Three down, three to go

Yesterday, I had my third of six chemo treatments, and all went well.  I’m pretty much on a steroid high today, with rosy red cheeks to prove it.  Paul had planned to be out of town for this session, so my dear friend Lisa took me.  She was a gem.  We chatted.  She entertained herself while I napped (and snored), and she brought me my favorite sandwich from Alon’s for lunch.  I couldn’t have asked for a better companion in Paul’s absence.

And, speaking of Paul’s absence, for those of you who haven’t yet heard, he had an emergency appendectomy on Saturday.  He’d been having symptoms for nearly a week but wrote them off to indigestion, but when he couldn’t sleep Friday night because of intense discomfort and was running a fever over 101, he knew something was wrong.  So, off to the emergency room we went.  The surgeon thought, at first, that he could do the surgery laparoscopically, but after getting Paul into the operating room, he realized Paul’s anatomy wasn’t suited for a laparoscopic procedure.  Consequently, he had to convert to a laparotomy and made a 12-inch incision to remove the infected appendix.  Paul had to stay in the hospital for four days and can’t go back to work for two weeks.  He’s resting comfortably at home now and hasn’t needed any pain medication since yesterday, but he’s very fatigued.  On the upside, we couldn’t have chosen a better week to have meals brought to us.  Even though I’m feeling good today, I know my down days will be tomorrow through Saturday, and with Paul laid up too, having a nourishing meal brought to us is a tremendous help!  Many, many thanks to those of you who have signed up to feed our family.  I can’t tell you how much it means to us.

Before my next chemo session scheduled for July 9th, I’ll have another PET/CT to get a look at the progress I’ve made.  As I’ve mentioned earlier, if the presence of cancer in my lungs has at least stabilized — or even better started to disappear — we’ll continue with the same protocol.  If it’s gotten worse, we’ll try something different.  Even though it’s diagnostic ability is limited, my CA-125 marker has encouragingly dropped, indicating less cancer in my body, so that’s definitely a good indicator of progress.

So, Paul and I are both taking it easy.  Although I wish it were under different circumstances, it’s really nice to have him with me all day.  Two peas in a pod.

Well, that’s all the news that’s fit to report.  Thanks again for all the support from you dear readers.  It lifts my spirits more than you’ll ever know.