The marketeers at Nike have decided that "Just Do It" isn't enough anymore. Now we have to "Just do it...then do it again." For Karen and her chemo treatments, it's again...and again...and again...for a total of 16 treatments over 5 1/2 months. Yesterday marked only treatment #3 of the potent AC (adriamycin and cytoxan) chemo cocktail, with a possible splash of Avastin (that is, if she's actually getting Avastin and not the placebo). She has one more AC treatment on August 20th, before starting with another chemo drug, Taxol, for 12 weeks.So far, she's tolerated the AC better than expected. And believe it or not, she's still smiling...and maintaining a busy schedule between working and gladly welcoming a steady stream of her family members from Minnesota (more on that later).
Because the chemo drugs have a cumulative effect, the toxins are building up in her body, which means she's almost certain to experience greater fatigue and face the onset of new side effects. During the first couple weeks of treatment we anxiously and nervously maintained a 24 hour side effect watch. No more. Some side effects are now more predictable: mouth sores, waves of nausea, fatigue. We remain thankful for every good day Karen has and for the strength to get through the difficult days.
After treatment #2, Karen faced the loss of her hair head on (pun intended). And for the past two weeks the remaining tiny splinters of hair that held on have all but fallen loose too. Though she's found comfort in a colorful variety of hats and scarves ("The Sandra" wig still sits atop a styrofoam head), she has also boldly left the house topless (on her head, that is). My point is this, the "journey" continues on a path of hairpin turns and steep hills, but we're still moving forward and the wheels haven't come off....yet!
Because the chemo drugs have a cumulative effect, the toxins are building up in her body, which means she's almost certain to experience greater fatigue and face the onset of new side effects. During the first couple weeks of treatment we anxiously and nervously maintained a 24 hour side effect watch. No more. Some side effects are now more predictable: mouth sores, waves of nausea, fatigue. We remain thankful for every good day Karen has and for the strength to get through the difficult days.
After treatment #2, Karen faced the loss of her hair head on (pun intended). And for the past two weeks the remaining tiny splinters of hair that held on have all but fallen loose too. Though she's found comfort in a colorful variety of hats and scarves ("The Sandra" wig still sits atop a styrofoam head), she has also boldly left the house topless (on her head, that is). My point is this, the "journey" continues on a path of hairpin turns and steep hills, but we're still moving forward and the wheels haven't come off....yet!
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