Stay the Course

We, are in the chemo trenches. Nothing much changes week to week as we undergo the ups and downs of 'the process' of chemo and cancer treatment. Overall this is a great outcome.

We'll continue to share a few details here as the weeks roll on...

XRay Vision?

Here's Melisa's update from a few days ago on social. She keeps telling me that she's bound to have a positive side effect eventually and she'll be like a super hero:

Round 4, week 3 - NO CHEMO this week. Was not expecting that. Every Week before chemo I get blood drawn for testing so that I can get approved for chemo. My blood work this week showed that my white blood cell count was very low and my bone marrow needs a break to rebuild more white blood cells. My doctor reminded me that most patients can’t do the 3 weeks on, 1 week off. It is very difficult on the body. I was able to do it successfully for 3 months. So now I get 2 weeks off of chemo to help my body recovery. Next Thursday I go in for more scans and then discuss the results of the scans with the doctor on the 26th. I am scheduled to start chemo round 5 on the 26th but we will see what they say.

"Felt pretty good most of the week last week. My ankles are swollen…welcome cankles (new side effect), my finger tips are so tender, vision is always changing and just learning to live with over all body aches and fatigue. All things I can deal with. I am stilling waiting for an awesome side effect like X-ray vision or to be able to communicate with animals. I can’t wait to see how good I feel without chemo for 2 weeks…I am so excited!!"

Random Side Effects

We thought we had it figured out - but side effects are like spinning the wheel every week. As above, new ones pop up as we figure out known ones. So far it's all things Melisa is able to deal with.

The one steady side effect is the fatigue - but she's pushed through even that far enough to do some 'normal' activities like do some hiking. With family in town last week we were able to hike down to Tonto Bridge. It was good times, and she just took it slow and did well. We love Tonto Bridge, and Melisa reflected that while difficult it was good to feel normal for the day and join in on activities.

Next Scans and Results

This process is like the picture above. Doable, like climbing massive flights of stairs is 'doable' - and Melisa is taking each step one at a time, over and over each week.

We have the chemo break she mentioned here (above), and more scans scheduled this week. We should have results by next Tuesday. Melisa says she has decided that's she's cancer free so ... She's not sure what the scans will show except maybe nothing, or super powers. In all seriousness - we are just moving through it and certainly hope for good results we can report to you all next week.

We appreciate the continued support from all of you, and will report again as soon as we can.