cause is heart damage. And that is certainly more important than any of the others. So when the hard stuff happens this time, I'll just remember that Taxotere is really my friend! So today is a celebration that I'm 2/3 of the way through my Chemo treatments, and that side effects are only temporary.

Once I got to the infusion part, there was a problem! My port wasn't doing what it was supposed to do. In order to use the port for Taxotere, it has to "give blood". They have to be able to get blood out as well as push medicine in. This is only necessary for the Taxotere. Well, it never would work. When Lori tried to get blood, the syringe just acted like it encountered a dead end and popped, like a vacuum had formed. Let's see - she explained that Taxotere can cause really bad sores and other horrible side effects if for some reason it pools or doesn't go exactly where it's supposed to. So I got to have an IV for my Taxotere in my right hand! She ran all my pre-meds, the anti-nausea, steroids, and whatever else through my port, and then the Taxotere in my IV. The plan was to then switch back to the port for my Carboplatin and my Herceptin, but I fell asleep and Lori didn't want to wake me, so the Carboplatin went through the IV as well. By the time I woke, she decided just to finish the Herceptin that way as well.

Next week when I go in, I'll go early enough to have a flouroscopic x-ray to see what's going on with the port. Apparently sometimes the body thinks it's something to fight and creates a fibrin which may have to be removed either by dissolving it or snaring it. This is not the first time the port hasn't wanted to cooperate, but Lori has always gotten it to aspirate before. I hope whatever it is, it's an easy fix.

I am doing OK tonight. I'm having the predictable hot flashes and cold chills, but I'm fine this evening. Sophie got to go outside for a bit tonight because the neighborhood girls took her for a bit of a walk - that was really nice.

Here's a bit of family information I want to share. Debbie is Pat's (my sister-in-law) baby sister. A couple of weeks ago she went to the emergency room because of abdominal pain. In running tests to try to determine what was causing the problem, they found a tumor on her pancreas. Apparently only 10% of pancreatic cancers are operable, and hers was! In addition the location of it made it an operation that would only take about 2 and 1/2 hours instead of a more complicated location that would take 10 hours and disturb more internal organs. Her surgery was today in Atlanta at Emory Hospital. It will be a week before the pathology reports are back. Join our family in prayers for Debbie.