Bloods

My brother has taken Mum to her pre-chemo blood test today. Hopefully that will be fine and the Chemo will go ahead as planned on Thursday. If it does and the Chemo lasts just six cycles instead of eight, then we are nearly half way through :-)

I am just saying all that because it makes me feel better to think the end is in sight....

Vincristine

** FANTASTIC NEWS ** The numbness from the Vincristine has gone in Mum's fingers! She just sent me a text demonstrating how well her fingers are feeling now!

I am so pleased :-))))

The Nursing Home

I went down to see Mum in the nursing home yesterday. It really is a nice place and she is very happy there. She is confined to her room because of the current infection risk but she should be able to go into the lounge today. It is a lovely place and the staff all seem very nice. The food looks great and I am pleased she is able to be provided with a good square meal that she doesn't have to worry about making.

She has found a place that does meals on wheels for when she gets home and it is just £2 a day. Bargain!

The plan now is for her to recover a bit in the nursing home before her 3rd cycle of Chemo which starts on Thursday next week.

Intermediate Care

Sadly Mum's dizzy spells got worse yesterday and she had a fall in the bathroom. Thank god she wasn't hurt but the Doctor has decided to admit her for Intermediate Care. He reckons Mum isn't coping as well as she thinks. She has gone for a few days rest at a Nursing Home nearby and she seems very happy there. She has her own room and nursing care to hand so hopefully she will feel better from it.

I can't remember who told Mum this but she believes that she is not allowed to eat chocolate and hasn't done so for a couple of months. I mentioned this to my Consultant friend today who thinks that is a load of tosh. So I think Mum needs some of her favourite chocolate to hand, this will obviously increase her blood sugar and may even stop her feeling dizzy!

More G-CSF

Just spoke to Mum and she is a bit shaky again but the District Nurse should be along shortly with the second G-CSF injection. One more tomorrow and then hopefully Mum's Bloods will be back up and running properly.

The blood count has to be close to normal or they won't do the Chemo, so hopefully by next week everything will be ready to go for Cycle 3.

Friday's Consultancy

We met with Mum's Consultant again on Friday for the mid-point between cycles. They did another blood test as follows:

Haemoglobin 11.5 (previous 12.6)
Whites 0.4 (previous 11.5)
Platelets 188 (previous 308)
Neutrophils 0.1 (previous 8.5)

So you can see a marked drop in the count. This is predictable at the mid-way point between cycles and is why Mum becomes at risk of infection. They have prescribed more G-CSF injections to get the blood count back up.

The good news however is that all the lumps have gone and even have two Chemo cycles, Mum has obviously responded well.

An over-night stay

Driving down to Wales again later for an over-night stay and then an appointment first thing tomorrow with the Consultant.

From the sounds of things, Mum is feeling a little worse for away again but as we are mid-cycle, it is to be expected. Hopefully the bloods will show nothing out of the ordinary tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.

Ciprofloxacin starts again today

Mum has started to feel dizzy again and we are not sure if that is just the Chemo or whether starting the Ciprofloxacin today has that effect.

In any event, she is taking it easy and staying in. I get ever so worried when she feels dizzy like this.

After the second Chemo cycle

Everything seemed to go well yesterday and Mum says she is feeling ok. She is probably rattling with all the tablets she is taking but apart from feeling dizzy and unsteady on her feet, they seem to be working.

The antibiotics start again on Monday and then we mark time again for three weeks. But at least now we know what to expect and hopefully there will be no more surprises.

Another Consultancy Meeting

Yesterday we went back to see the Consultant before the second Chemo cycle starts. The results of the blood test were as follows:

Hemoglobin 12.6
Whites 11.5
Platelets 308
Neutrophils 8.5

Apparently Mum's blood is healthier than mine!

One of the side effects of Mum's particular Chemotherapy is numbness and she has experienced some on the tips on her fingers. This is caused by Vincristine. As a result of that, the next cycle will be a different mix but again a side effect will be bone marrow suppression. It is like a game of Kerplunk!

