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Saturday, February 20, 2010

2 down 4 more to go

So Dr. A was very upset that mom wasn't eating well. She's lost weight and is now 93 pounds.

They tweaked her nausea medications and she is taking compazine, zofran, dexomethazone, and other drugs to help her w/ her nerves and bowels and all sorts of stuff.

She ate some toast today, some jello, half an egg. Now she's going to eat some rice and chicken and even soft veggies.

We are taking it slow for now, giving her 6 small meals. Now that she can actually keep stuff down we can think about meal plans, how much, how often, accommodate her changing tastes.

I really want to try and give her an Insure and Ice cream milk shake. Of course we'll have to thin it out because milk and diary products have always been a little harsh on her stomach.

She got up today and did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen table, even peeled some potatoes. Today is a good day so far.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Nausea and chemo update

Went to DFCI today with mom to see the Nurse Practioner. My friend came to the rescue today and really came through with transportation in the early morning. We were at the hospital today from 9-4. They gave her IV fluids and nausea meds for 4 hours.

Tomorrow morning my aunt is going with the help of our friends (thank you Raemon bhai) for mom's second chemo treatment.

She has been throwing up since Saturday the 13th. The chemo is not the cause of it since Gemzar has side effects but not THIS severe. I ran into Dr. A when getting some food today in the cafeteria (I was zoning out and he actually startled me) and he said this nausea is due to the tumor itself. The obstructions in her pancreatic ducts are the major problem. They don't want to delay the treatment. It could really help her. Her blood counts are fine so they feel comfortable proceeding.

Her NP helped tweak her nausea regimen and we put her on some new stuff (4 new things). They're not working tonight...we'll see what happens tomorrow.

It is time for bed, I shall update after her second chemo infusion tomorrow.
Inshallah this nausea will go away. I want her to be able to eat more than a popsicle.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Week following 1st chemo

Hi everyone, here's a short update on how mom's doing after her first chemo treatment. She's been vomiting everyday for four days so far so we're trying a new drug added onto her regimen, something she can take at bedtime.

Her second appointment is this Friday the 19th early in the morning. A good friend of ours is helping us get there (I truly don't know what we would do without all our friends' support). This week is my turn to go w/ mom to chemo, last week Parveen went.


The nurses and doctors at DF have been great, and very good about returning calls. If she does go into the hospital again, I'll update you all as soon as possible.