It has been too long without a blog post. I'm sorry. I have no credible excuses, just plain old busyness! Life over the past 45 days or so has been good, not great, just good. Numerous doctor visits, many phone calls, many days of decisions and thinking. And one day of really bad news. After her last cat scan, a small spot was found on her liver. A biopsy confirmed that the cancer had metastasized to her liver and the cat scan also revealed a spot on a lymph node. Since that day, we have worried, interviewed oncologists, yelled at oncologists and planned for the days of chemotherapy. The last 45 days have been filled with worries; what Chemotherapy will be like, where Chemo will be, will it work, what if it doesn't work, etc.
Today marks day # 5 of chemo. Cisplatin is the name of the drug and Mom has tolerated it pretty well, considering that she has been in the hospital for 5 days, hooked up to a IV dripping poison into her body 24/7. All chemotherapy's attack fast replicating cells; the cells in your bone marrow, stomach, intestinal tract, mouth, scalp, cancer cells......The result is mouth sores, nausea, kidney problems, and a whole range of other possible side effects, including (hopefully) the DEATH of cancer cells! She has started to feel some side effects today, a little nausea and definitely fatigue.
She will be discharged tomorrow morning and will head home to Fish Lake Valley for the weekend, only to return for a blood test on Monday. The doctors are very concerned about her kidneys, which take the brunt of the chemo. A blood test will reveal if she needs any additional care. The next step is a cat scan in Reno, NV on November 4th, which will tell us if the first round of Chemotherapy has shrunk the liver tumor enough for surgery. If not, another round of Chemotherapy is the option on the table.
Through everything, YOU, the readers and followers of this blog, this small circle of family and friends, have been our rock. A shoulder to cry on, an ear to vent to, a heart to love. Thank you again for the phone calls, the emails, the messages. Everything helps, everything is appreciated.
All our love to you,
Sarah and Cece
A picture to prove how much fun the hospital is!
