7/18/06

I was supposed to go through the fourth chemotherapy today. I went to the radiology treatment first at 8:15, and then went to the oncologist’s office. It turns out, however, that my white blood cell count is too low to endure the therapy, and my therapy was postponed for another week.

While talking to the doctor, I discovered that my chemotherapy was actually scheduled for 7 times. The length of concurrent radiology/chemo therapy is determined byhow long the radiology treatment lasts. Even though I optimistically assumed that my last chemotherapy would be on August 1 (sixth week), I was supposed to go thorough the chemotherapy through August 8 when the last radiology treatment is scheduled.

Also I learned that even though I have many side effects from the chemotherapy, my dosage is minimal, just enough to make the radiation most effective. Therefore, I was told that skipping this week’s treatment does not make much difference. It means that I was speared with one less chemotherapy!! It is a Godsend gift!

One of the Japanese people who wrote in the comment section of this blog said that the first phase of Japanese chemo/radiation therapy is for three weeks. In Japan, they give a break after the three-week treatment. Does it mean that Japanese tolerates the treatment less than Americans, and I am behaving just like an average Japanese?
It is very possible that this is the case because there should be a difference between 100 pounds and 200 pounds, and 5 feet and 6feet.

During the past three days I have been suffering from esophagitis, acid reflux and a different kind of nausea. These are caused by the cumulative effect of the radiology treatment; daily radiology which burns the tumor is now burning the esophagus wall, and causing these symptoms. My radiologist warned me about this from the beginning, so the symptom itself is not a surprise, but it is still very difficult to endure.

During the night, I have been feeding myself with three cans of food through the J-tube, which forces me to be bedridden for about nine hours. My oncologist predicted that I might have to feed five cans a day at the end of the treatment, because the radiology treatment makes it difficult even to drink water; that means I have to be bedridden for about 16 hours a day! My goal is try to eat and drink as much as possible through the mouth, so that I can limit the tube feeding as much as possible. Therefore, I am making a “power shake” with protein powder, soymilk, ice cream, and frozen fruit three times a day. This should give me at least four hundred calories additional. I hope that I can at least continue taking this throughout the therapy.

For comments, lincicome@charter.net