We are about an hour away from finishing chemo #3, which marks the end of cycle 1. This seems to us like a huge milestone. Two more 3-week cycles and we can move on to the next step--chemoradiation.
Yesterday, the "rash" (an understatement) got bad enough that Ernie started taking the anti-biotic. It is an amazing difference after only 24 hours. He will have to continue to take the antibiotics for the duration of treatment to keep the rash under control. The oncology nurse said not to expect it to disappear completely until a month after treatment stops.
As she did last week, the nurse is giving Ernie extra fluids. Despite his best efforts to drink 70 ounces of fluid per day, his kidney function remains on the high side of normal. Also, they want Ernie to come in next Monday prior to his Tuesday chemo to get more fluids. Since next Tuesday is the start of cycle two, he will get all three drugs. Last time, this really knocked him out and the extra fluids are an attempt to improve the quality of the week following.
We remain incredibly impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the staff here. Although we would dearly love to be home and nearer to friends and family, we feel very grateful for the wonderful care we are getting here.
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