Chemo - Take Seven

(It has finally cooled off here in North Carolina - helping us get ready for Halloween)

Yesterday, Dad went to the eye doctor for his final checkup. Things appear to be all healed, which is great. Today, Dad had an appointment with his oncologist for a check up to see if he was ready for chemo.

The good news is that Dad's white blood cell counts were back up and he was cleared to receive chemotherapy today. However, his red cell count was pretty low - so we have scheduled a blood transfusion for tomorrow, which should boost those numbers back up.

Dad also received a prescription for pain medicine patches for his hip. We will see if this new approach will give Dad even more relief.

Repeat Blog

Well, this may seem like a repeat blog from last week. Dad was once again scheduled for chemotherapy on Thursday, but was unable to have treatment because his white blood count is so low. He did receive an immune booster shot - to help ward off any infections. We will go back to the doctor next Thursday for more tests.

We are happy to report that the pain medicine that Dad is taking is helping with his leg/hip pain and he is getting around a bit better than before.

Chemo - Take Six

(Photo of Harry S. Truman - whenever we visit the oncologist, we get both a dose of medicine and a dose of Missouri history, which usually centers around President Harry S. Truman. Dad's oncologist is a history buff and lived in St. Louis for many years.)

Last Thursday, we had Dad's sixth chemotherapy treatment or his second weekly treatment. The treatment is actually a shorter therapy, so he is the hospital for a shorter amount of time which is a nice change for Dad. He also saw his surgeon for a follow up appointment.

Today, we saw Dad's oncologist and we were scheduled for our seventh chemo. However, it was determined that Dad's body was not "up for" chemo today. His white blood count is extremely low, which means that he is susceptible for infections. Giving him another dose of chemo before we bump up his counts could be possibly dangerous.

So, today instead of chemo, Dad got an immune booster shot. He will also be taking a antibiotic as a precaution for fevers and infections. He will also begin taking a stronger pain killer, which we hope will begin to help with his leg/hip pain.

We meet again with the doctor in one week. At that time, we will have new tests and possibly do our next round of chemotherapy.

Chemo- Take Five

It has been a busy few weeks. We completed Dad's course of radiation last Tuesday. Everyone was so nice in Radiation Oncology, but we were ready to say good bye to the daily appointments.

Then on Thursday, Dad began his new course of chemotherapy. Dad will receive that chemotherapy every Thursday for the next few weeks. But not only has the frequency changed, so have the drugs themselves. The new drugs, which we hope are targeting the new cancer spots, are causing Dad to be even more tired.

We had a nice relaxing weekend at home, the weather is finally cooling down here which has been a nice change.