Chemo #3 Day 7
Ma's mouth sores are really bothering her. The lidocaine provides a little relief but not enough. She asked for soup tonight because she has difficulty chewing. The cocktail prescribed for her (Nystatin, lidocaine, Benadryl & Maalox) is not a miracle drug and doesn't make the sores heal.
A quick internet search said to try something called CankerMelts. It's a disc made from licorice extract that you put directly on the sore. I bought some tonight along with L-Lysine tablets. Ma wants to wait till tomorrow to try them.
At least she didn't get much pain in her leg today. Her ankle hurt for a while, but it went away on its own. No Darvocet required.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Pain is Right on Schedule
Chemo #3 Day 5
Ma has muscle pain in her left leg. It started yesterday, as I expected. She's taking Darvocet for the pain.
Her mouth sores are back. She used lidocaine before eating to take away the pain. She also rinses with the cocktail of Nystatin, lidocaine, Benadryl, and Maalox that Dr. Irwin prescribed a couple of weeks ago.
I gave Ma a printout on cystitis. If she's not going to drink enough water, she should at least know what symptoms to expect when her bladder gets affected. Blood in the urine and painful urination just don't sound good to me.
I ordered the lightweight wheelchair. It's about 8 lbs. lighter than the one Tita Belen has. The main difference is that Tita Belen's chair has 12" wheels in the back, nice for rough terrain. But the one Ma has is fine for light use. I wanted something really light. It's about 19 lbs. with the footrests and 15 lbs. without. The back folds down in addition to the seat, so it doesn't take up that much room in the trunk. Ate Eva lent me Kuya Rey's wheelchair (probably from Kaiser), but it's about 43 lbs. with the footrests and 35 lbs. without. Plus it's too bulky.
Here's Ma in the wheelchair.
She also likes the rocking chair we got last week at Costco.
Ma has muscle pain in her left leg. It started yesterday, as I expected. She's taking Darvocet for the pain.
Her mouth sores are back. She used lidocaine before eating to take away the pain. She also rinses with the cocktail of Nystatin, lidocaine, Benadryl, and Maalox that Dr. Irwin prescribed a couple of weeks ago.
I gave Ma a printout on cystitis. If she's not going to drink enough water, she should at least know what symptoms to expect when her bladder gets affected. Blood in the urine and painful urination just don't sound good to me.
I ordered the lightweight wheelchair. It's about 8 lbs. lighter than the one Tita Belen has. The main difference is that Tita Belen's chair has 12" wheels in the back, nice for rough terrain. But the one Ma has is fine for light use. I wanted something really light. It's about 19 lbs. with the footrests and 15 lbs. without. The back folds down in addition to the seat, so it doesn't take up that much room in the trunk. Ate Eva lent me Kuya Rey's wheelchair (probably from Kaiser), but it's about 43 lbs. with the footrests and 35 lbs. without. Plus it's too bulky.
Here's Ma in the wheelchair.
She also likes the rocking chair we got last week at Costco.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Chemo Almost Canceled
Chemo #3 Day 1
Ma's chemo almost got canceled today. She's supposed to have a blood test done two days before her chemo. Because she just had one done last Wednesday, we thought that was good enough. It's not. The cancer center wants more recent numbers for her white blood cell and platelet counts. So Ma had her blood drawn yesterday afternoon, but it could take 24 hours to get the results back. The cancer center had actually called this morning to cancel her chemo today, but they called back half an hour later to say the test results came in this morning after all.
It was almost noon when we arrived at the cancer center. First thing they did was give Ma a warm blanket fresh out of the oven. Then they gave her lunch. But Ma doesn't like their lunch, and she ate before leaving the house. She had their soup though.
The nurse gave Ma the usual pre-meds -- Benadryl, Pepcid, Decadron and Zofran. It usually takes a while for the pharmacy to have the meds ready. As a result, the Taxotere wasn't started till 1:30pm. They started it off slowly and checked her vitals every 5 minutes to make sure she doesn't have any bad reactions. After 20 minutes, they bumped up the drip to the normal rate. It took 1.5 hours to finish the Taxotere. The Cytoxan was started around 3:10pm and also took 1.5 hours. We were out of there by 5pm.
I tried an experiment today and had Ma chew on ice while getting her chemo. Some say it might keep her from getting mouth sores. We'll see.
Ma's red blood cell count is too low, so Pa has started her on iron pills. Those pills cause constipation. We're hoping it'll help counteract Ma's diarrhea.
