We saw Dr. McKittrick at the Cancer Clinic today. Cheryl's platelet count was up, but not enough to start chemo today. Her counts were: hemoglobin 9.3 vs. 9.7 a week ago (normal is 12 to 16), platelets 48 vs. 19 on Monday (normal is 140 to 440), white count 13.6 vs. 11.4 a week ago (normal is 4.0 to 11). Platelets need to be at least 80 to start chemo. The plan is to take another week off and start round 4 next Thursday if her platelets are OK. They are going to schedule getting a new PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter) early next week but we don't know what day yet. This is exactly the same as the CVC line she had in Houston that had to be removed last Saturday due to an infection. We don't know if the new PICC will be in the same arm or the other arm. It will be done by a radiologist at the hospital.
Cheryl feels real good again today and we hope she will continue that way at least until the chemo starts again. Thanks for your continued prayers. Ron
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Finally some good days!
Today is day 21 of 21 in round 3. The good news is that Cheryl has been feeling pretty good for the last three days. Barb (my sister) and my mom came to KC to visit today. Cheryl was up to going out to eat so we met Stacey (our daughter) and her two girls at Perkins for lunch. This is the first outing for Cheryl (besides the doctor and hospital) in almost two weeks. We had a great visit and Cheryl enjoyed getting out of the apartment for a while.
After a peaceful day at home last Sunday, we met with the nurse practitioner at the Cancer Clinic on Monday afternoon. We updated her on the ER visits and asked her about refills for several medications. They did blood work and Cheryl's platelet count was down to 19. It wasn't low enough to require a transfusion but we learned that Cheryl will not be able to start round 4 of chemo until her platelets are at least 80 on her own. That means that she may not be able to start on Thursday as we had expected.
Tuesday Cheryl started two days on Lasix to try and reduce the swelling in her legs. This was planned for last Friday and Saturday but the ER trips caused it to be postponed. This week she has been walking a lot more around the apartment with her walker and even without it a lot of the time. Tuesday morning the ER doctor called with more information on the infection that had been found on Saturday. It was an unspecified type of staph infection and he wanted her to change the antibiotic to doxycycline. I had errands to run Tuesday afternoon and Cheryl stayed at home alone all afternoon with no problems.
Tomorrow we find out if she starts round 4 or has to wait for her platelet count to increase. Thank you to everyone who is still following Cheryl's progress and continues to pray for her. There are no words adequate to express how much it means to us to know that you are there. Ron
After a peaceful day at home last Sunday, we met with the nurse practitioner at the Cancer Clinic on Monday afternoon. We updated her on the ER visits and asked her about refills for several medications. They did blood work and Cheryl's platelet count was down to 19. It wasn't low enough to require a transfusion but we learned that Cheryl will not be able to start round 4 of chemo until her platelets are at least 80 on her own. That means that she may not be able to start on Thursday as we had expected.
Tuesday Cheryl started two days on Lasix to try and reduce the swelling in her legs. This was planned for last Friday and Saturday but the ER trips caused it to be postponed. This week she has been walking a lot more around the apartment with her walker and even without it a lot of the time. Tuesday morning the ER doctor called with more information on the infection that had been found on Saturday. It was an unspecified type of staph infection and he wanted her to change the antibiotic to doxycycline. I had errands to run Tuesday afternoon and Cheryl stayed at home alone all afternoon with no problems.
Tomorrow we find out if she starts round 4 or has to wait for her platelet count to increase. Thank you to everyone who is still following Cheryl's progress and continues to pray for her. There are no words adequate to express how much it means to us to know that you are there. Ron
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Relay for Life Photos
Getting dark and the last of the picture taking!
Kevin and Jolene walking
Thom and Wyatt walking
Kevin and Jolene walking
Thom and Wyatt walking
Relay for Life Photos
I know they spelled mom's name wrong but I was proud to be walking in her place as a cancer survivor!
Relay for Life photos
Introduction of the survivors, I represented mom in the first lap!
Setting up camp; Terri, Ginny, Thom and Wyatt.
Signs around the camp and the track!
Setting up camp; Terri, Ginny, Thom and Wyatt.
Signs around the camp and the track!
Nearing the end of round 3
It's been a while since I posted an update. If you are still checking for updates, I'll have to give you credit for persistence and patients. I didn't intend to be silent for so long, it just happened.
Today is day 18 of 21 in round 3. My hope that Cheryl would feel like traveling before the end of this round has not happened. Our decision not to travel to Washington, Kansas a week ago to the Relay for Life was a wise one. We didn't know it at the time of our decision but Cheryl would need to take Lasix that weekend to reduce the swelling in her legs and she was having indigestion. She was feeling somewhat better by Sunday afternoon when we had two friends visit. Monday, Cheryl's mom and Chuck came for a visit and brought her usual basket of goodies from the farm. We must have overeaten because she didn't feel so good on Tuesday.
