Round Six Chemo......

27th June, 2012

 

Chris's PICC line has been giving her a lot of grief in the last few days. Her skin is reacting badly to the Elastoplast dressing which is covering the line. The dressing seems to be melting into her own skin & causing blisters. This area of skin has now been covered for the last four months. Just wear a band aid over the same spot, for four months & you'll see what I mean. There is not alot that the Nurses can do except to change the way the PICC line sits against her arm & use a different type of dressing. There really isn't much leeway for them to change the positioning but even the slightest change might offer her some relief.

Other than that, the chemo treatment goes in smoothly.. We look at each treatment, as another one over, with Chris getting that much closer to beating this!

Just another curve ball...Changes to Treatment.

19th June, 2012

Today, I arrived home, fresh out of hospital, after being away from Chris for days. I couldn't have been happier to see her face & to be back under the same roof again.

The last few days have been grueling,  having not been able to be together +the fact that it was a tough weekend for Chris, as it was her "bad" weekend, the weekend  after chemo treatment is always a hard one.

Chris's Mum came to care for Chris while I was away but she also ended up leaving after 1 night as she too felt as though she was coming down with a flu.

So, my poor baby was left on her own from Saturday through to Tuesday, so it really felt wonderful to finally be reunited!

Late that afternoon as we were both recovering on the lounge together, Chris received a call from Dr Blood.  He advised her that they have looked over the scans again & decided that she should continue her chemo treatment, right through to October & that they have decided to put a hold on the radiation portion of her treatment. Chris can't recall exactly what his reasons were, as she told me that she switches off when he talks to her due to the fear of having to hear something negative.

I was shocked with this news but Chris said, " well it's better the devil you know" having to now continue down the chemo path.

We are waiting for Chris's next appointment with Dr Blood, to ask why the treatment path has changed. We can only continue to remain positive & just try to tackle each day as it comes, but I got to tell you, it's been a shocking week & will be glad once it's behind us. 

Another Cancelled Holiday

15th June, 2012

We had planned a quick trip to QLD to just escape for two nights on Chris's off chemo week.  We were planning to leave for QLD on the 20th June.

I left work early today as I felt like I was coming down with the flu. I raced home & packed my bags as I had to stay away from Chris to not expose her to the risk of getting sick. I headed to my parents, in town & on Sunday 17th, landed in ICU at RPA hospitalized with acute asthma.

So, the QLD trip was cancelled, my breathing was way to weak to have been able to have travelled & as much as it was the last thing we both wanted, here we were having to cancel ANOTHER trip....at this stage, when things like this happen, it's really hard to see the upside & have to wonder WHY these things are happening. This trip was going to be our little get away from it all, a time to forget about sickness. Alas I don’t know wtf is going on but C'est la vie!

 

Fifth Chemo.....

13th June, 2012

Another chemo treatment down..Everything went smoothly at that visit to the cancer clinic. Not much to report here other than the usual..

Pet scan Results

9th June, 2012

We got the results back for Chris's last scan. Most of it looked good as it appeared as though the treatment, so far, has been working... Whoo hoo, we were both completely over the moon. Unfortunately though, there was mention of some lung issues (pneumonitis) beginning to show. This was a result of the Bleomycin (one of the chemo drugs)  known to effect the lungs.. this was concerning to both of us.

 Dr Blood advised, that as per protocol & based on the results, the chemo treatment time would be reduced Hoorah! This would mean that the chemo would continue until July & then move onto radiation for a few months.

Second PET Scan

8th June, 2012

Chris was scheduled for a PET scan at 8am. This had to be done at RPA as the PET scan machine at Westmead was down. Chris had to fast from 3am, so no breaky or coffee ..made for an abrupt start to the morning.

Yup, today was a huge day as we were going to find out if the treatment had been killing off Chris's free loading baddies. We were both anxiously waiting for the scan to be done & to receive the results.

It felt like the winter's coldest morning as we drove over to the hospital. Once we arrived, we were ushered straight into a private room where they started to explain the process.  We already knew the drill as Chris had previously had a PET scan.

So, the next step was to the inject the radioactive glucose into Chris's vein, then Chris needed to keep still & lie down for the next 45  minutes prior to the scan being conducted. The nurse left us in the room together & of course, when someone tells you to be quiet & still,  it's the last thing you can do & we both would crack up uncontrollably, again & again. Finally though, Chris started to nod off as I had found a dimmer on the lights so she could just rest.

Once the nurse came in to take Chris for the scan, there was a 45 minute time frame, so I went off, to grab a coffee for Chris, so she could have a nice coffee waiting as soon as she was done.

In my next post I will talk about the scan results, a lot has happened since the scan day,  things are looking positive but there has also been some changes to Chris’s treatment path.

Chemo side effects.. suck!

1^st June, 2012

Unfortunately, the days following each treatment are knocking Chris around more & more. I can see her suffering, exhausted & frustrated. It just sucks so bloody much that I can't take away these awful side effects.

While I'm working through the week, Chris's Mum is around caring & cooking for Chris. I feel so blessed to know that my baby is looked after. Believe me, it’s a struggle to leave, but at the same time, we have no choice. I guess anyone that has loved another would understand how it feels to see the person you love suffering, it isn’t easy, no, no, no!

However, I continue to remind myself that this too shall pass. Soon Chris will have beaten this disease. It’s true what they say, if you can get through the bad during the tough times then it just makes the sweet, sweeter.

Chris is scheduled for a PET scan on Friday the 8^th June to assess the progress of the treatment. We are all praying for this to be a good result. So, we are counting down to the PET scan day & we all feel positive that the result will be good. (Just putting it out there for the universe)..

 

Below is a pic of Chris & a gigantic bear given to her from an amazing work colleague Sam, ain't this picture just the cutest thing ever!