Monday, March 17, 2014

One Week to Go

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm in the treatment center right now, and I figured I would get a little update on here. The last two weeks I have been doing a lot of resting, and haven't been up to blogging. On the bright side I did have some friends over last week which was really nice. The only new side effect I had to deal with from my last post other than the increased fatigue was a little bit of thrush. If you're not aware thrush is a painful fungal infection in your mouth, and if not treated quickly can get pretty bad. We caught it pretty early, and the prescribed Nystatin cleared it up in a few days. It was pretty gross looking, and it was shocking to see how well the medication worked for it. 

This week is my last week of treatment as long as my scans are clear. You would think I would be really excited right now, but I have a rough week ahead of me. I think it's going to be hard for me to truly be satisfied until I get that final "clear" at the end. So I don't see much reason to celebrate at the conclusion of this week because at this point it still seems a little premature. The only thing to add is that I was reading other Ewing's sarcoma blogs and some patients receive more than 6 cycles, and some receive less. I wonder why. If that extra cycle will improve my odds of this not coming back, then I'll definitely take more chemo. I'll have to ask about that on Friday.

As always keep me, and all of the other people battling cancer in your prayers.

4 comments:

  1. You've been so courageous throughout your journey. Best of luck to you for a full recovery and a long and healthy life.

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  2. Best wishes to you during your last week.
    I hope you have peace until you get the final clear.
    We're rooting for you ♥

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  3. Hi Mike, the cessation of treatment is a scary prospect, isn't it? On the one hand that dreadful experience is done but on the other there is no longer active treatment to kill the cancer. It's a double-edged sword. You know you are always in our thoughts. Mathew has 13 treatments (6-1/2 cycles for you) perhaps because his tumour is in his spine and isn't easy to remove. Those a little older can't take the recommended protocol of chemo; their bodies simply can't absorb the drugs without too much harm being done. There is a 31 year old woman here with Ewing's Sarcoma in her kidney. She could only have 8 treatments (4 cycles) due to her age. I am curious what your Oncologist will tell you. Mathew's counts are too low to continue his chemo right now, but we can already feel the "scanxiety" that will follow after his final round of chemo.

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