regime#7, cycle 1a, day 6

cycle 1a, day 6

[29 Oct 2008, 02:35:26 PM]

I requested for the morning glory suite and was given that for this cycle. I was glad to be attended to by Imelda, who is really great with the plugging. She made me comfortable by getting the blanket ready, making sure I was warm. She forewarned me when she was about to administer the pre-med, one of which gave me this "needles pricking" sensation at the butt. After the drug gemzar started to flow, she got me a hot pack to be put on my arm. The "burning sensation" was familiar and I almost wanted to pull out the plug. Grrrrrr. Then when oxaliplatin was going in, I felt cold. Brrrrrr. Hot then cold. What a combo!


I measure a nurse's competence in plugging needles by how much (or little) pain when she sets the plug in and if there is any bruise (aka "blue-black") after the plug is removed. There is a certain angle of plugging in where the pain is minimal and how straight one pulls the arm (to straighten the veins) to plug in. I must clarify I am not a trained nurse or have any knowledge of such. I only have the practical experience and going through countless pokings to derive those observations. So far, I had encountered two nurses who gave me totally painless plugs. Incredible I tell you.


I felt very tired after day one and have been feeling such since. One of the side effects of gemzar is constipation. I am also seeing some hair loss and feeling rather hot, perspiring incessantly.


Not wanting to be defeated by the side effects, we went to consult the Chinese physician yesterday. His prescription of herbs three years ago was of great help. Yes, I like my "yi shi" too. He complimented my oncologists for taking such good care of me all these years. I totally understand why he only gives consultation and does not dispense medication.


LX called me on Monday to share a joke. She made me laugh so much and chased the moodiness away. Joyce called me this morning as I have not been to her place for quite awhile. She asked if I have any food cravings so that she could buy them. No, I don't. I just want to rest and fast forward my life to the last cycle of this regime.

7th regime

Taken from my old blog.
New regime / protocol
[23 Oct 2008, 05:31:24 PM]

My scan and blood tests results were out. I went to the clinic on Tuesday. The cancer marker CA125 has risen to 106. The scan showed two of my tumours being larger than previously. They caused one of my kidneys to be enlarged too, though I don't feel any discomfort. Maybe just "sng sng" feeling sometimes. The rise should not come as a surprise as the marker has been on the up trend during the last few cycles.


My blood count is not pristine anymore. My white blood count is still below the normal range.My red blood count is also marginally low. I was still on oral CTX and MTX without the avastin. Dr Chia concluded that the two oral drugs without avastin do not work out for me. I wanted to rest some more but he felt it is better to start this Friday on the new regime. He was considerate and understanding, seeing my anxiety, to suggest consulting Dr See for her opinion. We did, on the same day. I laughed when he said the new regime would not cause hair loss and I should be able to tolerate the side effects well.


Dr See's view is the growth is considered slow. She is still keen to be put me on oral drug tamoxifem later on so that my bone marrow could recuperate. She said to monitor my response to this new regime and would consider adding another drug (couldn't remember the name now) to enhance the effectiveness. Dr Chia's suggestion was to have avastin added at a later time.


The new regime will commence tomorrow. Oxaliplatin is a new drug I am using. I had gemzar before in 2005 with carboplatin (4 cycles) and with cisplatin (later 2 cycles). I remember I was so bloated that I almost couldn't fit into "M" size pants. The drug gemzar when going into the veins would cause this "burning" sensation and I needed hot packs to be put on my arms. My veins after that regime were constricted and had many "valves" (spelling?) that the nurses had a hard time looking for "big" clean veins to plug me. Needless to say, what I dislike most about this regime is the numerous needle prickings.

Before regime starts: blood tests (needle poke #1)
Day 1 : chemo infusion for one and half hours (needle poke #2)
Day 8 : blood test + chemo same as day 1 (needle pokes #3 and #4)
rest one week (day 15-20)

Day 20 : blood test (after chemo blood tests) (needle poke #5)
day 21 : doctor review + chemo possibly on the same day

Okay, who is counting the needle pokings?