Wednesday was the day we had been hoping for. She told almost everyone she talked to that she felt the best she had for a long time. Thursday we went to the clinic for a blood check. Her blood counts were: hemoglobin 9.7 vs. 8.5 the week before (normal is 12 to 16), platelets 4 vs. 129 the week before (normal is 140 to 440), white count 11.4 vs. 3.2 the week before (normal is 4.0 to 11). It's not a typo, her platelets were 4, the lowest they had ever been. We were immediately sent to the hospital for two units of platelets.
The other thing that happened on Thursday was while getting ready to go to the clinic, Cheryl experienced extreme shortness of breath for about 2 minutes. Increasing the oxygen level and calming down solved the problem but it was a very scary experience for both of us. On Friday morning, it happened two more times less than three hours apart. We decided it was time for a trip to the emergency room to see what was causing this. At the ER, they did blood work, a chest xray, and a CT scan. Her blood counts were OK, her platelets were 33 vs. 4 the day before. We had the CT scan from July 3rd in Houston with us. The radiologist did a comparison and did not see any marked changes, certainly nothing that would explain severe breathing problems. The ER doctor, a doctor Cheryl knew and respected, was very thorough but could not find any reason for her increased breathing problem. Finally we remembered that Cheryl had used a nebulizer while in Houston. We hadn't been using it since returning to KC because Cheryl hadn't thought she needed it. The doctor had been about to suggest the same thing. Since we had the nebulizer machine and plenty of the medicine, Xopenex, all we had to do was start using it. And we have every since, three to four times a day.
The next day after the ER trip, that was yesterday, we got a call at 8 AM from a different ER doctor. The blood cultures taken Friday showed that Cheryl had an infection and she wanted us to come back to the ER for more tests. So, for the second day in a row we went to the ER. After checking her blood and urine, the ER doctor decided that Cheryl's CVC (Central Venous Catheter) used for chemo infusions had become infected. After consulting with her oncologist doctor, they decided to remove the CVC and sent us home with an antibiotic perscription for bactrim DS.
That brings us to today. We are hoping for a quiet, non-eventful day. Cheryl has been sleeping well and seems to be feeling pretty good. Tomorrow, we see the oncologist nurse practitioner to decide what to do with blood thinner medicine since we will finish the lovenox today. Thursday, we have an appointment with oncologist to talk about chemo round 4. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Ron
Today is day 18 of 21 in round 3. My hope that Cheryl would feel like traveling before the end of this round has not happened. Our decision not to travel to Washington, Kansas a week ago to the Relay for Life was a wise one. We didn't know it at the time of our decision but Cheryl would need to take Lasix that weekend to reduce the swelling in her legs and she was having indigestion. She was feeling somewhat better by Sunday afternoon when we had two friends visit. Monday, Cheryl's mom and Chuck came for a visit and brought her usual basket of goodies from the farm. We must have overeaten because she didn't feel so good on Tuesday.
Wednesday was the day we had been hoping for. She told almost everyone she talked to that she felt the best she had for a long time. Thursday we went to the clinic for a blood check. Her blood counts were: hemoglobin 9.7 vs. 8.5 the week before (normal is 12 to 16), platelets 4 vs. 129 the week before (normal is 140 to 440), white count 11.4 vs. 3.2 the week before (normal is 4.0 to 11). It's not a typo, her platelets were 4, the lowest they had ever been. We were immediately sent to the hospital for two units of platelets.
The other thing that happened on Thursday was while getting ready to go to the clinic, Cheryl experienced extreme shortness of breath for about 2 minutes. Increasing the oxygen level and calming down solved the problem but it was a very scary experience for both of us. On Friday morning, it happened two more times less than three hours apart. We decided it was time for a trip to the emergency room to see what was causing this. At the ER, they did blood work, a chest xray, and a CT scan. Her blood counts were OK, her platelets were 33 vs. 4 the day before. We had the CT scan from July 3rd in Houston with us. The radiologist did a comparison and did not see any marked changes, certainly nothing that would explain severe breathing problems. The ER doctor, a doctor Cheryl knew and respected, was very thorough but could not find any reason for her increased breathing problem. Finally we remembered that Cheryl had used a nebulizer while in Houston. We hadn't been using it since returning to KC because Cheryl hadn't thought she needed it. The doctor had been about to suggest the same thing. Since we had the nebulizer machine and plenty of the medicine, Xopenex, all we had to do was start using it. And we have every since, three to four times a day.
The next day after the ER trip, that was yesterday, we got a call at 8 AM from a different ER doctor. The blood cultures taken Friday showed that Cheryl had an infection and she wanted us to come back to the ER for more tests. So, for the second day in a row we went to the ER. After checking her blood and urine, the ER doctor decided that Cheryl's CVC (Central Venous Catheter) used for chemo infusions had become infected. After consulting with her oncologist doctor, they decided to remove the CVC and sent us home with an antibiotic perscription for bactrim DS.
That brings us to today. We are hoping for a quiet, non-eventful day. Cheryl has been sleeping well and seems to be feeling pretty good. Tomorrow, we see the oncologist nurse practitioner to decide what to do with blood thinner medicine since we will finish the lovenox today. Thursday, we have an appointment with oncologist to talk about chemo round 4. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Ron
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