Friday, April 29, 2011

The Treatment Plan

   Yesterday Eric and I woke up early and headed to the doctors office for a chemo class. We spent a couple of hours there learning more about what to expect with chemo therapy. We arrived and were taken into a conference room with one other couple. A gentleman came in and turned on a movie for us to learn about the side effects of chemo. It went over all the possibilities on what people have experienced. Some of the side effects are fatique, hair loss, diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite, skin & nail problems, constipation, and mouth sores. The movie went over helpful tips on how to cope with these things, and when we need to alert the doctor of the situation for help. After the video we waited for a nurse to come in and talk with us. While waiting we talked with the other couple in the room. They were a bit older then us, but were obviously going through some of the same emotions with the experience of being diagnosed. She made the comment of how quickly your world can be turned upside down and I would certainly have to agree.
   The nurse soon came in to address questions and further information. I felt bad for Eric because she went over some specifics on the type of chemo Eric and the other man would be receiving and unfortunatley it sounds like Eric's is going to be a bit more intense. We soon had our questions answered, and were shown out to the waiting room for our doctor to see us. As we waited a nice lady that is a patient came over to talk to Eric and I, she was curious which one of us had cancer, and offered her words of encouragement. She has been cancer free for nearly 5 years. She told us that while she was going through chemo she learned quickly that she was fortunate as most surrounding her were much older and the purpose of their chemo was to prolong their lives. She encouraged Eric saying that he is much younger than even she was and he would find the inner strength to fight, and he would overcome this. It is so nice, that strangers can walk up to you and offer their support and strength. I have never seen such kindness between strangers. Never in a million years sitting sick in an average doctors office would anyone come up and ask you what you are sick with and encourage you to be strong. It is a powerful thing to hear these words from others that have been there. I am impressed by the kindness and compassion that I have seen in this last week.
    We then met with the doctor, he confirmed that Eric's tumor markers are still rapidly increasing. His Beta HCG was up to 36,000 where before surgery it was around 11,000. He has suggested that we move forward with chemo starting Monday in an effort to kill off as much cancer throughout his body. Surgery at this point would not be the correct move to make as that is only removing cancer from the lymph nodes that are showing large enough masses to be seen on the CT scan. He said that there is no real way of seeing everywhere that cancer cells are throughout the body, so they need to treat his entire body first to try and control the situation before doing surgery. With all of the information Eric's cancer is classified at Stage 111B. This was scary to see as the only stage below it is Stage 111C. The doctor was very kind and took the time to show us how they come to understand what stage he is in, and offered us time to look over the information. He didn't want us to leave until he came back to talk with us to make sure all of our concerns were addressed. He was so kind once again to give us his time, even though we did not have an appointment scheduled with him, he was still patient and made sure we left confident in the things he went over.
   So thats the plan, we start chemo on Monday. He will do 4 regiments of chemo, each regiment is a 21 day cycle. So week 1: he will go in Monday through Friday, week 2: he will go in on Tuesday, week 3: he will go in on Tuesday. They will repeat this cycle 3 more times. So it lookds like he will be doing chemo until mid July.
    After we left the doctors office, it was once again an emotional time. Eric and I are both scared of whats ahead. They can tell you all of the side effects and try and give you as many pointers as possible, but we still do not know how Eric will respond, since it is different for everyone. The reality of all of this is setting in quickly on how hard this is going to be. I left grateful for the knowledge of the gospel, so thankful that we can turn to our Father in Heaven in prayer and ask for his help. I would imagine that there are many that have done this without that knowledge and I wonder how they got through such a trying time? We are fortunate.
    Once arriving home, I called Eric's mom to see if they would be willing to come and help us this next week. They offered their support and willingly agreed to come and help. Eric and I are both nervous for what this next week will bring, and wanted to have the assurance of having someone here to fall back on. That way I can go with Eric when he wants me to, and someone can be here with Kaizen, without having the stress of trying to ask someone to watch him and making those arrangements. (Our friends have been a huge support and I know they would have so willingly taken on this responsibily, but I think it will just be nice to have the help right here in our home so we can pick up and go as needed) We are seriously so fortunate to have some many rooting for us! We have an awesome family and friends! We ended the day well, both tired and ready for another good nights rest!

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