No More Chemo

It is time for a change.

Gus continued to decline until last Tuesday night when he decided no more treatment. No more trips to Bozeman. He had enough of chemo. Gus had lost a total of 9 pounds in 8 days. He was taking oral chemo twice a day and each time he took the pills, he could feel himself getting worse.

Gus called his oncologist on Wednesday to tell him his decision. Since stopping the oral chemo, he has gained back 5 ½ pounds. He felt so good today that he spent most of it outside in his heated shop.

Gus’ primary doctor will once again be Dr. Madany in Dillon. He is the doctor who discovered Gus’ cancer so quickly 2 ½ years ago. We spent a couple of hours yesterday with him making plans for the next step in our walk.

We never realized the pressure we were under until it was gone. There was a true freedom for both of us after the decision was made.

Tomorrow Will Be Better

We never did receive a phone call from Bozeman telling us when to come back. I started making phone calls to them on the 10th trying to force the process.

Gus had his first infusion of Oxaliplatin last Tuesday, November 16. It is platinum based and the actual infusion takes longer than the previous chemo. Gus was in the infusion room at least 4 hours. He has been very sick since Tuesday evening. He did not even get dressed the following day which is a first.

One of the toughest side effects of this platinum based chemo is the reaction to cold. Gus can no longer drink or eat anything cold or even cool. He cannot reach into the refrigerator without wearing gloves. This side effect lessens as the body recovers, though.

We are in the middle of a winter storm with temperatures below zero which has really limited us. Gus has not set foot outside since coming home on Tuesday.

The oncologist changed the protocol of the FOLFOX regiment. Instead of Gus coming home with a chemo pump, he takes the oral chemo Xeloda. Gus has taken that before so we are used to the rules and side effects.

This regiment is a 3 week plan. On day 1, Gus starts the oral chemo and has the chemo infusion in Bozeman. He then continues the oral chemo for 13 more days. After 14 days of oral chemo, he stops and has one week of recovery before starting the cycle over again. Our next appointment in Bozeman is December 7th.

Gus is a very, very sick man. He lost 7 ½ pounds from Tuesday morning to Sunday morning. As of this morning, he now weighs 130 pounds.

The CA 19-9 has increased steadily. It was 248 last Tuesday. Since November 2nd, it had gone up 83 points in just two weeks. The pain is increasing also. Overall the outlook is not good.

Gus does plan on feeling better tomorrow and getting back into life, though.

Just Waiting

Last Tuesday was an emotional day for us. It had been two weeks since chemo, but Gus did not feel well the entire day. In fact, it was one of the worst days he has experienced.

The oncologist had not submitted the necessary paperwork for the insurance’s approval so we only visited with the doctor. Gus did not start any new treatment regiment. He did appreciate not having an infusion which would have just made him even sicker.

The doctor wants to start Gus on FOLFOXIRI. It is a chemo regiment for colon cancer. Gus would wear a chemo pump for 48 hours every two weeks. We’re hoping that they will allow me to disconnect the chemo after the 48 hours.

Right now we are just waiting to hear from Bozeman for the next step. Gus has even stopped taking the daily targeted therapy pill.

Gus has spent these nice fall days getting projects done outside. Our place has never looked better.

Last Saturday, Gus and I attempted to get a load of firewood for Scott and April. I emphasize the word attempt. Gus said he has never worked harder for a little bit of firewood. There is a song about “if it weren’t for bad luck; we’d have no luck at all”. That was our theme song for the day.