After being pretty good about giving weekly updates on the journey, I took a three week hiatus. That is largely in part due to getting back into a little rhythm of life, but also because there haven’t been many things happening. Elizabeth has now completed three of this round of twelve, weekly infusions. By calendar days she is half way through chemo already! (7 of 16 total infusions) I’m sure you are as shocked as Judah was for this picture…
This cycle of chemo is much more mild than the first, though we are told it will compound on itself over time. This means when she gets in to weeks 8+ it will start to be more of a constant fatigue and feeling icky. Right now she gets just a little tired the day of treatment but after a nap is pretty well active as usual. It has been a blessing to see her up and around so much!
Good News: this past week she had some imaging done that showed treatment is for sure having a positive effect on the cancer in the lymph nodes! They are getting smaller. Initial scans seem to indicate that the main tumor is also beginning to shrink, but that can’t be confirmed until they do a mammogram later in February. Keep praying the tumor shrinks.
The main question we get asked in this process is “How are you doing?” or “How is she doing?'“
Physically she is doing well (all things considered). Her side effects to chemo have been quite minor. The hardest part of this process for both of us can best be described by a mosquito bite.
Picture sitting around a campfire in the fall, enjoying time with loved ones. Then this menacing creature of evil approaches in silence and pierces your skin with a tiny bite, leaving behind a poison that will irritate your skin with a bump for days to come. After that moment, every little breeze that tickles your arm or leg hairs gets slapped with enough force to kill 75 mosquitoes, only to find out there was nothing actually there. All it took was one bite for bug paranoia to ruin the rest of your night.
Elizabeth was '“bit” with cancer this fall. Doctors have given her a laundry list of things to watch out for that could be an issue while going through treatment. She not only has cancer to fight and look out for, but also has the potential for some nasty chemo side effects that must be monitored.
Life has a tendency to do weird things to our bodies over time. Like when I found a giant callous on my knee from kneeling to let my boys beat me up so often (don’t worry, I dish it right back to em’). Most of the time we ignore weird changes and chalk it up to getting older or normal hazards of life.
Now with something significant having happened to E, every little bump, mark or irritation becomes a concern. Right now we are learning the balance between healthy observation of her process and unhealthy paranoia of what might be. The breezes of treatment that tickle the hairs happen often. Pray we can approach them objectively and without too much unnecessary emotion.
Ways to Pray:
Shrinking tumor, peace of mind, and continued mild chemo side effects
We love you all,
-Duncan