Update time! Sorry it's been so long....
The third cycle was a lot tougher than the second. My fingers and toes are now constantly numb/tingly which is normal with the Vincristine, but a painful and odd sensation just the same. I've had a lot more nausea and am pretty tired all the time. The worst of it, I'm having slight pain in my abdomen again. I'm hoping this is just the chemotherapy doing it's job, and not the tumor growing again. I'm also having trouble taking good, deep breaths without pain. This could be an indicator that something is up with the nodules in my lungs, but I hope not. I have an appointment today after work to talk to Dr. Riedel about all these changes/troubles and to make sure I am on the best possible diet to fight this thing. Next Tuesday I have an appointment to be rescanned and Thursday I will see Dr. Riedel again to discuss the scans and start cycle four. If the scans look good and the tumor is shrinking, we will go forward with the same treatment plan, which includes:
Doxorubicin Hydrochloride
Cyclophosphamide
Vincristine Sulfate
Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate
Mesna
Neulasta
The Mesna and the Neulasta are not chemotherapy drugs. They are meant to protect different parts of me against what the chemo does to my system. If the scans don't look good, and it doesn't look like the chemo is doing it's job, we'll change things up. I will admit that I'm a bit terrified, the changes I've had over the last week and a half don't convince me that this is working. I'm kind of worried that the tumor is growing or spreading to other areas. The issues I'm having with my lungs worries me the most. I don't want the cancer that close to my heart. I have so much more life to live, I am not ready to go.
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