Yesterday mom had her first treatment. My cousin Parveen went with her to the treatment and it took forever. They were there from 2pm--6pm. I met them there after work and we all went home together.
Last night she was fine. She ate, she slept, she was alert, a little tired.
This morning at 8am she was up and walking around, she helped my aunt make broccoli.
She then took a long nap and then the visiting nurse came. During this time we should've fed her, there was a 5 hour gap between breakfast. We thought that it was best to let her rest.
When she took her afternoon dose of morphine and reglan (the anti-nausea med) she drank a whole glass of water. This sudden influx of water on an empty stomach made her vomit. So we will have to make sure she eats more frequently.
Since then she's had some ice cream, crackers and the like. For dinner she didn't eat much. She had some soup that aunt made her but not too much of it. She didn't feel very well and was queasy tonight. We're taking it slow and I just hope whatever she did eat she keeps down.
Tomorrow I will try to make her some Bangali custard (otherwise known as )
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Routine check--in w/ DFCI
We went to Dana Farber Cancer Institute today instead of the Faulkner. It is much closer.
Today we found that mom weighs 99 pounds. They drew two vials of blood for tests before chemo.
Mt. Auburn said her thyroid was off but Dr.A thinks it's the least of her problems. He wants to tackle the cancer first.
They have increased her pain patch (fentanyl).
She is eating solids but what is happening is the cancer is using up a lot of her nutrients So she needs to eat way more than she is. The problem is of course her appetite.
He prescribed a drug for her appetite. We will try that tonight. Today I want to thank Zaman uncle for driving us to the appointment and back. He was a tremendous help.
So the plan is every friday we go in for an infusion of Gemzar (gemcitibine) and the last week of Feb. going into March she is off the chemo. Then they will do another three weeks on and one week off (that whole thing is a cycle...3 weeks on one week off). After two cycles they may do a CT scan or he said they will assess her condition but how she's eating, her pain, other symptoms.
The doctor reached over and held her hand several times. He was a little surprised to see her in a wheelchair but Zaman uncle thought it would be best that she don't walk around all over the hospital. He was right.
He's a great doctor. I really like him.
One of the weeks we will be seeing the NP instead of the MD but that will obviously be OK. One of the Fridays we have a date with a nutritionist. I definitely want to be there for that one.
Ok, I will write more when I have something more. Inshallah it'll just be good news :-)
The family feels all sorts of things about chemotherapy Friday. I just hope it helps.
Today we found that mom weighs 99 pounds. They drew two vials of blood for tests before chemo.
Mt. Auburn said her thyroid was off but Dr.A thinks it's the least of her problems. He wants to tackle the cancer first.
They have increased her pain patch (fentanyl).
She is eating solids but what is happening is the cancer is using up a lot of her nutrients So she needs to eat way more than she is. The problem is of course her appetite.
He prescribed a drug for her appetite. We will try that tonight. Today I want to thank Zaman uncle for driving us to the appointment and back. He was a tremendous help.
So the plan is every friday we go in for an infusion of Gemzar (gemcitibine) and the last week of Feb. going into March she is off the chemo. Then they will do another three weeks on and one week off (that whole thing is a cycle...3 weeks on one week off). After two cycles they may do a CT scan or he said they will assess her condition but how she's eating, her pain, other symptoms.
The doctor reached over and held her hand several times. He was a little surprised to see her in a wheelchair but Zaman uncle thought it would be best that she don't walk around all over the hospital. He was right.
He's a great doctor. I really like him.
One of the weeks we will be seeing the NP instead of the MD but that will obviously be OK. One of the Fridays we have a date with a nutritionist. I definitely want to be there for that one.
Ok, I will write more when I have something more. Inshallah it'll just be good news :-)
The family feels all sorts of things about chemotherapy Friday. I just hope it helps.
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