Finishing? Chemo ; Independence Day

This is the week my wife finishes her chemotherapy. It's seems to me a very ironic and strangely pleasing that the end of this step in my wife's treatment is falling in the general time of Independence Day. I do feel a certain sense of new independence, and relief. I know the road ahead is still going to be eventful and unknown, but I am very thankful that this particular ordeal is over. I must say this experience has both changed and reinforced some of my views of healthcare facilities in general. It is a well know fact that, King Hostile doesn't "DO" doctors. To my much appreciated surprise I found several of the professionals the did and did not fit in my normal Medical Clowns categories. I found the particular group from the infusion center to be caring and compassionate. I know everyone that goes through this must be as worried and confused as my wife and myself. I found it very odd that even a lot of the actual doctors showed little or no care in the questions that were foremost important to us. I got more information about the real effects and whats to be expected from the crew at the infusion center, than from any other source we had available.
     I am so thankful that this process has been a lot easier for her than I had imagine. I guess it's always best to pray for the best and expect the worst and reality falls somewhere in between. Still at this point she has yet to lose control of her nausea to point of vomiting. She was very set on being one of the few, if not the only person, to go through this process without vomiting. i still don't really understand why this was so important to her but I am glad she achieved this goal if she wanted to. The last treatment falls where she will miss one of the Nuepogen shots that she is given after each treatment. Today being Independence day the breast center is closed so she will begin the regime again tomorrow. I will relate how this affects her treatment in a later post.
     That's all for now I think I will take the rest of the day to relax with my wife, and play some 8 Ball on Google game with her.

Closing Doors???

"Sometime we concentrate on closing doors, to the point we don't see others when they open."

Sometime we concentrate on closing doors, to the point we don't see others when they open. I have heard this saying many times throughout my life yet really until rec3ently I had really not understood fully how true this really is. The discovery of my wife's cancer lead to her being able to finally receive some of the other much needed health care she has needed before the discovery. Her insurance only covers certain things and some of her problems were not covered. We have since found many systems of support in place for cancer victims and survivors. Many of these places offer counseling, financial aide, and even transportation to and from the multiple visits that are required to various health care facilities. We only took part in the programs we truly needed as not to over tax the system for others with the same needs. I can only hope others in the system try also to observe this practice in order to keep these entities in place since they do so very much good for the community they serve.

One of the other doors that opened seems to be opened since this discovery is a newly rekindled closeness to her father. Without going into great detail since our marriage my wife's father had for the most part dis-owned her. It had been over 10years since they had spoken face to face. I was very proud to have been present when he did appear at her hospital room door with a smile for her and even a few kind words. I do believe there are more "opening doors" to come and I do believe they will be very important and much needed.

Chemo begins.

First treatment in a series of 4(four) 4,30,2012 
In the visit prior to beginning her chemo therapy, we were introduced to the nurse that would be in charge of my wife's treatment throughout the entire series of treatments. I think that is a very important detail to keep the same person throughout. In all honesty this is one of the first things I have been really pleased to learn about. It seems a lot of the people providing these services really have no idea of any background or personal connection with their patients. That is not the case when your introduced into the Harbin Clinic Infusion Suites. Each case is designated one nurse, In our recent visit we were introduced my wife's case manager, "Sheri". I was very impressed with Sheri, she seems to have a lot more "REAL" experience with the patients than the doctors themselves do. One of the things I noticed most about her in relation to some of the other "professionals" we have met in this journey, is her ability to actually listen and at least try to answer the questions both my wife and myself have. I have in several instances asked questions of several of care givers we have encountered to only be given what I refer to as "pat" answers. I can say without any doubt, out of all of the others thus far involved in my wife's treatment, Sheri has never once given us a"pat" answer.

During this same visit we were told exactly what to expect from each following visit and how to prepare for them. Preparation for each visit is as important as the chemo itself. Each visit requires her to prepare by taking a powerful anti nausea medication twice a day one(1) day before, on the day of, and one(1) day after each treatment. Following each treatment she will receive one(1) shot per day for 3 to 5 days following the chemo, these shots help to increase her white blood count to aid in the healing process.

Each treatment begins with the first IV being another form of nausea medication, it takes around sixty(60) minutes for the first infusion to take place. Once the first infusion is completed then the first infusion of the actual chemo therapy medication can begin, this particular infusion takes only about thirty(30) minutes to complete. During this second infusion the nurse stays with my wife for the first (15) minutes to insure she has no ill reactions to the medication. We had been informed that around 12% of the people receiving this type of chemo therapy will have an adverse reaction that must be addressed immediately, requiring the nurses full attention be on her patient during this time. once this bag of medication is received she receivers the final infusion of the day it is the secondary part of the actual chemo therapy, this again takes around sixty(60) minutes to complete.

Upon our return home from the first treatment my wife seems to be in fair condition she, didn't really become nauseous until about 12 hours after her treatment. Thus far her side effects have been minimal, more so worry and and fear of the unknown has affected her the most.