Chemo: Round One, Week Two

Mom completed her second week of chemo treatments today. Thank you for all your prayers, this week things went much more smoothly for her. Her veins were easy to find, the iv was placed quickly, and the whole process took only two and half hours- much quicker than last time. We are so thankful that things went better than last week.

Mom has been experiencing some unpleasant side effects from the chemo, but overall this last week was much better than any of the previous few weeks. I would say she had probably 5 "good" days in the last week, compared to 2-3 good days per week in the weeks since I have been home. On a good day Mom is able to get outside and sit in the fresh air, or even get out of the house and go to the store, the park, or the beach for a few hours. She needs to get a lot of rest, even on a good day, but it is encouraging to see her be able to enjoy herself some. She is in pain every day, but she has generally figured out how much medicine to take to take the edge off and make it tolerable without knocking herself out completely. This has made a huge difference. The most important positive change I've seen in the past week is in mom's ability to eat a little more. She still isn't able to eat enough to maintain her weight, but she has had an increase in the amount and variety of food that she can tolerate and has been mostly able to keep it down.

Please pray:

That the tumor would shrink

For an end to her nausea, increased caloric intake, and weight gain

For no blistering/mouth sores

For more "good" days for this week

That her red/white blood cell counts would remain healthy (so she can continue treatment)

Getting some snuggles: