Thursday, September 27, 2007

Chemo today .....


Well, I went in for my 6th treatment of Myocet + Cytoxin, and I have a couple of hours before the side effects start setting in. I have been on chemo now for most of the past 18 months. What this means is that my body takes a little longer each time to recover from the "assault" ... it isn't that each treatment makes me sicker, just that my body isn't as able to respond and it takes longer and longer each round..... So, based on my other cycles, I would predict that I will not be back at the computer for awhile !!!! I will try not to let it go 2 weeks again, like i did last time..........

I had a good check-up. My oncologist says my lungs sound excellent (his exact words), and there is no additional fluid that he can detect. I was delighted to hear this, since I've actually been coughing quite a bit lately, of course I was worrying a little.... but it appears that my lungs still sound to be in good shape.

After this chemo cycle, I will have more scans - a CT scan to check the disease progression, and a MUGA scan (to check for heart damage, a possible side effect of the type of chemo I am on). After these scans he will decide what is next, but it will likely be another 2 rounds before switching to a different drug....

That's all the news for now. Otherwise, everyone in the family is well and coping pretty well right now. Cheers to all.

Joanne

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jo,
Thanks for the update. I hope that the next few days aren't too tough. Great to hear the good news regarding your lungs.
Darryl

Anonymous said...

Hi Joanne, thanks for the update. Great news about your lungs. Take care, this next few days might go by quickly so that you can be back and feeling better. Judy

Anonymous said...

Hi Joanne, thanks so much for taking the time and spending energy to provide an update. I really appreciate it. My prayers are with you. Claire

Anonymous said...

Hi Joanne,
Thanks for keeping us in the loop. It's always nice to hear from you. Glad your lungs look good. Hope you have a few really good moments in the days to come.
Patti

Anonymous said...

Hi Joanne, I am so glad to hear that your lungs sound well. I continue to think of you all the time and say lots of prayers. I hope that you are able to have some good moments after the chemo effects subside. I miss talking to you and will call you again in a couple of weeks.
Lots of Love, Loretta

Anonymous said...

Hi Joanne,
Glad you were able to post us on your progress to date. It is always good to hear from you. Your lung report is welcome news, it must have felt good to hear your doctor's encouraging words. We send you all our best in this next chemo cycle and pray for better days ahead.
Annette

Anonymous said...

Hi Joanne, Just want to say hello and let you know that we are thinking about you during this first week after chemo. Hope you are resting, enduring and letting others pamper you! This chemo trail must feel awfully long at times. Hope our prayers and loving wishes help as you soldier on and that, when you recover from this round, you feel as well or better than you did the last time (with energy for more outings). Love, Nick and Lorraine

apprentice said...

Yes thanks for the update. I hope you're resting comfortably and coming back from the latest round.

Thinking of you often. Mure and I had a late holiday trip last week to Tuscany and we visited lots of cathedrals in all the hill top towns there. So there's a quite a wee blaze of candles burning for you missus.

Take care
Love
Anna

Anonymous said...

Hello, Joanne. Just a note to say "hi" and to let you know others are thinking of you - and always with the hope you're holding your own. Sounds like you're doing even better than that. The news about your lungs is wonderful. What a day that must have been when you heard. Hope things are going well for you during this round of chemo, and that you'll soon be having better days again.
John & Pat.