Monday, March 4, 2013

An Update from March 4


A bit of good news this morning.  Janna will be done with chemo by tomorrow evening.  We misunderstood how long she’s to be on it. But, her right side of her face is pretty swollen, including her eye almost being swollen shut.  Oncologist said it was the tumor melting away.  I guess it turns into fluid and needs to drain out somehow.  But, the eye doc will be by today to check on her.  She’s a trooper.  After tomorrow, the waiting game begins.

It was originally going to be 7 days of chemo, but they gave her both chemo drugs at the same time, so it turned into 4 days.  She’s taking a beating, but she’s really healthy (relatively speaking), so they could do it this way.  Not sure what this does to the timeline.  It might be the same.  She’s going to still feel pretty yucky for the next week.  Her blood counts should still be low for another week-and-a-half (so we’re told).

We’re kind of entering the critical zone right now – she is susceptible to getting really sick with anything, even a minor cold.  The issue is that I could be a carrier and not know it since my body is fighting it off.

Also, we’re waiting to see how the tumor responds to the chemo.  I don’t think we’ll know for sure until we get the MRA and PET scan.  We’re far from out of the woods yet, but we’re making headway.   They’ll give her a blood transfusion if necessary.  So far her blood levels have been pretty good, but we’re told that they plummet a few days after chemo ends.  It’s a cumulative effect.  So, she’s just at the front end of getting to the point where she has no immune system.

(At 2:30 EST, Cory said):  Chemo is taking its toll today.  I’ve been here 4 hours and she’s been asleep for most of it.  The chemo is administered twice a day, with the last treatment tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.

Another update:  About 2 weeks after starting chemo is when her blood count will plummet.  They just monitor her closely and give her a blood transfusion if necessary.

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