Our Christmas was immediately followed by a trip to
Texas to attend the wedding of my niece's youngest daughter. We got off the plane to a cloudy day of 27
degrees and snow on the ground.
Brrr....! Everywhere we went
people were sick with colds or still coughing from a recent one. The next day after our arrival we were both
getting sick. I travel with antibiotics
to take the minute I have a fever and always wear a mask on the plan, so I
recovered quickly. Steve's cold was a
little worse and he ended up on antibiotics when we got home. So thankful I was still able to get my first
infusion of the new treatment on the 5th when we returned! My UCSF doc had me refill my antibiotics and
take it for a second week as some of the side effects from the new drug are in
the respiratory system.
The first infusion was a long, rough day; but I
was at peace thanks to the prayers of so many.
The nurse thanked me at the end of the day for not panicking when I
started reacting to the infusion.
Pre-meds are given before the infusion begins - 650 mg Tylenol, 25 mg
benadryl and 4 mg Dexamethasone. Thought
I was going to be able to avoid the Dex, but it is still a part of this
treatment even though a lower dose and it has to be taken on the day of the
infusion and for the 2 days following.
On the first day, side effects are most often expected within the first
1 1/2 hours of the infusion. I made it
55 minutes. Then the chest tightened, I
started to cough, got nauseated.
Infusion was stopped and was given more steroids and benadryl. Then I got the shaking chills. Six layers of warm blankets didn't help. So Demerol was given and they soon
stopped. After an hour, they began again
at a slow pace and gradually increased the rate until they were at the maximum.
It was a 12-hour day - checking in at 7:15 and leaving around that time in the
evening. We are continuing to drive to
San Francisco every week as my local cancer center is not ready with this new
treatment yet.
Tuesdays continue to be a long day for us. As a precaution, due to the infusion reaction
on the first day, they continued to dilute my drug in a 1000 ml IV bag, which
is normally only done the first day.
Since I have had no more difficulty, this past week it was diluted in
the 500 mg bag. Now my infusions will only take about 6 1/2 hours once they
begin. Lab work is done first. Then when those results are available they
give the pre-meds. The infusion begins
an hour later. It's still a long day,
but not quite as long. We've been going
to bed at 6:00 pm on Mondays and leaving home around 2:00 am to avoid the
morning traffic. I pack our food for the
day so we eat some "breakfast" when we arrive. One more week of this schedule, then we can
have a later appointment in the morning and leave home around 6:30 am. Our return will be after dinner and a little
later in the evening; again hoping to avoid the heaviest traffic.
We should know by the end of next week if the
treatment is working.
Please pray for our safety on the road with the
long travel days and distance.
