Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thursday, December 15 - In Hospital - Day 3
This is going to be a restful day. There are only a few things on my agenda – the post-chemo injection and a venous Doppler study to determine if I have a blood clot since my right leg is fairly swollen for no apparent reason. We find out that there is – luckily – no blood clot, so we believe that the swelling is residual fluid build-up from the IVs.
Patty & Steve Wilcoxson arrived mid-afternoon for a visit. Great to see both of them – as always. I can’t say enough about good friends who make the time to visit. It means so much to me.
I’ll be going home tonight and I can’t wait for George to spring me out of here. Bunny (Phynes) has climbed down from the IV infuser and is all packed and ready to go!
Patty & Steve Wilcoxson arrived mid-afternoon for a visit. Great to see both of them – as always. I can’t say enough about good friends who make the time to visit. It means so much to me.
I’ll be going home tonight and I can’t wait for George to spring me out of here. Bunny (Phynes) has climbed down from the IV infuser and is all packed and ready to go!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - In Hospital - Day 2
Today went well. Tara (Kelley-Baker) arrived with lots of snacks to spend the day and we had a great time chatting. I also had the wonderful chocolates that Janet Jester sent - thank you so much, Janet!
I finished the chemotherapy regime for the day. Dr. Ledakis has ordered a CT scan to determine if there has been any change in the mass. He is also concerned that I am only receiving one of the two drugs for this chemo regimen – so he will be discussing that with his team and my internist, Dr. Warren Ross. (Dr. Ledakis says that he wouldn't administer Rituxin again unless I was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)).
We also decided to change the post-chemo therapy from Neulasta to Neupogen. Neuopogen is administered in three daily injections, so I can have one injection before I leave the hospital and come back to the hospital for the following two days. Neupogen may not have the same adverse affects (severe bone pain) that I had with Neulasta.
FANTASTIC NEWS from Dr. Ledakis. The CT scan showed that the mass has reduced by almost 50%. This is wonderful news and means that the chemotherapy is working. After letting the family know, I shared the news with Bernie (Murphy) who shared it with those attending the Calverton Holiday Party (see photo).
I finished the chemotherapy regime for the day. Dr. Ledakis has ordered a CT scan to determine if there has been any change in the mass. He is also concerned that I am only receiving one of the two drugs for this chemo regimen – so he will be discussing that with his team and my internist, Dr. Warren Ross. (Dr. Ledakis says that he wouldn't administer Rituxin again unless I was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)).
We also decided to change the post-chemo therapy from Neulasta to Neupogen. Neuopogen is administered in three daily injections, so I can have one injection before I leave the hospital and come back to the hospital for the following two days. Neupogen may not have the same adverse affects (severe bone pain) that I had with Neulasta.
FANTASTIC NEWS from Dr. Ledakis. The CT scan showed that the mass has reduced by almost 50%. This is wonderful news and means that the chemotherapy is working. After letting the family know, I shared the news with Bernie (Murphy) who shared it with those attending the Calverton Holiday Party (see photo).
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - In Hospital - Day 1
I checked into Mercy Hospital today for my second round of chemotherapy. Because I had an allergic reaction to the Rituxin during my first round, Dr. Ledakis wanted me in the hospital so that I could be monitored more closely. Patty Wilcoxson met George & I at Mercy this morning at 8:30 AM in the Admitting Office. It was a great comfort to have her there with me. Patty always arrives with lots of presents – this visit included a beautiful silver clutch and very festive holiday jewelry which lights up J.
The hospital room in the Mary Catherine Bunting Building is quite lovely – it’s a private room and bath and it has a long, low sofa (which folds out if a guest wanted to stay overnight) and a recliner chair where I set up my laptop. My room (#1517) over looks downtown Baltimore and is truly breathtaking at night. Patty pointed out a few historic sights – it’s amazing what I don’t know about Baltimore! All of the nurses on the floor are wonderful. Mercy is quite proud of its Institute for Cancer Care sections and the 15th floor is devoted to patients with cancer. A very charming ‘educator’ arrived and introduced herself – giving me all sorts of information about what to expect over the next few days.
The nurses outfitted me with a heart monitor and began the chemotherapy regimen with innumerable pre-chemo drugs to alleviate allergies, gastric reflux and nausea. Unfortunately, once they began the dreaded Rituxin, it only took ten minutes for the allergic reaction to begin – so, once again we were forced to eliminate that drug. Once we had my allergic reaction under control, they began chemo drug #2 (Treanda). When you have an allergic reaction, there are a number of drugs infused to flush out the one that’s causing the reaction. One of those - Solu-Medrol – caused my blood sugar to spike to 440! They treated that with an injection of insulin which lowered the blood sugar count to 246…still too high, but better than 440.
Exhausted from the day, I slept well that night.
