Mini Update on the 5FU

A few people have asked how the 2nd round of the 5FU 
went (thanks for asking) so I thought I would give
a mini update, in case anyone is curious.

Kyle had Round Two on Monday up at the Huntsman.

He finished his Oxyplatin at the Huntsman and then they
hooked him up to his man purse with the 5FU to carry
around today and tomorrow.

The BIGGEST difference with THIS chemo and THE OTHER 
chemo are "cumulative effects".

The Gem/Cis chemo combo was pretty much the same thing
round after round after round.  What happened (as far
as side effects) on Day 1 of the cycle and Day 2 of 
the cycle and Day 3 (and so on) ALWAYS happened.

On every single cycle.  No surprises.  
No new things.

There really were no deviations or variances.

Every cycle for 9 months was the same, week after
week.  (Until the "allergic reaction" week.)

We always knew what to expect.  We always 
knew EXACTLY what "side effect" what happen on
"which day", and we never ever deviated.

No hiccups, no surprises.

The thing with the 5FU is that it has a more
cumulative effect on a persons system, meaning
EACH WEEK the side effects add up and can get worse.

Does this mean for sure they will?

Maybe not today or next round, but most certainly 
at some point.

The 3 main "things" that are "the cumulatives"
the Doc's worry about are:

1. Tiredness.  He will get more tired as we go
longer on this chemo.  It tends to "build up"
each round.

2. Neuropathy.  This occurs in his fingers and toes
and hands and feet.  They can go numb and keep getting
more numb, until he looses all feeling in them.  
Not a good thing.  

3.  Cold Sensitivity.  This happens when he eats/drinks/
touches anything colder then "room temperature".
Kyle likens it to an "electric shock" shooting through
him when he does something as mundane as taking a big
drink of cold Diet Coke, or sticking his hand in the
refrigerator and touching something inside.  Pretty 
awesome right?

A last few worries with this chemo are:

4.  Mouth sores. kind of like herpes blisters that 
coat the entire inside of his mouth/tongue...if you can 
imagine how painful that would be.

5. Hand/Feet Sores (See "Mouth Sores" above) only
on his hands and feet.

All of the above are the "Most Common" side effects
on this chemo, it doesn't mean he will get all of them
(although he DOES already have the Top 1, 2 and 3).

The BIGGER THING in all of this, in spite of ANY the side
effects he is experiencing?

Is will this chemo work or not at knocking back
his cancer for a season?

We hope that it will.

Time will tell.

Anyhoo, there is our update.

The stubborn fool is (like usual) doing too much,
not resting enough, and generally being "Kyle."

He amazes me honestly and RARELY complains about
ANY of this.

It is humbling to me how he just keeps pressing
forward for us, for TIME with us and rarely utters
ONE WORD of complaint.

It is inspiring honestly (although he would hate
to be called "inspiring")

Yet he is.

I'm going to try and get him in bed early tonight
so he can get some sleep.  (He had about 3 hours 
of sleep last night since he was all hyped up
on 'roids.)

And that's what we have for you guys today!


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EDITED TO ADD:

Kyle is really STILL doing amazingly well at this
point, I always wonder what people think when they read.

He has a GREAT appetite.  His weight is still good.
His blood counts have CONTINUALLY bounced back after
each round of chemo.  His liver function tests
IRONICALLY are COMPLETELY within normal range, even
while he's growing tumors in there.  He has pretty
good energy on most days once chemo has left his 
system.  (He's not "old Kyle", but he's definitely
not "dead Kyle")  He plays a pretty mean Mr Mom
while I play "Working Dad" most days and if 
you looked at him, you could PROBABLY tell something
was a little off, but he doesn't look sickly or
yellow or cancery.  (His dark eye circles are the ONE
THING that give the cancer away--he NEVER had these
pre-cancer and that is the ONE THING that reminds
me he has cancer everyday.)

Anyway, I wanted to keep things real, and that IS
real...for the most part Kyle is still Kyle and 
living his life and doing well.  That will change
some day, but for now?

Well is well and we'll take it!