5th chemo - make it a party

We were mentally prepared to do four more rounds of chemo again, one every other week, before the next scan.  However, nothing prepared us better than a chemo party thrown by our old friends and relatives.  Foods made with love nourish our souls, humor and laughter lifted our spirits.  We are grateful for your love and support.

Also, thank you for your prayers, Gwohann's blood lab result is stable, with only two indexes out of the range which is expected from chemotherapy.  Please pray that the chemo will effectively control the cancer for a long time, and that Gwohann's body can continue to tolerate the treatment. 

We may be changed by the cancer, but we refuse to be reduced by it.  So we will have a chemo party whenever we can.  Join us!

Fighting on

Stable is good news.  The new CT scan tells us that Gwohann's cancer is under control, no new progression.  All scan impressions are stable.  Thank God!  The blood report also shows that Gwohann's body is tolerating the chemo well.  Therefore, Dr. D advised to continue the chemo, and that is what we will do tomorrow.  Fighting on!

4th Chemo - slow and steady wins the race

When the nurse presented two popsicles, Gwohann's eyes opened wide with delight, "Is this part of the treatment?" he playfully asked.  The nurse nodded with a big smile.  Evidently, ice or popsicles have helped reduce mouth sores in some patients who received Vinorelbine, the nasty drug that damages small blood vessels.  Gwohann gladly accepted the proposition while the nurse slowly and steadily pushing the Vinorelbine through his Mediport. Feeling blissful, Gwohann did not pause to finish eating one and open another one.  The nurse had to tell him to slow down so that he will not finish before she completed the infusion.  Popsicles make us a kid again.

Thank you again to our wonderful kids and friends who came to support us, we feel more relaxed and hopeful with them around.  Otherwise, it can be painful to watch/take the treatment and the resulting side effects. Through the procedure, Gwohann slept and awoke, his blood pressure went up and down, his face changed colors as six different drugs infused to his body one by one over the stretch of five hours.  It takes enormous strength to endure such treatment.  He truly is our hero!

The latest lab report shows that Gwohann's white blood cell (WBC) count has gone back up but is way over the normal range.  Bands count is over the range as well.  Therefore, our oncologist reduced the WBC booster Neulasta to half of the last dosage.  Please pray that every indexes will be normal by next lab test. A CT scan will be performed on Aug 13 to evaluate the effectiveness of the four chemo cycles and we will hear the findings on Aug 17.  Please pray for a great result!

Chemo is hard, but by going slow and steady, we will win the race!

-- Jacqueline