Small Joys, Small Frustrations

Last Thursday, for the first time in months, the nurse was able to draw blood from my port! I did not do anything different. I did not even remember to drink anything beforehand. It was so great not to be poked another time!

The previous Thursday was more typical. When the nurse could not draw blood, she sent me with the vial to get blood drawn from my arm. I asked why there was only one vial, as all the other times I had two. She insisted that was all that was written in my chart. What did I know? I trusted her judgement.

At least the doctor who is good at drawing blood was back. Just as he withdrew the needle from my one good vein, the woman who overseas the study I am in asked "where is the other vial?"! The nurse was wrong!! I had to get poked again, this time in my hand. It hurt (not much, but who wants any pain?). I had a bruise on the back of my hand for a week!

The first time I came in for chemo, I was introduced to R, my friend who works at Tel Shilo. She told me that I would get so used to being poked by needles that, eventually, I would not even notice. I did not believe her, having developed a life-long aversion to them! In the end, she was right. It does not really phase me any more.

Still, I do not really want to get stuck any more than absolutely necessarily. I was really annoyed, because I suspected that something was missing and had asked the nurse. I was frustrated by her error, and by my having been intimidated to question her further. It will not happen again.

At least not about this issue....



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Chemo Day -- no more short days?

This past Thursday:

Got there before 9:30.

Didn't start treatment until at least 12:30.

Didn't leave until after 4:30.

It was no one's fault.

There is something wrong with my port -- it is supposed to support "two way traffic," but is currently working "one way only."

For several weeks now, the nurses have not been able to draw blood from my port. That means that every time I go for chemo, I get stuck with needles twice -- once to open my port, and a second time on my arm.

In the past, I did not mind so much, because the person who took blood was expert and did not hurt me. But he recently suffered a heart attack and, though he is doing well, he is still on leave. I am always anxious about new people drawing blood from me. I have difficult veins, and often suffer from pain and buising if the person who draws blood is not really good.

The woman who manages data from the bone study research arranged for me to seen by a doctor who, she assured me, was also good at drawing blood. The doctor drew blood (painlessly!) and also injected half a dose of urokinase into my port. Urokinase, a blood thinner to dissolves clots that might be in the port, has to be approved and administered by a physician.

The protocol is to wait at least an hour after the injection before using the port. It also takes about an hour for the results of the blood test to come back. That day's treatments (in this case the Taxol and the Zomera/Denosumab) are only ordered AFTER the blood tests come back okay.

Everything takes time.



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Chemo Day -- Herceptin: YES, Taxol: NO

Apparently, a "little break" is one week.

I received Herceptin today, but no Taxol. My next Taxol treatment will be next Thursday.

I was a little nervous about skipping the treatment, but my oncologist was pretty insistent. When I pressed him about it, he offered to give it to me if I was willing to sign a waver, taking full responsibility for any possible complications. I politely declined, to which he responded "I thought that's what you'd say."

So, I will focus on kicking this cold, which is pretty much taking up all my energy and then some.

I felt a bit better this morning, but by the time I got home I was wiped. I went straight to bed and slept for three hours!

At least I got the Herceptin. (This dose was the free dose provided by Roche)

We still hope to make an evaluation before I am due for my next dose, in three weeks.



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Cancer vs. The Common Cold

It occurred to me that having a cold might affect my ability to receive chemo tomorrow.

I emailed my oncologist, who wrote back: "come and we will decide tomorrow--sounds like you will get a little break"

What does that mean?

Do I have the nurses open my port as usual?

I am scheduled to receive both Taxol and Herceptin. If "we" (and by "we," I mean "he") decide to postpone treatments, do we postpone both medications? By how long? A few days? A week? What is a "little break?" (To me, a "break" would be at least a month! We know that is not happening, as we have already established (here) that we can not postpone the Herceptin by more than a week)

Last week, my doctor told me that we would evaluate the efficacy of my treatments in the next two weeks. How does postponing treatment affect our ability to evaluate if the drugs are working?

All these questions, just because of a stupid cold, from which, we agreed last year (see here), cancer patients should be exempt!

It seems that when push comes to shove, the common cold trumps the cancer card!



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA