This scan was a little different than all others he has received. It was an angio CT. He had been having some pains in his lungs (different and more than usual) and some swelling in his legs. His palliative doc thought that he might be having a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in his lungs). She wanted to make sure that, that wasn't the case.
All clear on the clot front. Another bullet dodged?
He is still continuing with chemo every three weeks. He gets poisoned next week, in fact. When people see Rob, they say, "Wow, he looks great! He looks normal." He really does. He has lost ten pounds in just under two months. He doesn't eat near as much. In fact, looking at his plate yesterday and mine, I was really embarrassed how much food was on mine. I felt like Miss Piggy in all her glory. Oink...
People who have not experienced chemo first-hand, think of chemo like what is seen in the movies. Since real-life is not always like the movie, I thought I would share what this particular chemo does to Rob. The name of the drug is called Alimta.
- It does not make his hair fall out. I think that people are surprised that he is having chemo, since he still has hair.
- He mostly feels crummy for one week after. Someone asked me how quickly he can feel the effects of the chemo. The whole process takes about 1.5 hours. When we are driving home, he is feeling it.
- The day of chemo his face turns a funky yellowish-greenish color.
- The day after chemo, his face turns bright red and swells a little; think dodge ball. It is like he is burnt - he actually has a bunch of freckles from this chemo - it is called hyperpigmentation. His appetite is somewhat there. He eats, but not much (hence the weight loss).
- After the first week, he starts to feel a little better. Tired still, but not as the first week. A little nausea, but nothing that a bunch of pills won't help.
- He is exhausted, but cannot sleep. Too much on his brain? Not sure...
- The week right before, he starts to feel a little sick again. Nausea sets in again and he is very tired.
- He can function and do the things he needs to. He can help me around the house, play with the kids, drive himself to work for a few hours a day a couple days a week (not the chemo week, though). He just has to pace himself. He will take a nap for a few minutes or several hours, depending on how much he has done that day or week. He is not sitting in his cancer chair all day long.
I have tried to take a picture of him during the 'face of many colors' but he is pretty adamant that I don't. I guess he doesn't want that chronicled. Hmmm. Next week, we meet with Dr. Litton's PA, the palliative care doc, and get chemo. Cannot wait!
