It has been over 2 weeks since an update but that does not mean things have been idle. Actually the calendar has been so full that we wonder where the time has gone.
The Dr. told Kim that she was healing nicely and was ready to start chemo. He also told her that it was likely she would qualify for a study group. If she agreed to be part of this group it would mean extra test, a CAT scan an echogram. These are both baseline tests and will be repeated periodically throughout the treatment. We all liked the idea of the “extra TLC” factor. We also liked the idea that she had to have a strong heart and other than her cancer, she needed to be in good condition. Test showed she was. The part of this that we were not thrilled about was the fact that she needed to have a small portion of a tumor that remained in her body. Test showed she did. Not great news but still good to know what they are dealing with. The tumor is less than an inch and on her liver. The doctor hopes the Chemo will take care of it.
The test study was divided into 2 groups. One group will have a “Chemo Cocktail” of 2 types of medication and have it administered 2 days in a row, every 20 days. Group 2 would have a combination of 3 drugs in their “Chemo-Cocktail” taken on the same 2 consecutive days but then followed by a shot that is meant to boost the white blood cells on day 3. A computer assigned Kim to the group once she qualified. She is in the high dose group. The doctors at the Med Center have used both routines so neither is right or wrong, just different. And now they are studying the difference and the outcomes. The combination of the 3 drugs can be too toxic for some patients. Kim and her doctors can and will pull out of the study if this puts her at too high a risk. We are thinking that she can whip this quicker and is in the right study group.
Early last Wednesday, Kim had a port put into her upper chest on the right. This will be where the Chemo is administered. It will stay in for as long as her body allows and she is undergoing Chemo. She then went through a “flushing” before the 1 ½ hour of Chemo followed by another “flushing”. On Thursday the process was repeated. She will go to the Syracuse Hospital to have a shot 24 to 48 hours after her last Chemo. It is my understanding that this shot will make her bones ache a bit but the outcome will be a boost in the white blood cells. Kim will have lab work done every Monday at the Syracuse hospital. The results will go to UNMC where the team will review and Kim’s liaison will call her with directions of which of the dozens of meds she need to increase or decrease. They will let her know if she is restricted on activities or if her cell count is healthy enough for people contact. Kim hopes to get back to work soon. Her work puts her in a lot of contact with people so they will watch her cell counts closely. She is also still tender and her insides are swollen from the surgery. Lifting, pushing and pulling are still no-nos. That surgery was just 24 days ago.
Her hair is still long but her stylist has offered to cut it into a stylish short do. A friend recommended to NOT shave her head just yet to avoid some un-comfortable rashes. Another friend said she tried short, didn’t like the short hairs falling out so she liked the shaved route. What to Do????? Kim will figure it out. A photographer friend took Kirchhoff family pictures last Sunday so her long hair is recorded in photographs.
In the meantime, Becky, Shane and Gail took her to the American Cancer Society and checked out their wig selection - which turned out to be more wigs than Kim could even try on. She tried going brunette, red head, and bleached blonde - curls, straight and some with bobbed cuts. She came out with two very cute wigs one shorter and one longer, two turbans and a cute scarf that brought them back to high school days. They told her she was welcome to come back anytime and exchange her look if she wanted. They provided her with a goodie bag.
When I talked to Kim this morning, she said she was feeling ok and trying to figure out her basket of meds. This is a test for someone who rarely needed an aspirin.
She sounded up for the challenge and glad the process is underway.
Jan Snyder
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