Andre: MTX 2 + 3

Wednesday 4/20- Friday 4/22 Radhika had her second round of MTX. It went MUCH better than the first round: she got patches for nausea and pain, and a lot of IV nausea meds, and lo and behold nausea was not nearly as much of a problem. Just once we weren't careful and the bicarbonate came back up since she had it too close to drinking water, but otherwise she was not that even all that nauseous.

Wednesday we got to Cedars at 10AM, and after various tests, IV premeds, an appointment with the gastro-enterologist and of course the 4 hour course of MTX we left Cedars at 11PM after a last round of benedryl & reglan. The night was uneventful. With interruptions Radhika slept from 1PM Wednesday to 10 AM Thursday. She hadn't slept well for 2 days in anticipation, so when she was finally at Cedars she just crashed. On Thursday we went to Cedars for less than an hour for a blood test, but other than that we staid in the apartment. We went back for another blood test and consultations with Susan and Forscher on Friday, and then we were allowed to go back home.

Other than the adjustment in meds and the fact that they slightly lowered her dose of MTX, the apartment is making a huge difference to our experience. It is truly BEAUTIFUL, and it already feels like home away from home. It is 8-10 minutes from Cedars (traffic is no problem) and it is so peaceful and quiet, surrounded by trees, in a safe neighborhood, and lovingly furnished and equipped by Leticia, Marie and Vivienne ... thanks to all of you, this really helps with Radhika's sense of well-being. The first two rounds were scary and the hospital seemed like the safest place to be; now it feels like the apartment is the place we want to get to as fast as we can from the hospital every time we are here ... which is the way it ought to be!

With Forscher and Susan being on vacation the week of April 24-29, the third round of MTX was scheduled for today (April 30) and in fact that is where I am writing from: Room 2 (our room these last couple of times) in the Osher cancer center at Cedars. And so far so good, Radhika just finished the MTX (mostly sleeping, even though we did watch the end of the movie "Secretariat" which we had started 2 weeks ago, not a bad movie), and then in half an hour we will head out from here. I will let you all know early next week how it all went.

We made good use of the week off. After Latha left Sunday morning, Radhika's best friend from high school Kali (who now lives near Atlanta) took care of her for 6 days. Kali really helped Radhika by tailoring a diet specifically to her cancer situation and more importantly she was there to faithfully administer it as well. Radhika has so many amazing friends and you all keep her spirits up with every message of encouragement. Radhika's pain has drastically lessened (she just has to change the Fentanyl patch every 3 days and the oral Dilaudid is basically not needed anymore), and the fatigue has also gone down in no small part due to Kali's loving care. Radhikas attitude is also mostly positive these days, the Lexapro definitely helps with that. Finally, thanks to the CORAM home nursing service which takes care of her blood work in the off weeks, she has her own hydration pump (prescribed by Forscher, administered by yours truly), which we have now taken with us to the apartment: this cuts the amount of water she needs to actually drink down to less than half so that hopefully THIS time the bicarb won't be a problem at all.

Looking forward, we will meet Susan on Monday to discuss the further plan of action, but right now it looks like Radhika will get Adriamycin on Monday May 9th, and after that she will get 1-2 weeks off before the next round ... by that time my finals should be graded, summer break here I come!

Alright, we will be heading back to the apartment real soon here and I have to wrap things up now. Be well!