Cycle 13 Goes Forward

Cycle 13’s triple whammy happened on May 4th, a week later than originally planned. That extra week gave Tim the time his bone marrow needed to resume white cell and red cell production. He actually felt better and stronger than he’d felt in a long time. Even this late in the treatment process we are still trying to figure out the best combination of anti-nausea medications. It just didn’t seem like the Aloxi was as effective as it had been when he started using it so it was eliminated and Zofran was substituted to go with the usual Scopolamine patch, Ativan and Dexamethasone. He didn’t have any Compazine so was awake for a lot of the day but he was sick a lot of the time. He was also sick a lot the next day until we could get it under control with the Zofran every 4 instead of every 6 hours. It seems like he needs the extra Zofran. For the next and last treatment, we’ll go back to Aloxi with Zofran as a “booster” and see if that gets him through the first day a little better.

We talked with the staff about what happens after the treatment is done. CT scans will continue every 3 months for up to 1.5 years and then gradually taper down to a lower frequency, eventually ending at one year intervals. As is typical for cancer, the 5 year mark will be critical. After that he is likely to need periodic continued CT scans.