CancerPatientNeedsHelp

Today is March 26th at 3:30am and yesterday was my second dose of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. I will be getting them every other Wednesday for a total of 16 weeks, then they will reevaluate my progress.  So, as they say, so far, so good.

The last dose was done over the span of two days to introduce all of the chemicals into my system and see how my body reacted to them.  I’ve got to say it was rough and so have been the last two weeks as they worked through my system.  At least now I know what to expect. 

There was a lot of discussion between myself and the team regarding symptoms, how different meds responded and which worked better for me.  All was taken into consideration and all of my input was applied.  It was a very empowering feeling at this seemingly very powerless time in my life.  The meds that I told them worked best was what was utilized yesterday and it made the experience much less unpleasant.  I even managed to get almost 2 hours of sleep towards the end of the treatment.

I was even able to have a little bit of food before and after the treatment. I’m not able to eat a lot by mouth, so I’m very thankful that I pushed to get a feeding tube placed.  I used to average 220-225 lbs and now I’m down to 185.  Without it I would be down much lower and have much less energy to fight this terrible disease and would be much more adversely affected by the chemo and immunotherapy.

I think we’ve all known someone who had cancer whose body was ravaged by chemo, giving the disease full range to attack their body.  I’m so glad it’s come a long way.

I’m currently waiting on a referral to a palliative care unit that will help to keep my pain under control.  The cancer has already metastasized from my esophagus to a couple of places on my pelvis, which is where the majority of my pain is. Additionally I have chronic back pain, having had 3 major spinal surgeries due to degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis.  I am also now experiencing additional pain in my right hip and I’m praying that it’s not further metastasis.

Thanks to all of your generosity, I’m able to start the ball rolling on moving back to Columbus.  My sister is looking at area apartments for me, since I can’t do it in person.  We’re very lucky to have the current technology that we all do at this point in history.  It means that she just has to video call me and I can see everything that she can while she’s touring an apartment, ask questions in real time, etc.  It sure beats flying blind!

In addition to all of this, dear friends are fostering my cat.  I couldn’t keep her with me as it wasn’t safe for either of us.  She hadn’t been handling the transition well even though she and I usually spent 6-8 weeks a year there visiting.  She wasn’t thrilled to go without me.  I called my friends last night to chat and Itty-Bitty finally heard me on the phone.  She still doesn’t grasp the concept of looking at the phone, but she was hearing my voice and the change in her behavior was immediate.  It made me so happy.   I miss my snuggle buddy a lot.

Once again I want to thank you all for the prayers, well wishes, and donations.  I couldn’t do this without you.  I love you all, Maggie

Today is February 27th and I had my port put in.  That’s where they will be putting in the chemo (FOLFOX) and another drug called Vyloy which will target the esophageal cancer cells specifically.  The chemo starts in a week and a half, allowing time for the area around the port to heal.  Once the chemo starts, it’s scheduled until the end of April, then I have to go back through all of the diagnostic tests all over again to see how well the chemo worked.

My sister has been looking at apartments in the area trying to find something affordable for me.  I need to move before I finish this first course of chemo, hopefully I will have enough to do that.

Thank you again to all of you who have donated and will donate to help me achieve my goal.   You are helping me fight this more than you may know.  I’m blessed to have you all in my life.