well we left for Arizona not so bright n extremely early tuesday morning. We had originally planned on flying there that morning and home that night, so i can work more...but that didnt happen! the day was awful from the beginning!
we made it to Arizona on time, but transportation didnt have us scheduled, so we sat at the airport for an HOUR!!! yes a WHOLE HOUR!!! ugh!! but we made it to our first appointment right on time!
Jason had blood draws, then had a CT scan of his chest, abdomen and pelvic regions. then we FINALLY got to eat breakfast ;) when we met with the dr, he gave us the results of the CT scan...which pretty well sucked. but could have been worse. The ONE spot in Jason's lung has almost doubled in size. :( so we talked it over with the dr, and scheduled an MRI of Jasons brain for the following day. While talking with the dr he gave us our options...we could either do a stronger dose of chemo, or i guess quit chemo all together n just search for a clinical trial. We chose the stronger dose of chemo, and are also looking for a clinical trial. The new chemo still has the DTIC which jason has been receiving since we started going to CTCA. It also has 2 new chemo drugs: BCNU {carmustine} and Cisplatin {platinol} . Jason receives the DTIC and Cisplatin all 3 days, and the carmustine 1 day. It is all given IV through jason's port, over about 7 hours, for 3 days!! {which feels like forever!!!} tuesday was an extremely LONG day, with waking up at 3, to get to the airport on time, waiting for transportation, meeting with the drs, then waiting 7+ hours while Jason received his chemo, and FINALLY getting to leave the hospital at 11:30.
Wednesday started off early, we had to be at the hospital for chemo at 9...the had the MRI at 2:15ish. then back to chemo until 730 that night.
Thursday we had another early morning, our appointment to meet with the dr {oncologist} was at 8:30, where we got th e results of the MRI, which once again sucked... 5 of them are growing, 3 are stable. So we were told once again that we need to try and get into a clinical trial, so the lady in clinical studies, was beginning to search for us! after the appointment with the dr, we went up to infusion for jason to get chemo, and got done n was out of the hospital by 6! :) after chemo Jason received a new drug, Neulasta, which is used to stimulate the growth of "healthy" white blood cells in the bone marrow, since the chemo lowers all blood counts, and is given as a single injection under the skin {so it stings/burns, unlike when things are injected through the port. no feeling} the symptoms for this chemo are supposed to hit A LOT sooner than the other chemo, about half way thru the first dose, and lasts up to 5-6 weeks later! They are also worried about kidney toxicity. Jason will get blood draws once a week while we are home, so the hospital can keep an eye on his blood counts. After leaving the hospital we went to In n Out for the first time! :) {everyone is surprised by this!!}
Friday, we met with the clinical trial lady and found a trial in Twin Falls, Idaho called them up and got all of Jason's medical history, and reports sent to off to them to find out if we qualify! after meeting with her we finally got to come home! :)
the lovely suite you get when your receiving 7+ hours of chemo
jason's best friend during chemo, "betty box"
In n out
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