Well, here I am at the clinic for round 9 of chemo. Just started IV with meds, and will be here today for about 6 hours. After that, they send me home with a portable pump that continues dispensing meds until Wednesday, then swap that out for another portable infusion pump that injects another med on Thursday. After that, it’s about a week of recovery followed (hopefully) by a few days of feeling normal again! Getting used to this cycle.
Blood test this morning just came back. Still having a problem with low platelets. They just aren’t moving up. Sigh. Of course Christy reminds me they aren’t moving down right now either. (Glass is half full!) Just leaves me weaker and weaker with each cycle, so I have to find a way to strengthen the body more when energy levels allow.
Am I getting discouraged? Well… last few months, YES. February through March were terrible for me. But this past week, I decided to trust more in God’s promises of giving me time to enjoy life, my wife & family, friends, and the world around us. So rather than focusing on what’s been wrong and the dismal prognosis every web site on the internet gives regarding late stage pancreatic cancer, I’m going to meditate instead on the reality that I am alive today and can fight this so far. The future is such an unknown, so believing in faith is a much better option then giving into fear for what may change at any moment. Faith just seems to be a better option.
If you can continue to pray that we find a solution to low platelet counts, and also pray that treatment is effective in controlling the disease, that would be awesome!
By the way, the doctor cancelled my tumor marker tests last week. Not sure why, but they said they’d run that tomorrow, so later in the week I’ll post an update on how successful the treatments have been so far.
Also, April 19th Christy and I are taking eleven days off to travel. We’ve put off our 25th wedding anniversary too long and decided to take it now (4 years late). It should be a relaxing trip with virtually no plans other than to get away (Paris), enjoy each other, sunshine, walking through parks and busy streets, sitting in a cafe until our coffee and pastry are done, enjoying a few gourmet dinners, and seeing an art museum or two. Most importantly, it gives us a chance to get away from doctors, tests, treatments, and cancer for a little while. Really looking forward to that!
Thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. So much appreciated!
– Sandy K