When I saw my oncologist in mid-January for my monthly chemo, he surprised me by saying not only was I not getting chemo that day, but that I was never having any more of the drug (Doxil), because it was causing my body too much trouble. (I thought that I was finally having a more typical patient experience, feeling like I'd gotten off pretty easy until I switched to this combo in mid-August. None of my side effects was serious or would last after I stopped taking the drug. But he has more perspective, of course, and I don't mind dropping it. I was spending a lot of my day trying to prevent and treat the various skin-related and other side effects.)
Dr K told me to take a 2-week break then see him again for a consultation. When I saw him after that break, he said to take Feb off, but then we decided that I'll get the the targeted drug (Avastin, which is only chemo in the sense of not being surgery or radiation) twice in February, then next month we'll decide on what drug to combine with the Avastin, which will depend on how I'm doing physically, because there's a milder chemo I could choose, but I'd rather go for something stronger.
So yesterday I got treatment. Being at the cancer center was like seeing old friends. As someone who used to be there 3 weeks out of 4, it felt like I'd been away a long time.
I did meet a chemo nurse I hadn't had before, who worked as a pediatric oncology nurse at Children's Hospital for 11 years. Suzanne's creating a nonprofit called Ladybug House, which you can see on Facebook. This is their description: "Ladybug House will be a community-based palliative-care home offering free respite and end-of-life care to children and young adults in a home setting." She's been doing background research for years and said there were only 2 or 3 places in the U.S. like it. Yesterday Suzanne was celebrating because she'd gotten some legal approval, I think it was. (She has a lot of prestigious lawyers, architects, and other professionals working pro bono to make this happen.) There's also going to be spiritual support, and she said she'd appreciate prayers for the project.
In Eight Steps to Happiness Geshe-la says "'Self' and 'other' are relative terms, rather like 'this mountain' and 'that mountain ... 'This' and 'that' therefore depend upon our point of reference. This is also true of self and other. By climbing down the mountain of self, it is possible to ascend the mountain of other, and thereby cherish others as much as we presently cherish ourself."
Saturday, February 15, 2014
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