Monday, February 11, 2013

Going back on FOLFOX

I went to the SCCA today for my scheduled treatment. A typical day for me is to first have my port accessed, and get my blood drawn. Then I see my doctor and he goes over the results of the blood work as well as checking my vitals and asks me questions about how I am doing and answers any questions I may have. Then I go upstairs for an infusion that lasts 30 minutes. It has become very routine to me. But today was different. My numbers have gone up, quite a bit. They are now 624. And that is after increasing my current medication. He said he didn't feel that it was effective any more and wanted to put me back on FOLFOX which was the chemotherapy that I was first started on. It wasn't really a surprise to me. I knew this was coming and I could tell the medication wasn't as effective as it once was but I was still a little disappointed.

But I've been here before and I know what to expect. I asked him how long I need to do the folfox and he said he normally starts with 2 months and then does a CT scan to see how things are going and  makes a decsion based on the resuls of the CT scan.

So, for now I say good-bye to ice, good-bye to nice cold drinks, good-bye to ice cream and good-bye to nice thick hair. And I say hello to my old friend the pump. We will need to get reaquainted with each other. It goes everywhere with me for 3 days and 2 nights every other week. It gently reminds me it is there with it's regular pump noises. It sleeps between me and Eddie so it doesn't fall off the bed. And I need to be careful to not keep turning in the same direction all night so we don't get all tangled up together. I need to remember to pick it up before I start walking anywhere...to answer the phone, to wash my hands to get the remote. If I forget to take it with me, I am reminded very quickly!

I can do this. I will keep focused on 2 months...just 2 months.

Keep those prayers coming, they are working. I am so grateful that I feel as good as I do.