The chemotherapy treatment that I will be going through is known as ABVD which consists of four types of drugs that they put together and administer intravenously. At this point the Oncologist, Zimet, has said that I will go through 6 cycles of treatment which takes place every fortnight. The first treatment will be administered this Tuesday in which I will have to be admitted to the hospital so that I can be observed overnight in case there are any odd side effects. Also during my treatments the doctors will be monitoring my blood counts to ensure that i am not at risk of other illnesses. At the 3 month marker or after the third administration of the treatment, a full evaluation will take place to see if the treatment is working.
After the chemotherapy is over, approximately at the end of January, then I will begin 4 weeks of radiotherapy. The radiotherapy will take place 5 to 7 times a week for 4 weeks. Intense.
Zimet has told me of some of the side effects that could occur with the chemotherapy treatment. Some of those are: nausea and vomiting, but can be controlled with drugs, hair loss which grows back after treatment, reversible falls in blood counts, minor risk of cardiac damage, minor risk of long term shortness of breath and mouth ulcerations.
In my next blog I will talk about some of the things that I am doing from a nutrition and meditation perspective to assist my body in dealing with the treatment.
We are just thankful they found the cancer as soon as they did at the stage it is in. As they say in Australia "a bit of good luck mate" (I think that is how they talk)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan to get thing back to normal! After it all goes well you will need a long vacation(trip) to make you feel better....
Love
Ben and Bonnie
Dearest Brian, At first I found this news devastating. Then I read your blog, and although you are going through hell right now, the prognosis appears to be very good. A dear friend's adult son had the bone marrow replacement and of course it was harrowing, but he is doing great. So if they can succeed in that therapy, I pray yours will work as well. Then when you come back to the States, you, Amy & Olivia can come to Paradise for a well deserved vacation...make it in the summer so we can swim in the pool, go out on the boat, picnic and swim in the river and jump off the rocks, visit Mount Lassen and Bald Rock, relax in the hot tub at night with a glass of champagne, etc. Just the usual Paradise stuff. Much love to you and your family, Gwen
ReplyDeleteWe are praying for you and the family. We are happy to hear as good as news as possible about the stage and other negative results. I can't imagine the stress but am confident that you will get through this because to us you are a strong person. I am glad to hear that you are also trying some spiritual and nutritional avenues to help your body. I think that you already have a good handle on that sort of thing since you have explored those avenues before in your life. We will be thinking of you. We love you and Amy and Olivia.
ReplyDeleteLove, The Mazas
hey Brian, if you are doing meditation, I would love to join you if the schedule or classes makes sense. let me check out if there are any classes in the city...
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