Well, the story I was telling in the first few posts happened in July and August. We are now in September, and Terry is in treatment. I'll fill in the blanks as we go along.
One of the reasons that we chose the U of M is that they use a three-pronged chemo attack to support the radiation that is wiping out the cancer cells in his esophagus. Currently, Terry is wearing a continuous infusion pump slowing dripping 5FU into his body. The pump runs at a rate of about 1.2 ml per hour. The pump is attached to a PICC line, which can also be used for blood draws and the infusion of his regular chemotherapy. This is a good thing, because it's kinder to his veins. Fewer needlesticks = happier patients. Last week, he received an infusion of Cisplatin and an infusion of Taxol, along with medications to keep him from being nauseated and vomiting. The last thing that poor esophagus needs is a bad case of reverse peristalsis.
Before patients go in for the seond infusion, the chemotherapy staff check all blood levels, to see how the patient is handling the chemo. They are particularly watching Terry's kidneys, as he has a rather high creatinine level - the last thing they want to do is to wreck his kidneys. Dialysis is not fun, I understand.
His creatinine came back slightly elevated, but they are really concerned about his BUN
http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/bun/test.html
levels. So, they decided no cisplatin for this treatment - we are BUNNED. He is having extra fluids to really hydrate his body, and they will check his blood chemistries for the next two days, and hydrate him more.
If his levels go back to normal, cisplatin will be back on the table. Keep your fingers crossed!
He got his taxol.
I had packed a picnic for chemo - between his hydration and his infusions, we were in the chemo room over 5 hours the first time. This time, we were only there about 3 hours - but we did have time to eat - tuna fish sandwiches, V-8 juice, grapes, crackers with cheese, crackers with peanut butter. I felt like I was a cheerleader for healthy foods!
I did ask for the oncology dietician to come down and talk to us - Nancy was very nice, and gave us a detailed prescription for his food - we're doing pretty well - Terry needs to be sure that he eats regular small meals to keep his blood sugar level, and drink about 100 oz of water daily, and a specified level of protein. Getting his food good will help get his kidneys good.
The nurse practitioner (Heidi) points out that the purpose of the chemotherapy is to make the radiation more effective. I know that's true, but I also know that the drugs also help to kill any stray cells that might have escaped.
So tomorrow is hydration, and blood draws. Wednesday is hydration and blood draws.
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