Kathie and Bob had a long and busy day yesterday. Lauren headed to Winston-Salem with them at 9 in the morning, and they arrived at the hospital at about 10:30. Kathie had a blood test scheduled for 11:30, and a meeting with Dr. Aklilu at 12. Bob had a list of questions prepared, and Dr. Aklilu went over some issues from the last appointment.
The Good news:
- The bone scan shows no issues and no need to do any further tests.
- Kathie does not need to get a flu or pneumonia shot (not shown to be very effective with chemo - this is mostly just good news for Kathie, who did not want to get any more shots;) )
- Kathie is KRAS "wild type", which apparently = good for this treatment regime... this basically means she has the right markers on her cancer cells to have a good chance of responding to this particular treatment... Dr. Aklilu had promised he would do a "Whoo" cheer if this ended up being the case - and Kathie made him make good on his promise - arms raised and everything:)
- Kathie does not need to get a mammogram (again, this isn't "good" per se, but good to Kathie), Dr. Aklilu feels this will be "extra"... "...we have enough problems to deal with without going and looking for more cancer."
Lauren got to ask Dr. Aklilu about a treatment she had been researching, and though he was not very encouraging that it was a good option, he did an excellent job of explaining why - which is at least some comfort. Lauren was very impressed with her first meeting of Dr. Aklilu and is excited about the change - he definitely has a much better bedside manner than our "favorite" MD Anderson oncologist.
Dr. Aklilu was on time, as usual, and the appointment lasted exactly 1/2 hour - they are definitely more about staying on time at Wake, but also very patient attentive. He did a great job of answering all of Bob and Kathie's questions, and with a 1/2 hour meeting every two weeks, they will have plenty of time during treatment to check up with him.
Kathie did get in a little late for chemo treatment - but got a private little "pod" with doors and a television with a DVD player and VCR. We are assuming this is first time treatment care - and next time she will get a curtain pod like everyone else;) She'll still have the TV, DVD, and VCR and privacy though.
Unfortunately, there is a good chance Kathie is going to lose her hair again - she is hardly thrilled. We are also watching her VERY carefully for fevers and any signs of neutropenia since the holidays are fast approaching and we'll be around a lot of people! Bob is getting over some sort of cold, and Emily (Kathie's granddaughter) just got over some 24 hour virus and strep. Lauren has been popping airborne hopping to avoid everyone else's disease since she was worn down from finals week.
Unfortunately, Kathie has to be going to treatment on Christmas Eve AND New Year's Eve! Since Wake is only open 1/2 day on the 24th, Kathie and Bob will be staying at the Heruskas' on the 23rd so they can be at Wake early. Next week's appointment will be much shorter since she is just getting the erbitux.
We have an exciting week ahead of us as a family. Lynette and the girls are flying in tomorrow and all of the ladies are having a girls day out at the spa while the boys take care of the kids. Nothing says holiday spirit like facials, manis and massages:)
We're still figuring out Christmas since Eddie and Melissa will be in Indiana for a short trip to see her family over actual Christmas day and the remaining clan may head to the Heruska family Christmas - depending on how Kathie is feeling and her white blood count.
Posted by Lauren
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment