MRI and treatment #6

Well, I guess I should jump to the important part first - the MRI did not show significant size reduction, so I will be doing 12 more weeks of chemo.

Slowing down a bit from that news, I will say that the last round of AC really made me much more tired. I took 12 days after the treatment until I felt more energy, where the others took me about 5 or 6. Maybe it was because I was anxious about the upcoming MRI, but I just was very tired. Then on Monday morning, I developed jaw and tooth problems. At first, it felt like my TMJ used to, with my jaw having trouble aligning, then my right jaw and lower molars hurt a lot. I started taking Tylenol, which helped enough that I could eat soft foods. Then I ran out of Tylenol and asked Frank to go the local pharmacy to pick some up, but it was already closed. Shoutout to neighbor Cormac, who came driving over in yucky weather with a bottle of Tylenol - thanks, Cormac! I started doing trigger point massage therapy on my jaw which helped some too. Then on Wednesday, when I went down for the MRI, it stopped hurting at all for the rest of the evening. It is getting better every day. If it continues, I'll go to the dentist, but I think it might be a reaction to some new foods I ate.

The MRI went pretty smoothly. I lay face down, with my breasts hanging down in two holes, and my arms up like Superman. I asked for extra padding over the forehead which helped that not to hurt, but my shoulders hurt a lot, especially the one with the blood clot, because I can feel it most when my arms are up. Anyway, I managed not to move, and I guess I breathed OK - that always confuses me!

We stayed with our daughter Jenny and her partner Jon in Waltham that evening, since they are much closer to the treatment center in Chestnut Hill. Enjoyed a lovely dinner Jon made, and hung out a bit before bed. Up the next morning and off to treatment.

First I got the IV inserted, which went well. We met with the oncologist who told us that even though we can feel a significant size reduction, the results from the MRI didn't show that we should stop, let me cry a bit, then explained the new treatment. I'll be getting Taxol every week for 12 weeks, and on top of that, every 3 weeks, I'll be getting immunotherapy and carboplatin (which they nickname platinum). One of the possible side effects is neuropathy (numbness or tingling in hands and feet), so I brought frozen gel packs in mittens and socks to try to prevent that in my hands and feet. It affects fast dividing cells the most, like in nerves in fingers and toes, but if you cool them down, during the treatment, they don't divide as fast.

Next we walked to the infusion area. We had Michelle this time. She gave me saline, anti-nausea drugs Dex, Pepsid, and Zofran (apparently this chemo combo is often worse than the AC with nausea, so I have to take more at home too), then Pembro and Benadryl in the IV before starting the Taxol. The Benadryl is because many patients have allergic reactions during the infusion of Taxol. She started pushing it in then asked if I was feeling sleepy. I laughed and said no, does it really work that fast? She said it does when put in the IV. A minute or two later I said something to Frank, and I couldn't form words well and was mumbling, and soon after started getting tired. 

15 minutes before the Taxol started, Frank helped me put on the cold mittens and socks. I thought it would be horrible, but it wasn't too bad! Maybe because I was loopy because of the Benadryl. He changed them out to a new pair every 20 minutes or so (we brought 3 sets, and put them back to re-cool when done). We kept them on until the last infusion (Carboplatin) was done, so maybe 1 1/2 hours. I didn't have any issues with reactions or nausea, so she was able to set them to go in fast, so it took a lot less time overall than we were told to expect - less than 3 hours. Michell asked me if I was going to need a wheelchair. I managed to wake up enough to get to the car, hanging onto Frank the whole way! And he was a trooper, carrying all the supplies too: our picnic cooler full of the freezer packs, mittens and socks; my bag of things to keep me busy (which I didn't use at all because of the Benadryl); my snacks and water; and his bag. By the time I got home and ate something, I was feeling better.

Today I've felt pretty good, but noticed on my walk with my friend Jon, I was very slow - 25 1/2 minutes per mile!

Jenny giving Piggy and Kathy a good send-off before treatment!

Kathy with her cold mittens and gloves on.

Hope the video works - it's of me very loopy after the Benadryl!