New Treatment Plan

Not long after my last blog post I had an appointment with my oncologist to decide what to do next and that is to go with Doxil alone. My oncologist recommended Doxil because he doesn't want me to burn through more chemos than is necessary. Trying all of these chemotherapy drugs can make the cancer more resistant and can also eliminate me from trials. Going back on Doxil isn't introducing anything new and is a treatment that can work well for me. I wish I could continue with Temsirolimus, but that is out of the question because it amplified the bad side effects from the Doxil. My oncologist said that the burns I had were the worst he has ever seen from these drugs. Going forward I will continue to receive Doxil once a month and the plan is to do a few more cycles. Also my dosage of Doxil is increased from 30 mg/m2 to 40 mg/m2 because that is the only chemo I'm receiving. So far I had two cycles of Doxil + Temsirolimus and just had my first cycle of Doxil alone. I have a CT scan the week after my 4th cycle, and if that scan is good I think I'll do one more cycle.

I'm almost through this first cycle of Doxil alone, and I'm managing much better. I had one small mouth sore that resolved in a few days, and one burn in my crotch area. To help with preventing the burns I placed ice packs on all of the areas that were previously burned during the infusion. I had the infusion on a Friday and did not leave the air conditioned apartment the entire weekend. I also took off work that Monday to keep out of the heat. Those 4 days I iced every few hours, and when I showered it was a cold one. I have also been applying Udderly Smooth Cream with Urea to the previously affected areas nightly. For mouth sores I drink Healios every morning after eating breakfast. I did a lot of these things when I had the nasty side effects before so really the big difference is that I'm not receiving the Temsirolimus, but taking these extra precautions can't hurt.

Other than that not much is new. It was a pretty uneventful summer. My treatment and its side effects really sidelined me for the most part. I feel like all I have done lately is go to work, rest, chemo, repeat. One bright spot of this summer was when my parents and my brother made an impromptu visit for the weekend before I resumed my treatment. I felt pretty good so we did a lot. We went to a nice barbecue restaurant, walked around Carytown, and visited Maymont. It was a really hot weekend, but we made the most of it, and it really lifted my spirit before resuming my treatment. The pictures below were taken at Maymont.

Next post will be in a few weeks after I get my next scan results. Take care everyone!