B2 offered to take our Dad to his appointment Wednesday, and I thought how good this was. (Because I would not lose any time at work) But the more I think about it, the more I want to be there when the news of the MRI results are delivered. My boss will let me go in early and take short lunches to make up my time.
If it is good news, if the tumor has gotten smaller, or at the least, not grown, we will celebrate and praise God!
If it is bad news, if the tumor has grown, we will be sad, but we won't be mad at God.
If the news is good, Ed will get his regularly scheduled chemo treatment with Avastin.
If the news is bad, I believe Dr. Splichal will say no more chemo. But if Ed wants to continue, we may have to wrestle Dr. S to the ground and hold him down until he says 'uncle'.
Whatever the outcome, I know Ed will be okay. It will be the rest of us who will take it the hardest. Especially Mama.
I went with Ed to a chemo appointment a few weeks ago and watched the medication clipboard to see exactly what his chemo-cocktail consists of, and this is what I learned:
He received the following drugs, one bag at a time, in this order;
1) Sodium Chloride 100ml = This medication is an intravenous (IV) solution used to supply water and electrolytes (e.g., sodium, chloride) to the body. Basically, it is salt water. It is also used as a mixing solution (diluent) for other IV medications. (MedicineNet.com)
2) Aloxi .25mg = Aloxi is used to prevent nausea and vomiting that may be caused by surgery or by medicine to treat cancer (chemotherapy or radiation). (Drugs.com)
3) Decadron 8.0mg = As an anti-inflammatory medication. (a steroid) Decadron relieves inflammation in various parts of the body. It is used specifically to decrease swelling (edema), associated with tumors of the spine and brain, and to treat eye inflammation. (Chemocare.com)
4) Avastin 833.0mg = Avastin is a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth of cancer cells by blocking the formation and growth of new blood vessels in the tumor which slows their growth. (Drugs.com)
5) Irinotecan HCI 245.0mg (generic for Camptosar) = Camptosar is the trade name for irinotecan. Camptothecin-11 and CPT-11 are other names for irinotecan. It is to stop or slow cell division in regards to treating cancer. (condensed information gathered from Chemocare.com)
Chemotherapy is treatment with drugs to try and stop growth and also kill cancer cells. In the meantime, you try to not destroy or compromise healthy cells. It is a crazy combination of stuff that kills, and stuff that protects.
Hopefully, Ed will be getting this cocktail again Wednesday.
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