chemo

Mom's chemo session happens tomorrow morning, 8AM, at the Prosperity Medical Center. I'm not sure whether the pros will be doing blood work; I kind of hope they will.

Mom will be receiving a double whammy tomorrow: Avastin first, carboplatin next. The entire infusion is supposed to take around 90 minutes. Her schedule for the near future looks something like this:

Session 1: Avastin + carboplatin

Session 2, at T + 2 weeks: Avastin only

Session 3, at T + 4 weeks: Avastin + carboplatin

Session 4, at T + 6 weeks: Avastin only

Session 5, at T + 8 weeks: Avastin + carboplatin

Dates haven't been fixed for sessions 2-5, but I'm sure they will be soon. After the fifth session, Mom will be MRI'ed at NCI, and we'll have another consult about whether the carboplatin is doing anything. In the meantime, we're to be on the lookout for any new symptoms-- not merely due to tumor growth, but also due to the depressed blood count that is a major side effect of carboplatin. As we proceed into colder weather, Mom will be increasingly vulnerable to infection. Caution is, as always, paramount.


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