Post-wedding-back-in-the-fight-Chemo Update

I am looking through the Psalms, there has got to be just the right HALLELUJAH verse in there where David just says Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for the blessing. But none seems to be enough!

As you know, we went back up to Johns Hopkins to get going again on the new chemo. You won’t believe this…the anticipated side effects of nausea (NOPE!); fatigue (SOME, but what’s a nice nap now and then); tingling fingers/toes (nope!) are so minimal.

But it’s that nausea! Not A BIT so far. I know they told us that the symptoms can be cumulative and maybe I’ll ramp up a bit as the days go by…but so far, I am tummy happy! (and eating, eating, eating just to prove it!)

They have me on the same dosage level that they say 90% of the folks who are on this combo take. So it is a bit of a down-dosage from last month…so of course you know me…I’m thinking ~ is this working? I am not sufffffffering? (A sign of a sick mind, I know.) But that’s where the patience comes in again. We won’t know until the next round of tests to “look back” and see if this poison is the right poison for my cells. Please keep praying that it is…but I do know that if it is not, then there’s just another plan.

When we were at JH, Sally & Frank & I met the neatest couple. Bill Forbes was told several years ago that he had 6 weeks to live with pancreatic cancer. And there he was! Full of stories. When he and his wife asked which chemo treatment I was on, and we told them, they said, “Oh, Bill had a great year and half on that!” That was so encouraging…. (He also told me that he had had the Whipple surgery that works for some pancreatic patients, but his cancer came back…he also cited that 90% of folks who have the Whipple have returning cancer. So that was interesting. Anyway, in my case, (some of you have asked) I’m not a candidate for the Whipple…too many cancer cells spread around to too many places. That’s okay. God has a different plan for me.

I don’t want to ramble on and on, just wanted to give the good news and ask you to Thank God along with me, Praising Him for continued blessings…who would have thought after the great day of the wedding. Ah, me of little faith…I thought that was a “one day” blessing….but nope! God intended blessing upon blessing and I’m loving it! We are still out at the Eastern Shore hanging out.

Thanks for being there for me. Thanks for your unceasing prayers.

Love,

Carol