Chemo Day

The first day of chemo was a success!

Blood work was done, chats with the doctor were had and a couple positive things emerged.

• The doctor said the chemo may not cause her to lose all of her hair but will probably thin it.
• There's a possibility that she could transfer her treatments to the Corona City of Hope Center, which would be much closer to home for her. 

We were put in our own private room for the treatment and the nurses said she should expect to always be placed into her own private room.  If they are full she may have to start in one of the group therapy chairs, but she will be moved into a room at the first opportunity.  The private room was small, but nice. The nurses were lovely, and made sure to continually offer assistance and refreshments from their pantry.  Liz did well and other than being tired of hanging out in hospitals the treatment went fine.  They plugged into her port about 10am and we were done in about 4.5 hours. Which was much shorter than we anticipated. They hydrated her for an hour, then added the anti-nausea medicine for 30 minutes, next came the first chemo bag for about 30 minutes, then the second chemo bag for 1 hour and lastly we finished with more hydration.  Once they started the first chemo treatment, we started watching the Hunger Games on Noel's ipad and it passed the time quite nicely.

They'll be doing a CT scan on her every 2-3 months to check the progress of the cancer and determine if they need to switch medications.

From here on out if you are visiting Liz please do your best to follow these guidelines. It doesn't matter if you're a friend or a relative, everyone must do their best to keep Liz safe from outside germs.

1. Make sure you are healthy.   Even if you think you're just having an allergy attack, this is not the time to visit. Your sneezes and your coughs contaminate the air around her and leave her at risk for illness.  
2. If someone in your home is unwell, you should also refrain from visiting as you may be carrying their illness with you in one way or another. 
3. If you must sneeze or cough while visiting, do it into a handkerchief or your shoulder.  
4. Bring Hand Sanitizer.  Sanitize your hands before interacting with her or anything in her apartment. 
5. Wash your hands thoroughly and often. 
6. Lysol wipe down any surface you have touched before applying hand sanitizer. 
7. Do not share food or drink with her. 
8. Ask before you hug her. It might sound strange, but depending on how she's feeling, hugging might not feel great for her. 
9. Keep your visits short. Her energy levels are pretty low and even maintaining a smile for more than an hour can be exhausting....but she's too nice to kick you out. So please be mindful of the time. 
10. Food.  Our favorite way to express comfort is through nourishing each other. With her digestive tract having been re-routed and the cancer sitting in a awkward part of it, eating is difficult for her and the doctor has suggested soft foods.  Red meat is pretty much out of the picture for the moment, unless she specifically asks for it. Coffee and alcohol are also out. If you would like to bring her food think of easily digested foods.  She's not a fan of soup and has no desire for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce or Broth. (She spent too long on the B.R.A.T. diet)  She has been enjoying fruit and smoothies. Potatoes are great, chicken is okay and pasta would probably set fine with her, (I'm sure ice cream would be an excellent treat too!)  This may all change when the effects of the chemo start kicking in, but it's a good place to start. 

Here's a great article that says a bit more about things to keep in mind when visiting:

http://dadsroundtable.com/health_lifestyle/2014/03/7-rules-follow-visiting-someone-cancer/






We've completed the first round of this battle, but we still have a long way to go. Keep your love and positive support flowing.

Much love to you and yours as well!