Endeavor to Persevere

So we're almost two weeks into the Zykadia and you're probably wondering, "How goes it?"

So far, so good. Although I was in Edmonton most of this past week being treated really nicely by some really nice people whilst I played their really nice videogame, Karen went in to the oncologist's for a quick checkup. The best news is that the meds seem to be working. Karen's breathing has improved and she's not struggling to take full breaths anymore. The crackling sound in her lungs is gone, as well. In terms of the cancer-smacking basics, the Zykadia is getting it done.

Rise and shine!

This great news would be absolutely stellar news if not for a few other factors. Not unexpectedly, the stomach issues with this medication are a real bitch. The stomach issues caused by the Zykadia are no joke and even though we are tinkering with the timing of Karen's anti-nausea meds the unhappy truth right now is that she wakes up sick as a a very sick dog every morning. The quickest, most reliable solution continues to be the marijuana so now every evening before I retire I load up the vaporizer with Chem 4 so Karen can wake and bake like Jeff Spicoli. She continues to have body pain, her energy is not especially, uh, energetic, and her blood pressure is dipping to the low side--it's not a worry just yet but it's something we're going to have to keep an eye on. So she's still sleeping a lot.

Finally, the weight loss has slowed down but she still has managed to shed another pound or two since her previous appointment. Counteracting this sounds easy enough--eat more. But with the GI issues she's suffering through as well as the fact that it's surprisingly challenging to eat when you're asleep most of the day,  and her appetite is much less than before, we are going to have to be kind of aggressive in terms of calories and frequency.

And that about covers it. Here's hoping for better comedy jokes next update.