Things are going well

Lisa is doing well and we are doing our best to enjoy summer.  We kicked off summer vacation by spending the first two weeks at the lake house.  While we were there, Lisa started a new chemo regimen.  It is not one of my favorites.  The last three mornings she was on the chemo meds, I was woken up by her climbing into bed next to me with her barf bucket.  It  apparently bothered me more than it did her  because once she was done being sick, she handed me the bucket and the first day went back to sleep, the second day she handed me the bucket and went off to resume playing cards with her cousins, and the third day she put her suit on to go swimming in the lake.  We think we can get the nausea under control with meds, but I can't help but question if this really is a better regimen than the original one.  I struggle knowing we have to give her more nausea meds so she can tolerate this treatment.  It just seems like we are cramming more and more meds into her system when it may not be necessary, especially knowing that on the original ones she rarely got sick.

The timing of the new chemo meds is also a pain in the butt.  The original regimen had us going to the hospital every third week for 5 days with blood draws every Monday in between.  This regimen has us going in on Thursday for chemo infusion, then the next 4 days we do the chemo pills at home and need to assure they are administered at the same time each day and the dosing is done one hour apart.  We return the next Monday for a blood draw and then one week later on Thursday for another chemo infusion. We then do blood draws the following Mon and Th.  So while we technically spend less time at the hospital, it sure doesn't feel that way because we have to go back twice every week....grrrr. 

This is a new study and one that they hope will have an impact on neuroblastoma so our plan is to try  another cycle and then have scans done. Depending on what scans show will help us decide which regimen we want to continue with.  If the new chemo regimen shows that the cancer has decreased greatly than we will stick with it and try to settle into the new routine.  If scans are status quo, then we will go back to the original treatment that causes her less upset and is easier to remember and schedule around!

Yesterday after the big storm (the one that ravaged the subdivision just on the other side of Joy Rd from us, but thankfully only flipped over our recycle bin) was over we went bowling and to the movies. Today we went to the water park for the whole day, followed by dinner at a restaurant, and then a rented movie to enjoy at home. Everyone should sleep well tonight!



That's it for now....we continue to try to live each day to the fullest and make the best of it just as Lisa does; she leads the pack with her energy and enthusiasm!!