On the 27th Millie went to U of I for her 3rd round of chemo and chest x-rays. They want to do chest x-rays in the middle of chemo treatment to make sure that there aren't any mets in the lungs (cancer has spread). If the cancer had spread, they would discontinue carboplatin, and....well, I never really looked into it because I refused to let that be an option for us. I was nervous - like that upset stomach, can only think about one thing kind of nerves.
Our chemo tech was a lady we had never seen before, or at least I had not, maybe Millie saw her all the time. Anyway, I loved her. She knew I was nervous & was very kind to Mil. She wanted to prepare me in case of bad news, but was also hopeful right along side me. She was wonderful, and exactly what an oncology department needs. She explained that they would do Millie chest x-rays first, and if they were okay the next step would be exam, bloodwork, then finally chemo. If the chest x-rays showed signs of cancer, they would call me to discuss options. We also talked about Millie's mild nausea post chemo #2, and she stated she would happily talk to the oncologist to make sure I was sent home with anti-nausea meds. The tech could see I was trying to remain calm, and asked if I had any other questions. When I asked if she'd call either way after the x-rays, she said it wasn't the usual course, but she would make sure somebody called me. That woman was just what I needed that day - thoughtful & kind.
About an hour later U of I called to let me know that the chest x-rays were clear. Clear!!! (*Insert dancing and screaming here*) Talk about a sigh of relief. The chemo is working. On another note, her neutrophils were low. She was above the limit cutoff, but because this was the first time she was low (at all), he wanted to see her back in one week for repeat bloodwork. If the neutrophils get too low, she may have to go on a course of antibiotics, and potentially push back her chemo to every four weeks instead of three.
At 1:30, my Stink was hauling ass down the hallway wagging her tail like a maniac. She finished out the workday with me (though she napped most of it). After work I had a few petsitting stops. By the time we got home, she was exhausted. I never know if it is because of the chemo, her nerves, or a combination of the two. In any event, we got home and she immediately put herself to bed. Since she had an upset stomach the night of chemo #2, I gave her about an hour to calm down before giving dinner. During that hour, she slept -- slept through pizza, cats eating, Sugar eating, etc. She felt warm, so I took her temp -- just a touch high. I offered her food, and she only ate about 1/8 of a cup. I decided to let her keep sleeping, but to take her temp every hour and a half. At 10:30pm, when her temp was back to normal, I offered her dinner. She ate the whole thing in 7 seconds (per usual). Ever since then, she's been the same old Stink. The anti-nausea medicine is either working well, or she doesn't have any this time.
She's been happy to greet strangers (I found a neighbor's wallet, and Mil got to meet her when she came over to claim it), bark at the dogs across the street, and - her favorite - shove Shugs out of the way & try to eat Sugar's dinner too!
Two more rounds of chemo to go. Keep working your magic!
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