Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Sucks to be Cancer

Last Monday, Joe met with the oncologist. As usual, I was pretty freakin' nervous before hand. Joe kept reminding me that he has been feeling good and he hasn't had any tests done lately that would bring bad news. Still....I was nervous. Can't help it.

Joe has been feeling better....much, much better! The ascites (cancer juice) has been accumulating at a slower pace, therefore he is eating more and has more energy. Also, this means that he doesn't need to get 'drained' as frequently. He was drained last Tuesday before chemo, and it had been 8 days since the previous draining. A new record!

His only frustrations lately, have to do with swelling in the ankles and knees, and oral thrush (a common side effect of the chemo). The first time he noticed his cankles caused a bit of concern, and the doctor sent him in for an ultra sound to ensure that it wasn't a blood clot. Luckily, there were none, and it is probably just the crazy hot weather we have been having.

Overall, the doctor was very happy with the progress that is being made. The plan is for Joe to get another scan at the end of the month to see if anything is shrinking. Fingers crossed!

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Last Tuesday, Joe had round 3 of his chemo treatment. Three down and nine to go. Honestly, he doesn't mind these too much. The chemo appears to be doing something, and the side-effects haven't been too bad (knock on wood). One of the pre-meds they give Joe is a steroid, so he has a bunch of energy for the 2nd and 3rd day following his treatment. Usually it is on the 4th and 5th day that he just crashes from exhaustion. The plan is to go up north for the weekend, so he is just praying that he has enough energy to get some fishing in!

- Jess


3 comments:

  1. Glad to hear things are looking up Jess and Joe. Sorry I just heard recently about this. Our prayers are with you all. - Kizys

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  2. Very glad to hear that things are looking up

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