The Second Phase Of Operation Overlord Commences Tomorrow

I met with the medical oncologist yesterday and while my progress recovering from the primary treatment phase is still going slow we decided to proceed with the next phase. At this point the primary side effects I am feeling are from the radiation treatment. This next round of chemo shouldn't make that any worse, it will just introduce a different set of side effects. (Fun, Fun!) My view on this is its better to get it all out of the way now rather than delay any longer.

The purpose of this phase of the treatment is to get any stray cancer cells that may be hiding that didn't get caught up in the initial round of treatment. From what I have been able to read this second phase of chemo helps reduce the chances of the cancer coming back. The first phase with the radiation treatment leading the air assault was targeted at the identifiable tumors. The chemo that went with the radiation helped make the radiation more effective and also helped get any stray cancer cells in the body. This next round is a reduced dosage of that first chemo drug, Cisplatin, combined with a second drug F5U. According to the medical oncologist the use of a combination of chemo drugs has been one of the more significant advances in chemo therapy in recent years. Apparently the two working together are more effective than doing them separately.

The Cisplatin will be delivered the same way it always has been. I will go to the hospital and they will deliver that via an IV. It takes about 6 hours or so because of the support drugs that go along with it. The 5FU is delivered in a bit different way. Rather than use a regular IV they will install a PIK line tomorrow. This is a semi permanent IV that runs through a vein up my arm and into my chest. This is to make sure it doesn't come out. After the delivery of the Cisplatin they will give me a special pump that is in a fanny pack. I will have to wear this continuously for 4 days as the pump slowly delivers the 5FU. This method is referred to as an infusion. (I have a few other names for it that I won't go into here. :-)). Apparently one of the reasons for this method of delivery is that it reduces the impact of the side effects of the 5FU as opposed to delivering it all at once.

I must admit with my needle phobia I am a bit apprehensive about getting a PIK line installed and wearing this pump for 4 days. I am told it is no problem but one thing I have learned as I go through this process is that the people telling you it is no problem most likely have never had to go through the procedure. Still for 4 days I can endure anything. After the 4 days I go back to the doctors office and they will remove the PIK line. All together I have three more chemo treatments including this.

There is one possible side effect from the 5FU that will cross over the the side effects from the radiation treatment. 5FU can cause mouth sores. Once again my view is that it is better to experience both sets of side effects simultaneously for a shorter period of time rather than drag this out.

Now that the treatment regime has started back up I will be doing more frequent posts to the blog and reactivating the hurricane measuring system for the chemo. Hopefully I don't hit anything more than a tropical storm. :-)