Two Steps Forward.....One Step Back

It's a chemo day....so mom gets to blog. The day started out per normal. Our chemo day regiment has been the same the previous 2 times and we saw no reason for this one to be any different. We usually grab some breakfast so Kaitlyn can take an anti-nausea pill that is part of a tri-pak. The pill has to be taken with some food on chemo day and then she takes one pill for the next two days after chemo. One hour before chemo begins we rub some of the numbing creme on Kaitlyn's port and then cover it with press and seal saran wrap. It's not a fashion statement most people want to make but the wrap keeps her clothing from becoming stained.

We arrive at Dr Newton's office and the nurses immediately begin prepping Kaitlyn for chemo. They insert the intravenous tubes into Kaitlyn's port and draw blood. Her blood has to be checked each and every time before chemo can begin. Can't start the process till we know what her white cell count looks like first. With the blood off to the the lab, we wait in one of the exam rooms for Dr. Newton to arrive. We meet first with one of Dr Newton's interms. He goes thru the list of questions (any adverse side effects, how's the nausea, fatigue, etc...). When Dr. Newton arrives she goes thru Kaitlyn's responses and then answers any questions we might have. Lastly, she checks the lump in Kaitlyn's breast. It's the last part that changes everything today.

It seems the lump has not changed in size at all. Which means the chemo isn't doing what it was intended to do. So, we have to change the chemo regiment. Enter Taxotere. It will now become the third chemo drug in Kaitlyn's drug equation. Instead of having one more round of AC, we will now have ACT every three weeks for 7more rounds. So today, after the the other two drugs are given, a bag of Taxotere is hung. It takes a full hour for it to drip thru. In addition, Kaitlyn is given more steroids to help with Kaitlyn's absorption of this chemo drug. In all chemo takes a little over three hours to complete and we spend a total of four and a half hours at the infusion center.

We will continue to monitor the lump thru another round of ACT. If there is still no change, then surgery could happen sooner. If you remember, the goal of chemo first before surgery, was to shrink that tumor. So if chemo isn't doing that then instead of adding additional drugs or changing the regiment again, surgery now... chemo later might be a more viable option. We will make that decision when it becomes necessary.

How is Kaitlyn handling all of this? Well to be frank (and hopefully not to offend any of you) she's pretty pissed off right now! Like she told us today..."I'm fighting pretty hard right now, so chemo needs to get it's act together and do what it's suppose to". Her dad and My's opinion is this in a nutshell...there is absolutely no reason to put her thru the whole process if chemo isn't doing what it was suppose to do. Surgery will happen no matter what, so it will just happen faster then anticipated.

Right now we just don't know what for certain the next step will be. We do know that Kaitlyn will have her next round of chemo on August 5th. And aside from that we know that this last round was somewhat grueling for her. She was pretty wiped out within an hour of completing it and was glad for the anti-nausea medicine prescribed for her.

So, she's resting right now and getting ready to be back at work tomorrow. She's hoping to celebrate her brother's birthday with him this weekend. Have I mentioned how much we appreciate Scott being there thru all of this? Today, he kept the Grandmas company while we were in the exam room, went over Kaitlyn's blood work with us (her results were better than last time), brought us up to speed on the new chemo drug (he had made a dose of this type in chem lab just this year), helped his sister with her IV pole when she had to use the restroom, did the Sudoko puzzle and the Cryptoquip in the Rochester Sentinel on his own in record time, got coffee for Grandma Thomas and himself, and entertained us with golf commentary on the British Open! Love, love, love that boy!! I know his sister will probably comment on that in her next blog.

Until then, thanks again for reading our posts, making comments on our blog, and most importantly, keeping Kaitlyn in your prayers!!

Love, Peace and Hope,
Lisa