The hospital room in the Mary Catherine Bunting Building is quite lovely – it’s a private room and bath and it has a long, low sofa (which folds out if a guest wanted to stay overnight) and a recliner chair where I set up my laptop. My room (#1517) over looks downtown Baltimore and is truly breathtaking at night. Patty pointed out a few historic sights – it’s amazing what I don’t know about Baltimore! All of the nurses on the floor are wonderful. Mercy is quite proud of its Institute for Cancer Care sections and the 15th floor is devoted to patients with cancer. A very charming ‘educator’ arrived and introduced herself – giving me all sorts of information about what to expect over the next few days.
The nurses outfitted me with a heart monitor and began the chemotherapy regimen with innumerable pre-chemo drugs to alleviate allergies, gastric reflux and nausea. Unfortunately, once they began the dreaded Rituxin, it only took ten minutes for the allergic reaction to begin – so, once again we were forced to eliminate that drug. Once we had my allergic reaction under control, they began chemo drug #2 (Treanda). When you have an allergic reaction, there are a number of drugs infused to flush out the one that’s causing the reaction. One of those - Solu-Medrol – caused my blood sugar to spike to 440! They treated that with an injection of insulin which lowered the blood sugar count to 246…still too high, but better than 440.
Exhausted from the day, I slept well that night.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Chemo Round 2....
Mom started round two of chemo today...
Checked in with her around three and all was good...
Mercy Medical Center
Bunting Center, Room 1517
345 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-659-2853
Checked in with her around three and all was good...
Mercy Medical Center
Bunting Center, Room 1517
345 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-659-2853
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Port – November 22, 2011
On Tuesday, Dr. Vadim Gushchin, the Chief of Surgical Oncology, inserted a port*. The procedure requires sedation – and is performed in the primary operating room of Mercy Medical Center, I didn’t sleep well the night before, so I was awake and ready to go with plenty of time to spare. George & I left for the hospital at 5:30, so traffic was light going into Baltimore.
Of course, no eating or drinking after midnight, so when I woke up after the procedure, I was starving. After a few packages of graham crackers and a cup of tea, I felt much better.
My new fashion statement -- for those in the know – is the Bard Power Port with Groshong© catheter with the PowerLoc safety infusion set… so la, de, da! It comes with a key ring card (like the ones you carry for discounts at the grocery and drug store), an ID card which I must carry in my wallet, and an ID bracelet (in streaked grey to hot pink rubber, a la Lance Armstrong).
After the procedure, I needed to wait at the hospital so that I could receive an injection. The timing of this is important – it must be given 22 – 24 hours after the last chemotherapy drug was infused. Because George had to leave at 11:00 for a meeting, he arranged for our friend, Diana Bullock, to pick me up at the surgical area. (Many, many thanks, Diana!) A nurse accompanied us (me in a wheelchair) from the Operating Suite through several buildings, to the Chemotherapy Department, where we waited, waited and waited until time to receive the injection (2:15). While we waited, waited and waited until the bewitching hour, all I could think of was food and sleep.
I met a new nurse, Karin. She was fantastic and gave me all sorts of hints about caring for the port and how to mitigate the after effects of the Neulasta drug.
* A medical port (or portacath) is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin through which drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn many times, usually with less discomfort for the patient than a more typical "needle stick". Ports are used to treat hematology and oncology patients, but recently ports have been adapted for hemodialysis patients. The port is usually inserted in the upper chest, just below the clavicle or collar bone, leaving the patient's hands free.
Of course, no eating or drinking after midnight, so when I woke up after the procedure, I was starving. After a few packages of graham crackers and a cup of tea, I felt much better.
My new fashion statement -- for those in the know – is the Bard Power Port with Groshong© catheter with the PowerLoc safety infusion set… so la, de, da! It comes with a key ring card (like the ones you carry for discounts at the grocery and drug store), an ID card which I must carry in my wallet, and an ID bracelet (in streaked grey to hot pink rubber, a la Lance Armstrong).
After the procedure, I needed to wait at the hospital so that I could receive an injection. The timing of this is important – it must be given 22 – 24 hours after the last chemotherapy drug was infused. Because George had to leave at 11:00 for a meeting, he arranged for our friend, Diana Bullock, to pick me up at the surgical area. (Many, many thanks, Diana!) A nurse accompanied us (me in a wheelchair) from the Operating Suite through several buildings, to the Chemotherapy Department, where we waited, waited and waited until time to receive the injection (2:15). While we waited, waited and waited until the bewitching hour, all I could think of was food and sleep.
I met a new nurse, Karin. She was fantastic and gave me all sorts of hints about caring for the port and how to mitigate the after effects of the Neulasta drug.
* A medical port (or portacath) is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin through which drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn many times, usually with less discomfort for the patient than a more typical "needle stick". Ports are used to treat hematology and oncology patients, but recently ports have been adapted for hemodialysis patients. The port is usually inserted in the upper chest, just below the clavicle or collar bone, leaving the patient's hands free.
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