Happy Holidays

Adrienne says, "Chemo was not fun." She was really nervous before the infusion since it's been awhile and she's been really tired since. She took Zofran for a couple of days so the nausea wasn't bad but she hasn't had much appetite, even with a fabulous dinner cooked last night by yours truly.

This week, we're just hanging out, maybe shopping some sales. Curt gave us a gift certificate to a spa so we're looking forward to some great relaxation and luminous skin on Friday afternoon. Next chemo is on January 4 after a visit to Santa Barbara to see Daniel. Goal: Avoid Pasadena and the Rose Bowl on New Years Day.

One down

Adrienne got home late on Wednesday night after missing her plane on Wednesday morning and spending the day at JFK Airport. Ugh! Then we flew to California on Thursday and spent Friday at City of Hope. Her counts were good enough for chemo but no one got insurance approval in advance. It was news to me that insurance pre-approval was required and apparently this is something new. It seems odd to me that approval is necessary since this obviously isn't elective.

I think half the staff at COH got involved and eventually things were resolved, but it meant chemo started about two hours late making for a very long day. So far, Adrienne isn't feeling too bad and even ate dinner last night. One of the chemos, oxaliplatin, causes a type of acute neuropathy so Adrienne can't eat or touch anything really cold or hot for 3 days. Her tongue "cramped up" last night but it was more of an annoyance than a problem.

Another issue is neupogen shots. Apparently we have to mail order those and can't get them at the pharmacy so Adrienne won't get her shot today. We'll just hope that her counts hold up so she doesn't get sick and can get her chemo on January 4. With the holiday, I expect it will be late next week until I can get the shots.

Glass is Half Full

Good news: No disease in the bone marrow. This was a big concern due to Adrienne's recent blood counts and infections. Bad news: 20% increase in the lung to 5.1 cm and 100% increase in the spleen to 6.7 cm. This is just since August, yikes. This reminds me of a time when Daniel was little, I took him to the doctor with a number of infections including impetigo and bronchial pneumonia. The doctor said he was "antibiotic deficient." I'm thinking maybe Adrienne is just chemo deficient and Friday's treatment will be just what the doctor ordered, at least we can hope.

Adrienne finished exams today (yyyyeeeaaahhh) and flies back tomorrow. She gets about 24 hours at home and then we're off to Southern California for chemo and to see her cardiologist. It's been 7 months since she saw the cardiologist but her echos in New York have been great so we aren't worried about that. I'm just hoping the chemo isn't bad and she can enjoy the holidays.

I've been a nervous wreck for a couple of days waiting for Adrienne's results. It started Sunday night with two hours sleep, last night I got five. Hopefully tonight will be a full night's sleep. The worry isn't gone but at least we know she's going to be treated very, very soon.

Scans Friday?

Adrienne is supposed to have a PET/CT scan tomorrow in New York. Originally, the plan was to do it at City of Hope but they had trouble scheduling it. Due to an insurance snafu, we won't know if this will actually happen until the morning. I don't expect results until Monday or Tuesday. We're just hoping that things aren't out of control and that Adrienne can start chemo next Friday. Her mouth is still painful in areas but overall she's feeling pretty good right now.