Day 40

We had 2 medical appointments today. Both went very well...

Anzonette, Nutritionist at Kaiser
Anzonette and I spoke on the phone. We both agreed that a more regimented nutrition schedule would help prevent some of mom's digestive struggles without the use of over-the-counter drugs like immodium and senacot. So, I've put a list together of low & high fiber foods, which will be interchanging as she goes through her chemo week.

Also, she heartily approved our interest in fish oil & curcumin, which are non-aggressive antioxidants that won't combat too much with the chemo and focus on restoring health to mom's digestive track. Basically, the name of the game is finding ways to allow the chemo to do its job while maintaining healthy digestion, nutrition and preventing inflammation and infection. The more of that we can do with good old fashioned nutrition, the healthier mom will be and thus the longer we'll be able to fight the cancer.

She's also looking into a fermented soy drink, called Haelan 951, which will help coat and restore cell growth in the digestive lining. I'll let you know if that becomes a part of our regimen. It is quite costly, so we'll really have to weigh the benefits, which I think will be considerable.

Dr. Pan
I finally met the magnificent Dr. Pan. He was pleased to see that mom was doing so well with the Folfirinox. He intends to keep her on it for 2 more rounds and then we'll do a CT scan on 4/4/12. We're going to meet with him the following day, on 4/5, so we will know then how effective the chemo has been thus far. I'll let you know as soon as we do.

Once we determine if the Folfirinox is doing its job by either decreasing or halting the growth of the cancer, then we'll decide where we go from there.

Also, there is a small update in my world...

I'm flying to Seattle on Thursday. I'm headed back to give my man a hand with the move and then the 2 of us will most likely drive back down in a uhaul. Ah the joys of moving. I also want to give my sister, Becca, a big blog hug for getting me up to Seattle - MUAH!

Thanks for keeping track of us.