Forgot to mention

Andy really appreciates the advice and tips offered. Laura you may be pleased to know that the mouth sores were much less this time and Andy attributes this to your suggestion of sucking on ice chips during chemo. Great way to make a big difference!

Sunday night

Talked with Andy tonight. Overall doing well! He has great things to say about his treatment group. He has his under skin port in and, although feels weird, is good. Suffered a little bit of nausea following last chemo, but the drugs got that in check quickly. He eats well and has gained weight but steroids play a part in that. Next step is chemo on Friday May 4. He appreciates all the kind people giving care and those that are caring! Chances of hair loss is 80% but usually happens by now. We will see!

Friday April 27

More stuff for Dee!

Andy and Laurie had appts in San Francisco this week kind of off the chemo schedule. Yesterday he got a shot to help boost his white cell counts. Today he gets his port.
I'm posting a picture from today and have to say he's a good looking guy! Started out as my smallest at Birth, progressed to being my most challenging per schooler to this fine man today. Love that smile!!

S/P 2nd Chemo...

I spoke with Andy last night, he sounded good although his mouth is just starting to get sore again. He was hoping he would be able to get another meal down w/o too much pain and he did. He said he is tired but not nearly as much as immediately after the first chemo treatment. (it's amazing how much our bodies can take) Anyway, he said that he appreciates all of our continued support and appreciates hearing from us. I think I speak for all of us, we hope that his energy remains, and his side effects are less and less as time goes on! KEEP FIGHTING THIS CANCER! XOXOXO!!!

Second chemo

I am sure Laurie will post when she gets access to the Internet. What she told me is that Andy did get chemo today along with all the wonder drugs to help with nausea and other side effects. However his white count is so low they debated if he was well enough but in the end he got it. He is also now on an antibiotic and asked to wear a mask to avoid catching anything. He will need to come back next week to check his white count again and to have a port inserted. Today took an hour to get the IV in and he was poked several times trying. We gave him advice on how to build up white count but he isn't too receptive. Similar on the masking up! We will see if he absorbs the info and decides to try some remedies.

Visit with Andy, Laurie and Scarlett

I came up to visit Andy and family and to pick up Serena at the conclusion of her spring break. I was pleased to see that Andy really looks better than prior to the start of Chemo. He still has intermittent nausea, and chest pain but he seems to have recovered from the chemo pretty well, albiet terrible mouth and jaw pain in the past week. He starts the drill over again this Thursday. :~(

Love of family

I've seen so much love and support for Andy and his family from friends, family, former family (lol) and just want to say thank you and it makes a difference. Andy is surrounded by wonderful people

One week

Today Andrew got up hopped in the shower and dressed. He spent the entire day out of bed with Serena and scarlet while I was at work. So today has been good, not a lot of jaw pain and his appetite is still good.

Almost one week

It will be one week tomorrow and Andrew still feels bad but has been able to spend the evenings with his family and sister. He is still eating well, not enjoying his food as much, but still eating nonetheless. I'm hoping to see if I can get him out for a touch of fresh air on Friday.

Better day

Today was a better day, the doctor was able to call in prescription for "magic mouthwash", it Is a concoction of lidocaine, Maalox, and Benadryl, it seems to relieve the pain enough so Andrew can eat a balanced meal. He has gotten out of bed today twice to eat and read some of his book.

Not so good day

Today Andrew has been in a lot of pain. His jaw and tongue hurt very badly, I called the on call doctor this evening and she said this is normal for this chemo routine and to start adding Tylenol into his pain pill regimen. This probably won't be something that will torment him everyday until the treatments are done but will probably happen everytime he receives a treatment for some days. Andrew couldn't enjoy the ham my mom cooked because of the salt, but one of Andrews favorite, my moms homemade drop biscuits, saved the night. Hopefully tomorrow will be better :)

Cancer Topics link

I don't know where the link went... See the blog below and cut and paste the link. :~( Chelle

I found a useful site you may want to check out...http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/chemotherapy-and-you/page5 As you probably know, fatigue is a major side effect of chemotherapy. Fortunately the health care providers have the side effects pretty well managed preventatively with a variety of medications and it sounds like they are working pretty well. The only medication that Andy is taking that causes the double vision is the Ativan, and the dose may need to be adjusted to remedy that. I hope that all the rest he is getting will help the drugs fight these cancer cells successfully. Happy Birthday to Scarlett! Happy Easter to all!

