The appointment with our oncologist went well. As I mentioned yesterday we had a lot of questions. One of my big questions is the dosage of the chemotherapy the same each time or does the dosage vary up or down? I wish I could remember the exact statement he made, but it was something to the fact that they've calculated the exact amount of dosage required (not to kill the host, my words not his) yet it will kill the cancer. So the dosage remains the same through every cycle. Next Monday will be the second treatment. We know what to expect a little bit better now than we did a couple of weeks ago.
You can probably guess by his name that our doctor is Chinese. Nice guy, very intelligent. It was kind of interesting because Harriet was wearing her "shorter hair wig" and he made a comment "that I thought you're going to lose your hair by now". So, that was very nice of him to say because I thought Harriet look good with her wig and I think that everybody needs reassurance.
The other question was concerning her churning intestines. She's having a very difficult keeping food down, with nausea and or the food going right through her. Dr. Chen said specifically that that is a result of the lymphoma. But, there is a possibility of a intestinal infection which can be treated with antibiotics. So things get complicated, again.
Dr. Chen checked the swelling in her legs. He seems to think that the swelling has gone down a little bit. From my point of view, it is difficult to determine. The last time Dr. Chen saw Harriet was three weeks ago and I don't know how many hundreds of patients he's seen between then and now, but for him to remember the exact swelling for specific patient would be highly improbable, to my way of thinking. Maybe he was just being positive. He did say that after the second and third cycle of treatments that we should get some real good results in reducing the swelling in her legs and of course the lymphoma/cancer. I can't remember if he said that she'll have another PET scan after the third cycle or if it's after the fifth cycle. I think they want to determine how things are progressing. It only makes sense.
They weighed Harriet in at the beginning of the appointment and she's lost a lot of weight. I'm not surprised because I can see it in her face. I'm trying to buy things that she will want to eat, it's just tough one you have nausea all the time.
Today Harriet has the chemo class which is two hours long. I hope that she's up for it. This class is something that normally people take before they start chemotherapy. I will touch know how it goes.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. It really does help to know that people are praying and that so many people are standing with us. Thank you again!
Maranatha,
Frank and Harriet
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