October 7, 2024 Cycle 3 Treatment 5 Day 43

Ken and I arrived at our hotel for my MDA stay Sunday afternoon early evening.  We got settled into our room and then headed down to the hotel restaurant to have some dinner.  There is a nice upper deck that guests can lounge at so we decided to get some air after dinner and sit on the deck and watch the planes fly over.

I had to be at MDA by 7 am for my biopsy the next morning so we were hitting our pillows early that evening. 

Monday morning came and we headed to MDA for my biopsy.  This biopsy is for research for the trial I’m participating in.  I will not get results from this biopsy because it is for research.  The biopsy went well, I fell asleep as I usually do when I’m under these anesthetics that they give me.  I never remember how I got to my recovery room or the procedure itself.  I woke up about 15 min after being brought to my recovery room and I was immediately itching where they had placed some tape on my abdomen.  Turns out I have an allergy to some of the medical tape that’s used.  Benadryl to the rescue and I was out again, which is fine with me because I also had relief from the intense itching.

After 3 hours in recovery, I was released and Ken and I headed back to the hotel.  I have to stay in close proximity for 24 hours should a problem arise from the biopsy.  I also was scheduled for my 5th treatment the next morning.

Rest and up early the next morning for my follow up with my oncologists and then treatment.

Tuesday morning, off to MDA for follow up first with my oncologists.  No blood work as I just had labs done the day before.  Dr. Chun my surgical oncologist is concerned.  My platelets are low and she suggests a break from treatment.  Low platelets is not uncommon in chemo patients, it becomes a concern if they continue dropping.  So she felt it best to skip treatment and take an extra week off to give my body time to recover.  When platelets drop, blood doesn’t clot, this is a concern because in some cases platelets never return to normal and if they don’t return to normal surgery is off the table.  Surgery is my only cure of cancer.

So as disappointing as it was to stop treatment because the chemo is working at keeping the cancer from spreading based on my tumor marker dropping.  The break was needed to allow my body time to recover a bit more.  We will revisit next week on the 15th and check my levels again and go from there.

After my follow ups with my oncologists Dr. An and Dr. Chun, Ken and I headed back to the hotel to pack up and check out early to get home at a decent time.  It was good to be home and sleeping in my own bed.

Wednesday was a sweet day and just what I needed after the disappointing news.  I finally got to meet face to face with my sweet precious friend Joanne.  A little back story – I “met” Joanne via first a story I came across on MDA blog site about her surviving Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma). You see Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare, aggressive, low survival rate cancer.  As I was reading her story I couldn’t believe she was literally our neighbor residing in a town just an hour from us that we used to live in. Huntsville, TX.  I knew immediately this was God’s hand at work placing someone in my journey who I could glean from.  After reading her story I searched her out hoping to find a way to connect with her and ask some questions.  As I searched Facebook, she showed up in a a photo with a mutual dear friend Mike.  I reached out to Mike hoping he would put me in contact with her as we both have the exact same rare cancer.  Fast forward, Joanne and I talk, text sometimes daily sometimes a few times a week and the day finally came that we got to hug each others necks! A glorious day!  She has been a sweet source of comfort for me as I walk through this, her having been through nearly all I am currently going through.  We got to have a sweet lunch together, shared stories, tears, joy, hope and reminders of God’s faithfulness!  He knew just what I needed after the disappointing news of my tumor not shrinking and my levels dropping where they shouldn’t.  We ended the afternoon with more hugs and a photo and a see you later!