Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Round 3, Chemo #1

2009-Aug-28, Friday
Went in for Chemo, 10 am Appointment. Saw Dr. Moran and he upped our dosage of blood thinners as Kris was at a 1.4 where they want her at a about a 2 for I and R (clotting factor).

When we got to an infusion station, the nurse asked us if we know about the ins and outs of the drugs we were to receive: Avastin and Ixempra. Kris explained that one worked in a similar fashion as Herceptin and the other worked similar to Taxotere. The nurse indicated that was all wrong and went off to get paperwork and a consent form. She came back with paperwork saying that Avastin attacks blood cells that 'feed' a tumor. This causes the tumor to, essentially, starve and die. It's a targeted therapy and thus the nurse had a better understanding of why Dr. Moran described it as being 'like' Herceptin since Herceptin is a targeted therapy. Ixempra is not a targeted therapy and has the side effects we don't want: hair loss, sensitivity in hands and feet, sores can show up in the mouth, headaches, etc. It is also in the same family of drugs as Taxotere and the side effects put it in a similar enough category that the nurse again understood why Dr. Moran described it as similar to Taxotere (score two for Kris!).

The one big surprise was that the infusion took something less than 6 hours. We didn't leave until 4 pm. Now, we did expect the first infusion to be slow since they like to monitor for allergic reactions but, this seemed a long time to us.

While there Kris talked with a gentleman who has reoccurring Lymphoma. The treatment is a protein which feeds the Lymphoma. The twist is that they give him a protein from mice, twice a year. The cancer jumps on, and eats, this protein like a cat jumping on a saucer of fresh cream. However, once the cancer eats this protein the body rejects the cancer as it's now got appearances of being from a mouse!

We also saw a young man, about 17 give or take a year, who was being treated with Gemzar which we recognized as a cancer drug Kris had used in Round 1. Not sure what he has but it was sad to see someone so young with cancer. That said, he looked to be quite fit and was well supported by what looked like a father and girl friend (sisters just aren't that affectionate... or at least, I hope they are normally not that affectionate). Because of this, I don't doubt he will recovery quickly and do well in the long run!

After the treatment we were suitably hungry. Oh, I should note that early in the treatment Kris was cold (even before the infusion started). So, I grabbed a couple of blankets for her. She cast them off as the sun Westered since the center is a room with one wall of glass facing the mountains and the room got to be quite warm. When we left, it was 90 degrees outside. As we were heading to the restaurant we'd chosen, she complained of being achy (one of the side effects) but, it seemed to her to be far too early for side effects. She decided that maybe it was the heat. So, we headed home instead. Oddly, she felt better as we were driving home and other than being a bit tired, she seems fine.

Next appointment is Monday with the Surgeon in follow up of the Port installation. Then it's Dr. Moran a week from this coming Tuesday. And three weeks from now for the next Chemo treatment.