News Flash: Xeloda Escapes Capillaries

Here's a small update with much more to come over the holiday weekend!

After her 2nd chemo infusion, Mom had a physically painful reaction to the chemo pill (Xeloda is what it's called). Her hands and feet became really tender and inflamed. She discovered that this reaction was due to the Xeloda overloading her body and actually leaking out of her capillaries and into her system.

I think she described the feeling to be something like the feeling you have when you get a blister from touching something extremely hot - only all over her palms, fingers, and soles of her feet.

Thankfully, the research nurse had said to stop the medication should something like that happen and give them a call. Mom had the reaction over Mother's Day weekend, so she stopped the meds that Saturday and called MD Anderson on Monday. They told her to continue to not take the Xeloda and call them once the inflammation had subsided.

She called them again after it had mostly gone away and they told her to remain off the Xeloda until they speak with her at her next appointment. That's a very nice blessing since that's what causes the side effects!!

We are very thankful that the doctor and nurse are so keen on keeping side effects like this to a very acute minimum. We expect them to lower the Xeloda dosage on this next trip in an effort to prevent the hand and foot pain from happening again.

And that brings us up to the next trip which is this week!! It will be a little different this time.

Dad, Mom, and Taylor are all driving to Austin this Thursday, the 22nd. They'll stay the night at our house and head to Houston early Friday morning. Friday's appointment is an assessment for Mom to have a port "installed." <~~That's my Realtor term....

But Friday is only an assessment and nothing more. Due to the holiday weekend, Mom will not have the port actually "installed" until the following Tuesday. So, after the assessment appointment on Friday they'll drive *back* to Austin and hang out with us for the weekend.

Then, on Monday (or early Tuesday), they'll drive back to Houston *again* to have the port installed, receive a 3rd infusion of chemo (wow - three already!?), and then head back home again (possibly with another night with us in Austin).

In the beginning of this whole process, when Mom was diagnosed...it seemed like everything moved so slowly. Now, that we are in the chemo treatment time, it seems to fly by. But, I guess time can't really stand still when you travel 1000 miles in 3 days once every 3 weeks!

(Midland to Houston via Austin one way = 503.54 miles)

Ding! Ding! ...Round 2!

Today, Sherrie starts Round 2 of her chemotherapy treatment. It's about 5:00 p.m. and we are in the Ambulatory Treatment Center, getting hooked up to the IV.

We drove into Houston around 1 p.m. and met with the nutritionist, the research nurse, and the doctor; then blood was drawn, prescriptions were dropped off, and forms picked up.

So far, she has been doing great. She needs one of those silk boxer robes that says "Champ" on the back. The main side effect she's had has resulted in a short 'do with rockin' highlights! The other side effect has been a little trouble on the digestive side of things - but other than that, there's been almost no nausea, pain, or anything else!

She'll fly back home tomorrow evening, and continue her regimen of poppin' pills.

Please continue to keep her in your prayers. The research nurse did say that the side effects are "cumulative" so they may get worse as the treatment progresses. Hopefully, they'll continue to stay at a minimum!

Also, say a quick prayer for my grandmother, Memaw. She was hospitalized late last week for an irregular heartbeat. Right now, as we are sitting in Houston, she's in Abilene having a pacemaker "installed" to help mitigate that and keep her going like she always goes.