Twas The Day Before Chemo

Hello Everyone!

I know that I have been promising many of you that I would post an update on the specifics of Chad's upcoming chemotherapy. I apologize for the time that it's taken for me to get it up here but I wanted to finish my homework and make sure that I had a solid understanding of what's going to happen before I attempted to share the information. Thank you for understanding that it is much easier for me to do one post here rather than answering you all individually. I know that you are craving information, I just want to make sure that I take the time to share it clearly and accurately. So let's get started!

Chad is under the care of The James Cancer Hospital at The Ohio State University. We are both very pleased with the care he has received so far and feel confident that he is in the best place that he can be. At this time we do not think that he would benefit from the time it would take to explore a second opinion and will proceed under the advice of his oncology team here at The James.

In preparation for receiving chemo Chad had a power port implanted in his chest 2 weeks ago. It is a nifty little device that will allow Chad to skip the standard IV line placement each time he is given an infusion. The medical staff will be able to administer his medication directly through the port instead of searching for a vein each time. It's a dual port so he will be able to receive both medications at the same time. The port was able to be used twice last week for other procedures and it went very well. 

The chemotherapy regimen that Chad will receive is called "FOLFOX" and is a combination of two drugs: Oxaliplatin and Fluorouracil. His cycle will run on a 28 day window and this first round will last for 2-3 cycles. The Oxaliplatin will be given over a few hours at the James. The Fluorouracil will start at the James at the same time as the Oxaliplatin but will be worn home on a pump that will continuously release over a remaining 46 hour period. After 46 hours he will return to have the pump removed and have his port cleaned/flushed. He will be given this regimen every two weeks so he will receive 2 doses per cycle. 

There have been a lot of questions about side effects. We've learned that chemo effects everyone differently and we won't know until we get going what if any side effects Chad may have. In addition to symptoms you might guess like nausea and sun exposure sensitivity we will also be watching for neuropathy which are side effects that come as a result of nerve damage. He may experience what we all know as "pins and needles" or the tingling and numbing feeling in his fingers and toes especially but other extremities could be effected as well. An extreme sensitivity to cold air, food, drinks and touch is also another possible side effect from nerve damage so we will keep a close eye out for those symptoms as well. Please pray that he will be able to show great tolerance for these symptoms should he experience them. 

Yes, I asked about those gorgeous curls of his. Hair loss is a possibility with many types of chemo simply due to the nature of what chemotherapy is designed to do. Healthy cells will be compromised during this process, it cannot be helped. There is a small chance that the curls could survive, only the Fluorouracil presents a possibility for hair loss and it is not present in every person that receives it so we'll have to wait and see. Either way, those curls have a strong genetic makeup and if they do have to leave us for awhile I'm sure that they will return to their full glory. 

Chad will get started tomorrow morning and when I have news to report and an opportunity to do so I will do another journal entry. Until then please continue to share this page with other people that you feel may want to keep up with Chad's journey. We both love the kind posts and fun pictures that have been shared here so far. Please keep them coming. We are still not ready to get any sort of meal train, cleaning assistance or transportation help but I promise that we will ask for and accept help once we know what we need. You are all wonderful and we love you!!