We had a very good visit with Dr. Savin today. We asked him some very tough questions about whether the pain of the new proposed taxotere treatment was worth the gain. In his view a weekly, low dose treatment could actually improve Susan's quality of life, and could even produce a big benefit in retarding the disease. He promised that should he find that the treatment was no longer beneficial and/or the side effects too onerous that he would let us know and work with us on palliative care as needed. Shari, who was with us during the interview, observed that "Dr. Savin really knows what my sister needs." She was very impressed with his comments, as were Susan and I. We took that peaceful feeling that came from our interview to be a sign of the Lord's leading to go forward through this open door--at least for two treatments. After leaving Dr. Savin's office we then proceeded to the chemo room where Susan had her first treatment. So far there have been no side effects.
The other major milestone was yesterday's first TPN treatment. Bob, the home health care nurse, walked me through all the steps and then came back tonight to make sure I could pass his "exam." I did. The first TPN--running from 7 PM last night to 7 AM this morning--was OK except Susan had to get up a lot in the night because of the 1.2 liters of fluid she was receiving. They say that her body will adapt to this eventually.
So all-in-all it has been a good week, and we are fairly optimistic about Susan increasing her strength in the next few weeks. Thanks to all of you who were praying with us about these things.
Posted by John Dishman at June 20, 2003 07:29 PM