Half way through Phase 2 of chemo

Though we are only three days into Phase 2 of chemo, it seems like forever. I guess that's the way it is when you watch someone having to endure something as dreadful as chemo. We know that we are technically halfway through this part of the process... the hard part is that we are nowhere near halfway through all the aftermath that chemo wrecks.

Roger seems to be on fast forward when it comes to all the nasty stuff about chemo. He has NOT been feeling well at all. Its been a rapid decent downhill. The hiccups which returned in the wee hours Monday night/Tuesday morning are ahead of schedule according to our diary of how he felt last time. His system is obviously much more sensitive to the chemicals. He tried taking a new drug last night that is supposed to help stop the hiccups....it didn't work so well. He was awake, uncomfortable and agitated almost every hour on the hour from 1:30 am through the balance of the morning. We couldn't seem to get him comfortable no matter what we tried. It was a trying night. Roger is exhausted. You can see it in his eyes. You can hear it in the deep sighs. Its a little heartbreaking.

The dawn of the day also brought the weight of a renewed fear we've been trying to ignore. Roger is having more and more difficulty swallowing. He is visibly in pain as he tries to swallow whether trying to swallow foods or liquids. He said that water is very difficult to swallow. According to all the research and all the information that the doctors have provided us, "thin" liquids can be difficult for patients to swallow who have an inflamed throat or esophagus. "Thick" liquids are supposed to be easier. So, we may have to try thickening some of the liquids for drinking to see if that will help. Its hard to say whether its the chemo or the radiation that is causing the current difficulty in swallowing. Most likely its the radiation first and the chemo is just accentuating the problem. The daily "game" is trying to now find something that is appealing in taste for Roger that he is able to eat... its not an easy game. The attached photo is the results of my most recent trip to the grocery for really really soft food - every flavor of pudding known to man, canned fruits to puree into milkshakes, gelatin to thicken liquids to drink. We won't win any awards for the most nutritious of foods...but we'll have things that he can hopefully eat and can get a little protein.

The day also included a little excitement thanks to our insurance carrier, Anthem. They denied two of Roger's anti-nausea/anti-vomiting drugs. The pharmacist informed me that our cost without insurance for one drug (TWO whole pills) is $300 and the cost for the other denied drug (30 some odd pills) was a mere $189. Of course, those of you who know me, know that I'm not going to let this go. During the first chemo treatment, the drugs were covered. There was no reason that shouldn't be covered this time. I was prepared to line up calls with the doctor and nurses if necessary to get the drugs covered. 35 minutes of phone calls with Anthem wherein I explained that if they did not cover the drugs, Roger would definitely end up in the hospital...and then Anthem would have to pay for the much more expensive treatment (including the denied drugs) when Roger was admitted to the hospital. Happy ending...drugs were magically covered by Anthem. :-)

Last night ended with a little drama for me. I was in the midst of making "special" brownies for Roger when I hear this cat screeching outside - one of our cats was mixing with a neighbor cat. I rush out to "rescue" our slightly overweight cat (he weighs a slight 25 pounds!). I try to break them up using my foot (I was safely wearing jeans and shoes)...thinking I had them separate I reach down to grab Earl, our cat. He apparently wasn't done "mixing" with the other cat and turned and BIT me!!!! If you didn't already know this... apparently cat's mouths are FULL of germs and bacteria. My hand has turned some lovely shades of blue and has swollen up. I ended up in the doctor's office this afternoon myself...two shots later and some mega oral antibiotics...I should be good as new in a couple weeks. The good doctor informed me that if I had ignored the bite the infection could have spread up my arm and I could have landed in the hospital. Yee haaa. Nothing but wild excitement in the Wethington household.

Today's funny is actually from yesterday (I couldn't update the blog last night as life was a little too complicated). We arrived in the infusion area at the oncology center by mid-morning and were greeted with all the warm smiles and waves from the nursing staff. The drill is that we check in with registration, which in turn puts us into a queue. The patient's name pops up on a computer screen in the nursing area. The next available nurse "claims" the patient and tends to the patient through the balance of the infusion with back-up from the other gals. As you can imagine, the nurses get to know the patients because they come in for multiple treatments or infusions through the course of weeks, months or years. So yesterday, Roger's name came up. Marishka (the first nurse we worked - pictured in an earlier post) came and got us. She was a little busy so she told us to get settled in a chair and then she'd come back to us. Another nurse, Denise, came up to us and said she'd get Roger started and left to get the drugs....funny thing is that several of the other nurses heard this and said "ooooooooooooh, Marishka is going to be maaaddd. I'm telling Marishka." Denise vanished as Marishka looked up and realized what was happening....the next thing we knew, Marishka was back with Roger's drugs in tow. I've always known Roger is pretty special - obviously so does everyone else.

Not sure what tomorrow has in store for us. Hopefully tonight will mean at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. We're missing our sleep. Two more days of chemo - keep your fingers crossed for Roger. Hugs, R & A