We met with one of the Oncologists (not her main doctor) today and he decided she should stop the Chemo pills (Capecitabine- 5FU) since her Nausea and now Diarrhea are continuing and/or getting worse and none of the anti-nausea medications are helping. Stopping that will at least let them know if that is the most likely cause especially given that the drugs she received via the port should be out of her system by now. If she starts feeling much better in a few days, that will be a good indication of the issue and they can make appropriate adjustments from there. Unfortunately, that means she is essentially off any real Chemo treatment for now. From the doctor today, it sounds like there are some other drug options that may not be considered "the gold standard", but are still effective.
One option is for her to receive the 5FU via her IV port which means a pump instead of pills, but this does keep the pills out of her digestive system which should be better for nausea and diarrhea.
We should meet with her Oncologist next Thursday (they are trying to schedule now) and depending on how she is feeling over the next week, he should make adjustments and we will go from there. The trick is for her to get as much of the Chemo into her, but reach a balance that she can tolerate both physically and mentally. The doctors and nurses will be working with her over the next few weeks to try and figure out the best balance for her as everyone is different and as you all know, Barbara is "unique".
I guess that is really all I have today. I will try to at least let everyone know how she is feeling over the next couple days (hopefully much better), but there may not be a lot to report until a plan for the next cycle is determined.
Wayne
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