Yes, It Is Still Growing

The CT results show that my tumors are indeed, still growing. Starting chemo on Friday. We will do two cycles, then check for a response and then decide whether to continue. If there is a response, we will do chemo for 6 months. If no response, we will switch chemos (so still do chemo, just a different one, so no idea how long that would be). The fellow (who was super nice today) said that I will probably lose my hair this time--not all at once, but by the end of a 6-month regimen I'll be bald. (During the summer, so at least my head won't be cold.) There is also a greater risk of infection with this chemo than the last one, partly because I have already done chemo once. She actually told me that if Captain Adorable gets sick and has a runny nose, I should let some one else wipe it or wear rubber gloves! Of course, if I get some kind of infection during chemo, I will likely end up in the hospital and goodness knows I do not want that.

So, the regimen we've agreed to looks like this: Day One is IV administration of a drug called Oxaliplatin. I also take a pill form of a drug called 5FU on day one and for the next 13 days (so, 14 days altogether). Then a week of no drugs, then day 22 is day one again. So, two cycles would be six weeks. Six weeks. Then another CT and then a decision of some sort--continue this regimen or switch to a different drug combo.

Hopefully the cancer will either stop growing or shrink. Either of those would be considered a good result.

Going to the dentist tomorrow. Blah. Going to bed now. Mmmmmmmmm...