11/10/2011 - Monday afternoon found me back at the oncologist's office for my regular checkup before my next chemotherapy cycle. About two months ago I started a new chemotherapy called Gemzar. It is the last chemotherapy drug that is available for me and when I'm finished with it chemotherapy treatment will no longer be an option for me. After that it will just be a matter of managing the symptoms of my illness.
The following is intended neither to be too melodramatic nor solicit sympathy; rather, it is a set up for the second half of the story. The side effects of Gemzar have been positively miserable up until now. Extreme fatigue, body aches, a couple of bouts of nausea, etc. I had a couple of weeks where I was so weak I was practically bedridden. I even got to the point where I had to start using a cane to get around on the bad days. Needless to say, after two cycles of this (8 weeks) I was ready to throw in the towel. I had every intention of walking into the doctor's office and telling him I was going to stop treatment.
About every eight weeks (or after two chemo cycles) I receive a CT scan to check on the disease's progression. Lo and behold, the results of my latest scan which were reported to me on Monday were overwhelmingly positive. All areas of cancerous growth had decreased by 25 to 40 percent (depending on how they were measured) and there were no new areas of concern. I certainly realize that this is only temporary so I'm not getting too amped about it, but it's nice to occasionally get some positive news. So for now I'm going to continue the treatment. The doctor adjusted my dosage to help me with the side effects and I'm happy to report that this week has been one of the easiest that I've had (aside from off weeks) since I started Gemzar.
We'll see how things go after the next eight weeks but for now I'll just be satisfied with the fact that things aren't getting worse and that the side effects aren't as bad.