Here's Ma getting her Taxotere.
This is the infusion room at the cancer center after almost all the patients had left. There are 6 recliners. You can see Ma's blanket in the lower left. There's another recliner behind the curtain at the end. As you can see, it's a bit cramped. Thank goodness there usually aren't many guests accompanying the patients. Today I seemed to be the only one, and I was seated beside Ma.
Ma's chemo almost got canceled today. She's supposed to have a blood test done two days before her chemo. Because she just had one done last Wednesday, we thought that was good enough. It's not. The cancer center wants more recent numbers for her white blood cell and platelet counts. So Ma had her blood drawn yesterday afternoon, but it could take 24 hours to get the results back. The cancer center had actually called this morning to cancel her chemo today, but they called back half an hour later to say the test results came in this morning after all.
It was almost noon when we arrived at the cancer center. First thing they did was give Ma a warm blanket fresh out of the oven. Then they gave her lunch. But Ma doesn't like their lunch, and she ate before leaving the house. She had their soup though.
The nurse gave Ma the usual pre-meds -- Benadryl, Pepcid, Decadron and Zofran. It usually takes a while for the pharmacy to have the meds ready. As a result, the Taxotere wasn't started till 1:30pm. They started it off slowly and checked her vitals every 5 minutes to make sure she doesn't have any bad reactions. After 20 minutes, they bumped up the drip to the normal rate. It took 1.5 hours to finish the Taxotere. The Cytoxan was started around 3:10pm and also took 1.5 hours. We were out of there by 5pm.
I tried an experiment today and had Ma chew on ice while getting her chemo. Some say it might keep her from getting mouth sores. We'll see.
Ma's red blood cell count is too low, so Pa has started her on iron pills. Those pills cause constipation. We're hoping it'll help counteract Ma's diarrhea.
Here's Ma getting her Taxotere.
This is the infusion room at the cancer center after almost all the patients had left. There are 6 recliners. You can see Ma's blanket in the lower left. There's another recliner behind the curtain at the end. As you can see, it's a bit cramped. Thank goodness there usually aren't many guests accompanying the patients. Today I seemed to be the only one, and I was seated beside Ma.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Drink More Water
Chemo #2 Day 21
Ma is having her third chemo tomorrow. One of the drugs can cause bladder problems, so she'll have to drink at least four 16 oz. bottles of water a day for several days to flush out the drug. She's been drinking only 2 bottles a day. I tried to make her drink three, but it seems the best she can manage is 2.5 bottles.
Ma is having her third chemo tomorrow. One of the drugs can cause bladder problems, so she'll have to drink at least four 16 oz. bottles of water a day for several days to flush out the drug. She's been drinking only 2 bottles a day. I tried to make her drink three, but it seems the best she can manage is 2.5 bottles.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Food, Food, and More Food
Chemo #2 Day 19
Ma felt well enough to go out to lunch, so we went to Andrea's in Vallejo. The restaurant is co-owned by my high school classmate Joji. Joji had visited Ma when she was still in the hospital and brought lots of food.
I was hoping to pay for our meal before Joji saw us, but no such luck. She let me pay for the dinuguan, puto, daing na bangus and rice, but she wouldn't let me pay for the double order of lechon. Then she brought over ampalaya, pinakbet (kalabasa), a plate of desserts (banana-Q, turon, kariyoka), and melon coolers. Ma ate a lot of food, but we still had lots of leftovers. She really liked the pinakbet, so Joji gave us more to go. She also wouldn't let me pay for the okoy that Ma wanted for later.
Afterwards we stopped at Seafood City for more food. Ma was able to walk a short distance inside the mall although she spent most of the time sitting while we shopped for goodies.
In the afternoon, friends stopped by to visit. They brought nectarines, giant peaches and corn. Another friend stopped by with paksiw na lechon and more corn. And then another friend stopped by with arroz caldo.
Ma was so full from her lunch that she didn't eat much dinner. If she keeps eating as much as she did today, maybe she can put on a couple of pounds by her next chemo on Wednesday.
Ma felt well enough to go out to lunch, so we went to Andrea's in Vallejo. The restaurant is co-owned by my high school classmate Joji. Joji had visited Ma when she was still in the hospital and brought lots of food.
