Saaaaay Chemo!

Of course, I forgot the proper pieces to upload pictures to the computer, so those will have to wait till I return to Boston tomorrow.

Day 1 came and went, and Mom conquered chemo and a bag of M&M's. This weekend was about rest, finishing some projects, and just wrapping her mind around what was ahead. Fortunately, there was nothing to it. We arrived at the cancer center to learn that her creatinine was 1.2 last Thursday (normal, and the best it's been), and her creatinine clearance was 61, which is pretty darn close to normal. In other words, her kidney function seems to continue to trend in the desired direction.

She was able to receive the cistplatin, but just for safety's sake, she only received half the dose, followed by the gemzar. Next week, she'll receive the other half with gemzar again. Overall, the process took about six hours, during which Mom read, took a snooze, dined on fruit salad, a bagel, and her favorite beef stew. Judy also spent a lot of time talking with Mom about what to expect, the medications she needs to take, how to combat undesirable side effects, and the schedule for the next few weeks. She also shared that 12 years ago, she too went through chemo, and has been well ever since. Mom loves her more with every encounter, and the best part is, her sensitivity to body products has seemed to disappear, allowing us to avoid uncomfortable confrontations :)

She is, as I type, out picking up some prescriptions and then Casey from the office. Her energy is getting back to where it should be. She's been given the green light to return to work for a few hours a day if she'd like, but realizes she absolutely MUST listen to her body's signals and head home when she gets tired.

Waiting for the unknown has been hands down, the hardest part of this entire process. There is certainly some lingering anxiety on every one's part about how her kidney function will look next Monday before the second treatment, but otherwise, we're off to a stellar start.

Thursday Mom will go see her urologist and I'm sure he'll do a thorough assessment of how the kidney is holding up, then after chemo next Monday, she and I have a date to go wig shopping. I'm thinking Sybil Faulty, but it's not up to me.