The beginning of this week marks the two-thirds point of my chemo regimen, and the end of my treatments with ifosfamide and etoposide. Once I recover from this cycle, only one more of the "bag"cycles remains, #15, a return to the harsh cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine combo. I expect that one to be a brutal cycle after all the chemo I've received so far. At least that one is not until November.
I would say that this cycle has so far been my easiest with ifosfamide and etoposide, though there are still two weeks of recovery to go, and this week is low immunity week where I have to watch out for infection. The last three bag cycles have all necessitated hospital stays that were thankfully brief; I'm hoping I can avoid it this time, but maybe it's inevitable now. Even in cycle #2, I got a high enough fever to warrant admission, but my blood counts had bounced back by then, and I was showing only cold symptoms, so I didn't have to go in. That would make it just one bag cycle without illness, my very first.
The key might have been a small adjustment in my anti-nausea regimen. The last two bag cycles, I was taking the medications around the clock during the first week and tapering during the weekend. This time, I skipped my nighttime doses of hydroxyzine and lorazepam (1 dose for each medicine), to let me sleep a bit more. I did get a slight bit of queasiness doing this at times, but I had more energy, enough to even work a bit on my code. I even found and squashed a bug that had been troubling me! The majority of my time, however, was spent lying down getting rest or outright sleeping. I then tapered off the medicines sooner, going with only ondansetron on Saturday and nothing yesterday. Again, I had a bit of queasiness at times, but I overall felt better, and even went for a nice walk yesterday, making it out to the West Side. Walked all the way to 72nd and Central Park West, without using my cane, before using it on the way back.
Now, time to recover and then try and hopefully power through some work. There's a mid-October conference paper deadline I'd like to have something for. It won't be easy, but deadlines have a way of igniting some big spurts in me, so I'll give it my all.
So glad you've been having such a great week, here's to hoping the remaining 5 cycles (5, can you believe it??) go by just as smoothly. And wow, you did not tell me that you made that long walk across central park with no cane! You'll be back to your 5Ks in no time if you keep that up :)
ReplyDeleteHormozd azizam, I just love this counting down of the cycles.
ReplyDeleteI pray and hope that the rest of the weeks goes easy for you and you will be able to go on more walks before NY gets cold.
Good luck with your dealine. You, my darling nephew are capable of doing anything you put your mind into.
Love you my hero and miss you so much.