Starting chemo on April 26th.
This Thursday I had an appointment to see my oncologist. Last time I was there, I weighed about 150 pounds. I had lost about 15 pounds since my surgery and was having a hard time gaining it back. During the last visit, the doctor said he wanted me to gain about 10 lbs before starting chemo up again, and to come back three weeks later. Well, Thursday was three weeks later.
I had my blood tested, which I do every time. They jab my finger with a needle, take a small sample and test mainly for red blood cell, white blood cell and platelets count. This time they were all fine. My platelets were extremely high when I first came back from the hospital (over 900, and the sage range is 150-450). This time everything was normal. Even the platelet count was well within range (205).
After the blood test, I was led to the examining room and waited for the doctor. He came in and said that I was looking pretty good, and with the weight I gained (I am back up to about 160), I could go ahead and start my chemo treatments again. Now, I know what you are thinking, "Boy, I bet you weren't glad to hear that". Well, I was. I don't like the chemo, but the sooner I get it started, the sooner I get it over with. And instead of the 4 treatments that were left after my initial two done in Dec and Jan, the doctor said I should probably only do 3. Sounds good to me. that means my last day would be Jun 20. I then went ahead and scheduled a time with the nurser. I start again on Monday, April 26th. That day I will start taking the oral Xeloda, which I will take twice a day for two weeks, then have a week off. That day I will also have an IV infusion of Oxaliplatin. That is the chemo that really wipes me out for about a week. I only get that once every three weeks.
Since I knew when my chemo was starting, I knew when I would be finished with it. So I called Dr. Sugarbaker's office to see if I could schedule my next and final surgery. This one would be a combine exploratory and ileostomy reversal. At first the doctor said he could do it on Aug 3rd. Why so late, you ask. First of all, he requires that surgery take place at least 4 weeks after finishing chemo. Second, he is a very busy man and does a lot of surgeries. That was the only time after July 20th he had available.
I asked if they were sure they couldn't do it sooner. Then they suggested instead of 3 rounds of chemo, I only do two (which means I would finish on May 30th and the surgery would take place on July 6th. That sounded great to me, so I told them yes, as long as my oncologist agrees. I will ask him on Monday when I go in to start chemo.
I am excited about this next surgery, because they will finally reverse this ileostomy, and I can begin to get back to normal. This surgery should also be easier (as long as they don't need to use chemo) and the recovery period shorter that the last two. It still won't be easy, as it will be the third major abdominal surgery in 9 months, but it'll be easier than the last one.
So, if you are reading this and you are a praying person, please pray that my oncologist agrees to the two rounds of chemo and that I can get the surgery in July.
Thank you.
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