The Chemo Chronicles

Greetings and salutations to all. Today Mom experienced another bump on the road to recovery. Mom was unable to have her treatment today because her white blood cell and platelet counts were low.

Cancer is a bully.

Of course the only way to deal with a bully is to stand-up to him and Mom shall continue to fight. We saw Cotton Troll (if you've been paying attention, you know by now that's Mom's doctor) today and she reported that Mom was still doing pretty well. Mom received a shot to boost her white blood cells and chemotherapy will resume in two weeks (October 16th).

(Incidentally, Mom told ol' Troll that YFC was writing these updates and that there was an anagram of her name...thank goodness she didn't ask what it was)

On Friday, October 12th -- that'd be the day after Mom officially becomes a senior citizen (shh...don't tell her I told you that) -- Mom goes in for a CT scan. As you recall, Mom did very well 2 months ago when she first had this test. The results showed that the tumor in Mom's liver shrunk by approximately 40% and there was progress in the other areas too. So we're hoping/praying for a similar outcome, if not better.

So what next? Well, you sure are a curious lot aren't you? Mom will have a maximum of 2 more cycles with the Cisplatin. Since Mom has now had 2 cycles in a row where she couldn't go for treatment on the 3rd week, it looks like Mom will go to a 21-day cycle. In other words:

Day 1: Cisplatin. Gemzar
Day 8: Gemzar
Day 15: Off week

Day 22 would be the first day of the new cycle.

If all goes according to plan -- and it will, Mom even has an energy healer working on her recovery (early reports are very positive) -- Mom may be a candidate for Radiofrequency Ablation. Now of course you're probably saying to yourself "radiofrequency ablation, what's that?". Well, dear reader, I'm oh so glad you asked! In a nutshell, it's a minimally invasive procedure where a needle is inserted into the tumor. Electrical energy is is delivered through the needle, which then heats and destroys the tumor. If your unquenchable thirst for knowledge has not been sated, try drinking this in: http://www.mayoclinic.org/ radiofrequency-ablation/

Anyhow, since I let the cat out of the bag on the big Six-Five (just to be clear, I'm referring to Mom's upcoming birthday now, not my darling sister's IQ) here's the skinny...rumor has it that there will be multiple events planned to celebrate the historic occasion. Our beloved Uncle Rusty ( umm, that's be Russell to most folks) is planning a bash at a not-yet-decided restaurant. Now Your Faithful Correspondent doesn't like to dabble in idle speculation (rumor and innuendo, yes; idle speculation, no) but a little birdie told me that the choices might well come down to Gibson's ( http://www.gibsonssteakhouse.com/) or RL (http://rlrestaurant.polo.com/). A soirée with la familia is also in the planning stages (note: YFC offered to host a shindig at chez moi, but was rebuffed in a most brusque and gratuitous manner). Your Faithful Correspondent is not one to take a gratuitous rebuffing lying down, so I have alerted my contacts in Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul and Pyongyang ( hmm...notice a pattern here?)...and they will be coordinating festivities to commence concurrently with our celebrations here in the Windy City. Now I don't mean to quibble but YFC is trying to plan multiple affairs in cities across the globe...is there anyway that someone charge can make decisions about the Chicago galas anytime soon?

This just in...got a text message (YFC hates text messaging...more on that in a future Chronicle). Apparently London, New York and, yes, Paris (France, not Hilton) will also host simultaneous parties.

Just got an update from the Guest of Honor...looks like the bash w/ UR (Uncle Rusty) will be on Thursday, October 11th (the actual day of Mum's birth) and the family bash will be held on Friday @ Francesca's on Taylor.

Well, things are flying fast and furious around here, another text received...Paris (Hilton, not Texas) will also host an event in Mom's honor. She's proposing a masquerade ball... tres swanky!

Another edition of the Chronicle is coming to an end. Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow (for extra credit: name the play from which this line is taken).

Sweet dreams.

Faithfully,
Corey

P.S.
Anagrams for Faithfully Corey: Your Iffy Hellcat and Erotically Huffy (Your Faithful Correspondent is pre-emptively striking the use of the latter anagram...for goodness sakes, this is a family update!).

P.P.S.
The answer to our quiz: Romeo and Juliet. Act 2, Scene 2 ...but you knew that already.

P.P.P.S.
Took a trip to Berba's house on Sunday and prepared dinner for Mom, Melvin (the Sis), Bubby (the G-Mom) and Berba (the Aunt). New motto for Your Iffy Hellcat: have meat, will travel. On the evening's menu: Simple Salad (hearts of palm, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, and romaine topped with a homemade Dijon vinaigrette), sauteed garlic spinach, spelt and bell peppers (surprisingly good and high in fiber...spelt has an appearance and texture similar to Israeli couscous and a slight nutty taste) and the main course was a crusted rack of lamb.

P.P.P.P.S.
I just received a fax and a singing telegram from Moscow and Reykjavik, respectively....they'll also be celebrating in solidarity on the 11th.

P.P.P.P.P.S.
And finally I leave you with a quote from the well-known American/Scottish writer and suffragist Florida Scott-Macwell: No matter how old a mother is she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement.

Note to Michelle: I'm pretty sure she was talking about you.