Day two after treatment

So here we are coming to the close of day two after treatment and Andrew has spent the entire day in bed. The ill effects so far are constipation, a sore mouth, and double vision. Despite the latter he has eaten and seems to keep it down well. Tomorrow for Easter we are going to celebrate Scarlet's birthday with an Easter egg hunt, presents, and dinner afterwards at my moms. Andrew has said he probably won't make it to the party, but will most definitely come for dinner.

First day After treatment

The first full day is coming to a close now and Andrew made through with just a bit of fatigue, so far no nausea, yay!! *claps hands*. Serena, scarlet, and I went grocery shopping today and Andrew and Michael went out and about. Andrew says that he needs to keep himself busy to keep his mind busy as well as not letting his body slow down. I reassured him that he can't get ambition confused with actual fatigue. I will try to post again tomorrow night sometime after 7pm pst to let you guys know how day 2 went. The doctors and NP told us its very possible he won't feel the full effects until about 48 hours after treatment.

Post first treatment so far

We are home now, Andrew is sleeping as I write this this morning. He was very fatigued and pale looking by the time it was all over with yesterday. He ate two helpings of lasagna and bread last night for dinner, I think this is a good sign? Maybe loss of appetite won't be a symptom for him? I think it's to early to tell for sure though.

Pictures

I added some pictures to the post just previous to this.   You can see Andy last week (the kung foo move) and today getting hooked up for his first chemo.   I also include one from when he was in the hospital for the week and his friend all "masked" up in case Andy was contagious.  We thought it was funny.  Finally, two pictures of people Andy loves a lot (maybe the most... but I hope I fit in near the top of the list!), Laurie and Scarlet doing normal things a few weeks ago and checking out the Easter bunnies.   This is very real today, so I wanted to include some normal stuff too!   Thank you all who are helping --- it's a coast to coast effort with great people helping in the way they are able to.  It's been awesome to see this and I thank you.

First treatment

Serena, andrew and myself are at the hematology/oncology department at UCSF Andrews IV is now in and he is hooked up to a saline solution. Andrew is at his wits end as far as being stuck with needles but the nurses have said its going to be a big part of the process. Serena is coming up to humboldt for a couple of weeks to help out around the house and help Andrew get settled. I will update again as soon as treatment is done.

The time is set

Andrew finally has a date and time set for his first two chemo sessions, they are going to be at 9 am this Thursday and 9 am on Thursday the 19th. The nurse we met with today said that Andrew should be pumped full of enough steroids and anti nausea meds via IV that he shouldn't feel to sick until about Saturday, so we should get home just fine. Andrew hasn't been sleeping well or eating a whole lot lately but is hanging in there. His moods have been up and down but I think when we see the doctor he usually walks out feeling better than when he walked in. Michael was having a hard time in the beginning but he seems to me to be in better spirits than before and is trying to keep his chin up for Andrews sake. I have a couple of pictures that Andrew wanted me to post but I can't until I get home to my computer so keep an eye out.

Big week ahead

It looks like things are going to be moving in April! PET scan tomorrow. Also tomorrow is the formal admission to the study and the accompanying paperwork. Chemo is set for Thursday. We all pray the chemo kicks lymphoma &@) from day one. Second prayer is for Andy to tolerate the chemo reasonably well. We appreciate everyone's support for Andy, Scarlet and Laurie as well as Michael.