Update and Progress

The Chemo treatments

     Peggy has now had her 4th round of Chemo.  The first one was bad, she said it was like a 3 day bad acid trip.  The last three haven't been as bad, but the Chemo really wipes her out.  She takes a treatment every other week and they last 3 days.  We go to the cancer center and they administer one type that last 2 hours.  Then they attach a second kind via a pump and we go home for 46 hours.  Peggy calls it her "purse", haha.

   

     The side effect that most bothers her is the extreme fatigue.  She sleeps a lot during the 3 days.  And she can't stand not being able to get up and do stuff!  And then there is the very annoying weird side effect of this particular kind of Chemo; it makes her hyper sensitive to cold temperatures.  If we go outside and she breathes in cold air, her throat spasms and tries to close up.  Same thing if she drinks anything cold.  In this weather, even room temperature water is sometimes too cold.

     Her hands and feet are affected, too.  She can't reach into the fridge and pull out cold stuff without her hands cramping and spasming.  I try to get all the cold stuff out when she's cooking.  She IS still the cook at our house!  I try and do pretty good with her supervision....

    She has 2 more treatments to go before Dr. Wilson will do another PET scan to see if the treatment has slowed down or shrunk the cancer.  So, at about the end of February we'll know how she is doing. Think & Pray "SHRINK, CANCER, SHRINK!"

Vanderbilt

    We went to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer center in Nashville this past Thursday.  This was for a second opinion or consult.  But it was also to see if there are any clinical trials that Peggy qualifies for in case we need one later.
      We met with Dr. Kristen Ciombor and she was wonderful.  She is an oncologist that not only specializes in gastric cancers, but she is also one of the research doctors.  She showed us Peggy's 1st PET scan.  This was the first time we had seen it.  She explained everything to us in a more human way and that made us understand what was going on a lot better.      She also said that Dr. Wilson in Tupelo was doing exactly what she would be doing!  There aren't any clinical trials for Stage 4 stomach cancer right now, but she said there could be in the near future.  She's going to review the next PET scan and keep up to date on our progress and charts.  We also asked her about Immunotherapy and she told us that was a possibility but not at this time.  Our hope and prayer is that Peggy won't need clinical trials or Immunotherapy, that the current treatment will work, but It's really reassuring to have some more ammunition in our back pocket!

Everyday Life

          Peggy started her last semester at Ole Miss 2 weeks ago.  The Ole Miss Student Disability Service made it possible to attend classes from home via cameras and audio!  That way she has limited exposure to germs while her immune system is down.  She has classes on Tuesdays & Thursdays and works on her online classes the other days.  All her school classmates (her “kids”) have either come by or called to pledge their support of her finishing with them!  They are a great bunch of girls.  They will be working on their Senior projects in groups.  Peggy will be finished in May then on to an internship and graduation!

          I have been working on our taxes, doing a little bit of side work, keeping our schedule straight, and trying to do as much of the housework caught up as I can. (Except cooking, haha).  But like I said before, she’s been teaching me.  It’s hard to keep everyone in the loop, so we truly appreciate everyone’s calls and text to check on us.  Be patient with me on updates, keep the love and healing prayers coming, and God bless you all.

Peace,
Moe