I was hoping to pay for our meal before Joji saw us, but no such luck. She let me pay for the dinuguan, puto, daing na bangus and rice, but she wouldn't let me pay for the double order of lechon. Then she brought over ampalaya, pinakbet (kalabasa), a plate of desserts (banana-Q, turon, kariyoka), and melon coolers. Ma ate a lot of food, but we still had lots of leftovers. She really liked the pinakbet, so Joji gave us more to go. She also wouldn't let me pay for the okoy that Ma wanted for later.
Afterwards we stopped at Seafood City for more food. Ma was able to walk a short distance inside the mall although she spent most of the time sitting while we shopped for goodies.
In the afternoon, friends stopped by to visit. They brought nectarines, giant peaches and corn. Another friend stopped by with paksiw na lechon and more corn. And then another friend stopped by with arroz caldo.
Ma was so full from her lunch that she didn't eat much dinner. If she keeps eating as much as she did today, maybe she can put on a couple of pounds by her next chemo on Wednesday.
Friday, August 1, 2008
A Trip to Costco
Chemo #2 Day 17
Tita Belen, Tito Pepe, and Ate Vicky stopped by today, just in time for lunch. They brought dim sum and bangus. We also had pusit, bistig and monggo soup. Ate Vicky commented that Ma ate a lot. They stayed for about 2 hours.
Afterwards we went to the oncologist (Dr. Irwin) for Ma's follow-up appointment. Her triglycerides and uric acid levels are way too high. Pa will give her the appropriate medications. She must be taking about 20 pills a day now. Most of those she was already taking before she got cancer.
I asked Dr. Irwin if I can give Ma acidophilus for her diarrhea/soft stools. He said it was okay, so I got her a bottle of pills today. Acidophilus is the stuff you find in yogurt. It restores the good bacteria in your stomach.
After the appointment, we went to Costco to find a comfortable chair for Ma. We had borrowed Tita Belen's wheelchair. It worked quite well, and Ma found it comfortable. At Costco, Ma didn't like the recliner, but she liked the rocking chair. When Pa tried to pay for it, he discovered he didn't bring his checkbook. They wouldn't take my check. We didn't have enough cash. Neither one of us had a debit card, and they don't take credit cards. Fortunately we ran into a patient of Pa's, Rafael, and he kindly lent us $100. I wrote him a check to cover it. Whew! Pa will borrow a truck from friends and pick up the rocking chair tomorrow morning.
After we paid for our other purchases at Costco, we followed Rafael to his house because he had some peaches he wanted to give us. He has a big house in the hills of El Cerrito. His garden has lots of fruit trees. He also has a pet hen that lays lots of eggs. Yep, it was a free-range chicken. I even got to pet it without getting pecked. We went home with peaches and lemons from Rafael's trees and brown eggs from his chicken.
Tita Belen, Tito Pepe, and Ate Vicky stopped by today, just in time for lunch. They brought dim sum and bangus. We also had pusit, bistig and monggo soup. Ate Vicky commented that Ma ate a lot. They stayed for about 2 hours.
Afterwards we went to the oncologist (Dr. Irwin) for Ma's follow-up appointment. Her triglycerides and uric acid levels are way too high. Pa will give her the appropriate medications. She must be taking about 20 pills a day now. Most of those she was already taking before she got cancer.
I asked Dr. Irwin if I can give Ma acidophilus for her diarrhea/soft stools. He said it was okay, so I got her a bottle of pills today. Acidophilus is the stuff you find in yogurt. It restores the good bacteria in your stomach.
After the appointment, we went to Costco to find a comfortable chair for Ma. We had borrowed Tita Belen's wheelchair. It worked quite well, and Ma found it comfortable. At Costco, Ma didn't like the recliner, but she liked the rocking chair. When Pa tried to pay for it, he discovered he didn't bring his checkbook. They wouldn't take my check. We didn't have enough cash. Neither one of us had a debit card, and they don't take credit cards. Fortunately we ran into a patient of Pa's, Rafael, and he kindly lent us $100. I wrote him a check to cover it. Whew! Pa will borrow a truck from friends and pick up the rocking chair tomorrow morning.
After we paid for our other purchases at Costco, we followed Rafael to his house because he had some peaches he wanted to give us. He has a big house in the hills of El Cerrito. His garden has lots of fruit trees. He also has a pet hen that lays lots of eggs. Yep, it was a free-range chicken. I even got to pet it without getting pecked. We went home with peaches and lemons from Rafael's trees and brown eggs from his chicken.
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