Mum has now got a new batch of drugs to take:

Prednisolone - steroids (Start am Thurs 11th August)
14 tablets five days

Fluconazole - to prevent thrush (Start am Thurs 11th August)
1 tablet fourteen days

Ondansetron - anti sickness (Start pm Weds 10th August)
1 tablet twice a day for five days

Omeprazole - to reduce stomach acid and diarrhoea (Start am Thurs 11th August)
1 tablet 7 days

Ciprofloxacin - antibiotics (Start am Mon 15th August)
1 tablet 14 days

We have decided to let the Consultant go on holiday for a few days as he has been such a good chap. So the next appointment with him is Friday 19th August 2011 10am. But the next Chemo is Thursday 11th August 2011.

Another mobile phone post!

Mum has just gone in for her blood test before we see the Consultant. So fingers crossed that all is well and nothing prevents her second cycle of Chemotherapy on Thursday.

We are going to the local Wetherspoons (if that is how you spell it?) for luncheon. We have tried the one where Mum lives and it is fine but the local one here is all on the flat. Much easier for us as Mum is still a bit shaky on her feet.

A bit more upbeat

Mum sounds much happier today. Hopefully the white blood cell count has risen and she is on the up again; we will find out on Monday when we see the Consultant again. Then, the Chemo regime starts again on Thursday with cycle two.

Fingers crossed!

Hair today and gone tomorrow

Mum woke up this morning and left a lot of hair on the pillow. She said that it is coming out by the clump now when she brushes. She seems quite pragmatic about the whole thing though and whilst there is the offer of a posh wig, she seems happy to stay as she is and wear a head scarf.

Mum says she wants to grow back a red head!

Chemotherapy often causes hair loss otherwise known as alopecia. This is because the cells in the hair follicles grow fast and chemotherapy damages fast growing cells. (see what is chemotherapy). Hair loss is not permanent and it will grow back once your treatment has ended. Not all drugs cause hair loss - Some just cause thinning and others cause dramatic hair loss including the body hair and eye brows. Furthermore, different people have different tolerances to the drugs. Occasionally, some people loose their hair when it is not expected and sometimes in other cases no hair loss occurs when it is expected. (See table below for a list of chemotherapy drugs likely to cause hair loss)

Hair loss can start any time from after the first few days after chemotherapy to within a few weeks. However, your hair will grow back once treatment is complete although to start with your hair will grow back very fine, very like a baby's hair. Your clinic nurse can arrange for you to have a wig before your treatment starts. After three to six months you should have regained a full head of hair although it may be slightly different to before your treatment in terms of colour and texture.

Source: Cancer net

One week before cycle two

All the G-CSF injections are done now and the word is that by the weekend Mum should start feeling a bit better. Then we are into the second cycle of Chemo and we start over.

It is a tough thing but there is no avoiding it. But the end result will be worth the struggle.

I love you so much Mum xx

G-CSF Injections

The District Nurse came yesterday as promised and is due today to give the final injection. Hopefully this will bring the white blood cell count back up ready for the Chemo next week.

We have an appointment with the Consultant again on Monday for a blood test etc and I guess will we know then if things are proceeding as planned for Chemo cycle 2.

Mum says she is still feeling a bit frail but she is taking it easy.

Another Consultancy

We went to the hospital yesterday for another blood test and meeting with the Consultant. He really is an excellent chap and highly recommendable.

Mum started with three lumps: one on her neck and two under each armpit. The neck lump has gone, one armpit lump has gone and the remaining lump has reduced by 50%. Excellent news!!

As predicted, the white blood cell count is very low. This was expected in the middle week of the cycle which is why Mum is susceptible to infection. The consultant has given her a G-CSF injection and the District Nurse will give her another today and again tomorrow. This will raise the white blood cell count in time for Chemo next Thursday.

G-CSF means granulocyte-colony stimulating factor

G-CSF is a special type of protein called a growth factor. It stimulates the bone marrow to make white blood cells. The bone marrow is a spongy material inside the bones where all our blood cells are made.

Growth factors are made naturally in the body. They can also be made outside the body and used as treatments.

There are three different types of G-CSF:

lenograstim (Granocyte®)
filgrastim (Neupogen®, Nivestim®, Ratiograstim®, Zarzio®)
pegylated filgrastim (Neulasta®).

These treatments all work in similar ways.

Source - Macmillan

Ps. Pleased my Mobile phone post worked!

Sat in the waiting room

This is more of a test to see if I can post to the blog from my mobile...

Mum has gone for her blood test and then we will be able to see the consultant.

She is looking a lot less shaky now but has lost a lot of weight.

Much more later.