Completed and healthy... so far

This blog started as a place that I could vent and provide some insight as a care giver, but for the most part, my husband has had an easier time than I expected. He completed his last chemo in mid May and received a clean scan the end of May. Next step is a colonoscopy in September.

Here is what I have learned about HIS treatment.

• Men (at least him), don't pay any attention to the program and the meds being given to them, so wives..... it will be up to you. Pay attention to the order of the meds because what would happen to him is that after about 6 treatments, he would start getting ill after they gave him a certain med... BUT he never asked what it was so they didn't know what to reduce. When I asked, it was actually the steroids, so they pushed that drip slower. That worked.
• Neuropathy continues to get worse as the treatments go. It got to the point that it was in his feet and he would almost fall over in the shower. The Oxaliplatin causes this and luckily, he only had a few more treatments so they were able to cut it back without any effects.
• He slept most of the time when he had the pump on for those 2 days. He was extremely tired. The simplest of things wore him out. Don't make any plans for long outings.
• His taste changed and he wanted to eat ALL the time, BUT he only would eat a little bit of it and be done. Everything looked good. Commercials are your worst enemy. You can literally be cooking dinner and a pizza commercial comes on and the next thing you know.. you are order Pizza Hut.
• Have some sort of outlet for yourself. Whether it be blogging, church, friends, school... have something that you do just for you. You will need it to keep you from falling into the "I do everything for you... I need some time to myself" mode.
• Make sure to take stuff to keep you busy at treatments and don't forget some snacks. It will be anywhere from 4-6 hours.

Just remember, CANCER is a very scary word, BUT it doesn't HAVE to be a life sentence. Thank God for us, it was just a bump in the road.

Busy Busy Busy

WOW.... it has been a really long time since I posted. I feel like I don't have time to think these days. Delbert just started his 5th treatment yesterday. We are finding that he has trouble sleeping the 2 days that the pump is on. When he finally gets the pump off, then he has 2-3 days of uncontrollable restroom issues. He only leaves the house a couple of time during a 2 week period. I do most of the running around. Between that and work, gym, and school, I am just beat most days. So far, with every treatment, he finds a new side effect. He has the first bite jaw pain and cold sensitivity so bad that he says it feels like he has a mouthful of 9-volt batteries. He has off and on paralysis on the left side of his right hand which makes it tough to use the mouse. He sometimes seems to drift away in his thoughts and seems tired more. In some cases, he seems to have trouble concentrating and in other cases, he can't seem to get something out of his head. He has some bouts of depression but only for a couple of days during the meds. This last treatment, at the chemo lab, he starting getting nauseated but was able to push through it. I am sure that he gets tired of me asking him if he is ok all the time... It's just a helpless feeling. He is trying to keep up on his treatment videos but I can say that the first couple of days, he isn't much up to talking.... those are the days that his mind seems to wander more.

On a personal note, I started hitting the gym mid December and go 6 days a week... most days at 6 am so that I can be back before work starts. So far, I have lost 15 lbs. I have also started back at school. Started with an Intro to Programming class. I figured it should be easy and can fill in some of the gaps in my programming education.

Well, I will try to do better at keeping up on this. Bye for now.

Treatment Number 3

Well, Delbert went in for his 3 treatment today. So far so good... He is 1/4 of the way done with his treatments and down to single digits with only 9 left after today. So far he isn't sick or having mouth pain like last time, but he also isn't trying ice cream anytime soon. I get a little worried that this may all be too much for him, but I do know that others have conquered this with a lot more side effects than he has had. At least the holidays were between treatments so we were able to enjoy them. We had a great Christmas dinner with the kids and a very quiet New Years. We didn't even stay up until midnight... guess we are getting old. I will let you know more tomorrow on how he is doing. If this holds par for the course, he won't be having such a great next few days. 

Not as well as last time

His pump was taken off today. Overall I don't think he did as well as the first time. A little more nauseated this time, his "first bite pain" seemed to be more than just the first bite of food, and his sensitivity to cold food just about killed him. He said it was like putting a pack of 9 volt batteries on this tongue and it seemed to last a lot longer this time. He took a nap today and he seems to be having some bio issues today. Seems like it is related to the infusion because it seems to happen within a few hours from being disconnected. 

I am a little worried that the side effects will become more intense as the treatments go on. I just hope he can keep his spirits up and remember that he is doing this to be around for everyone who loves him.

Second Chemo Appointment

Here we sit getting ready for his second chemo treatment. It has been 14 days since we started this. Blood work is still good. We are hoping that his side effects are minimal again. I spoke to a lady at Starbucks over the weekend who had gone through this same treatment for colon cancer. She said that she started off with no side effects but the more she went the worse they got. Really hoping that is not the case here. 

He is eating me out of house and home... literally eating all the time... gained a pound in just a week. He seems to be able to eat anything he wants and not be sick. He is still chilled a lot... He has his office heater turned up and seems to be ok while in there. I am sure that he would like for it to get a little warmer here. 

Currently he is sleeping pretty good. No hand tingling, rashes or mouth sores anymore. Of course that may all change after this treatment.

Just wanted to get you all caught up. Will post more as the day goes on. 

Treatment Day 7

OK. Here we are at day 7.... One week since his treatment started. He had a appointment today to see the doctor and have blood work done. Doc says that blood is great. We asked the doctor if maybe they gave him a sample dose or something because the chemo in the chair only took 2-3 hours and not the 6 that everyone is telling us. Also, the fact that he really didn't have too many major side effects. Doctor says he got a full dose and that not everyone has side effects. We also discussed with him what he thought we could expect with the future doses. He believes that his side effects should not be too different than what he has already experienced. If that is the case then we are going to be rockin.... To sum up his side effects this week... He took two 3-hour naps, felt nauseated 3 times, a couple of mouth sores, and a small heat rash. Maybe this won't be so hard on him as it is on others. Makes us feel almost guilty that he is doing so well while others are having so many issues. Well his next chemo appointment is on Thursday afternoon. Hopefully it will all go just as well. Please keep us in your prayers.

Treatment Day 5

Well this weekend didn't go as expected for Del. He is beginning to think that people are "punking" him about this chemo stuff. The only side effects so far is a couple of 3 hour naps, one day where nothing really sounded good to eat and some mouth sores. He is eating whatever he wants.... even had Burrito Chili and Cheese for dinner. He is wondering if maybe they gave him a starter dose of this stuff to see how he reacts. Sure would like to know if they do that. If they did, it would have been nice to know that.

Been baking all weekend so didn't have time to get on here, but like I said.... very uneventful which is a great thing.