Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Chemo Update: 3rd Cycle Done!

Andy has now finished the 3rd cycle of chemo. He had a much harder time with the 3rd cycle and felt pretty rough for the full three weeks. He caught a bad cough during this cycle and has felt generally very run down.

Due to the cough, Andy wasn't able to finish the last treatment of the 3rd cycle. The chemo drug he would be receiving is known to cause lung issues so the nurse consulted immediately with the doctor as to what they should do. No chemo that day. He was sent to get a chest x-ray and a pulmonary function test. Later that week at a routine appointment with the oncologist, he was ordered to get a CT scan done on his lungs. This was to check for toxicity from the chemo drug. All tests came back clear and show no signs of anything wrong.

They believe the cough is most likely due to a suppressed immune system. He is using cough medicine and it seems to be improving slowly. They gave him this week off from chemo with hopes that his body will recover some.

From what it sounds like, the doctor plans to have him continue with a 4th cycle of chemo. We will find out more details at his appointment on Friday.

Once chemo is finished and he is strong enough to have surgery, he will have some cancerous lymph glands removed. We are hopeful life will return to "normal" by the end of the summer!

We are grateful for the strength the Lord has given us so far as we have traveled this journey and continue to rely on Him. Thank you all for your prayers!

3 comments:

meme said...

Hi Mary Ann - Thank you for the update - I have been thinking about your husband. As a reminder my husband is a stage 4 cancer survivor - he had cancer in his tonsils and left lymph node. My husband had the same chemo cycle as your husband - three rounds - three weeks apart. then daily radiation and weekly chemo. My husband had surgery to have the tonsils removed - and fortunately - chemo shrunk the lymph node / radiation and he did not need surgery on that. He has been cancer free for four months now - gets checked again in July - the 18th. Not sure how your husband is doing with swallowing or how his taste has been affected - but the best thing for my husband to drink during this time was very ice cold root beer. lots of ice. I am continuing to pray for your family.

Anne said...

Continuing to remember you both in my thoughts and my prayers.
Love and hugs from Ireland,
Anne
xx

Debbie J said...

Continued thoughts and prayers for you both!