Cancer Continued
My last scan results showed a neither here nor there conclusion. A couple of the nodules in the lungs had increased in size, other nodes and spots had either decreased, increased or stayed the same - and all marginally.
I did have to skip three weeks of treatment prior to the scan, simply to try and allow my eyes to recover from the inflammation and pustules, so it could be that that delay corresponds with what we saw in the scans.
At this stage my treatment regime will continue, but with fortnightly as opposed to weekly doses. This change is primarily because we have moved to Rosebud and are now 1.5 hours away from the treating hospital. If I change hospital (ie to either Frankston or Beleoura Private) then I also have to change my oncologist, and at this stage of my tenuous health experiments, we have decided to do the big drive back to the city to spend a day in the chair being pumped with poison, than a little drive up the road in order to retain my oncologist. It also gives Jules and Isla a chance to catch up with their social network while I'm in the hospital. We'll see how treatment progresses, and if things start to travel smoothly, I would like to transfer to a closer hospital. I don't want to drive over that West Gate Bridge anymore!
With the fortnightly treatment, I miss out on one 5FU infusion (which equates to roughly 10% of the chemo). I'm happy to miss this. I'm hoping the fortnightly schedule is easier on the insides of my lips and nostrils (F5u likes to hammer that nice soft skin), and also hoping that the double-dose of Cextuximab doesn't incur the Panitumumab rash horrors of last year. So far so good. I had the infusion almost a week ago, and although my left eye is sore (it feels like ingrown eyelashes inside the lid somewhere, which could be possible as the double-dose appears to be making the eyelash growth side-effect of the Panitumumab) the rash hasn't come back so bad either. I was scared the double-dose could overwhelm my skin again. Small mercies.
At least with a fortnightly treatment, every second week of existence should be much closer to normal. Whatever that is. For me it means, hopefully, not feeling nauseous and tired, and perhaps more energy. And with energy comes life!
I did have to skip three weeks of treatment prior to the scan, simply to try and allow my eyes to recover from the inflammation and pustules, so it could be that that delay corresponds with what we saw in the scans.
At this stage my treatment regime will continue, but with fortnightly as opposed to weekly doses. This change is primarily because we have moved to Rosebud and are now 1.5 hours away from the treating hospital. If I change hospital (ie to either Frankston or Beleoura Private) then I also have to change my oncologist, and at this stage of my tenuous health experiments, we have decided to do the big drive back to the city to spend a day in the chair being pumped with poison, than a little drive up the road in order to retain my oncologist. It also gives Jules and Isla a chance to catch up with their social network while I'm in the hospital. We'll see how treatment progresses, and if things start to travel smoothly, I would like to transfer to a closer hospital. I don't want to drive over that West Gate Bridge anymore!
With the fortnightly treatment, I miss out on one 5FU infusion (which equates to roughly 10% of the chemo). I'm happy to miss this. I'm hoping the fortnightly schedule is easier on the insides of my lips and nostrils (F5u likes to hammer that nice soft skin), and also hoping that the double-dose of Cextuximab doesn't incur the Panitumumab rash horrors of last year. So far so good. I had the infusion almost a week ago, and although my left eye is sore (it feels like ingrown eyelashes inside the lid somewhere, which could be possible as the double-dose appears to be making the eyelash growth side-effect of the Panitumumab) the rash hasn't come back so bad either. I was scared the double-dose could overwhelm my skin again. Small mercies.
At least with a fortnightly treatment, every second week of existence should be much closer to normal. Whatever that is. For me it means, hopefully, not feeling nauseous and tired, and perhaps more energy. And with energy comes life!