I had FOLFOX infusion #3 today. My bloodwork was apparently amazing; the nurses said they wanted to frame it and hang it on the wall. Everything was within normal ranges, and I wasn't anemic this time, for maybe the first time. My white blood cell count was great, as my sister (who is a medical lab technician) predicted, so the neulasta did the trick there. My platelet count looked good too. And my weight is holding pretty steady, too.
The nurses warned me with some concern that I might get tired easily because my body is clearly working really hard to keep my blood counts up. They definitely want me to not overwork myself so I won't ruin my beautiful blood counts!
I don't know if this would help anyone else, but I ate a "little" 5 Guys cheeseburger (plus fries, couldn't resist) 3 days after disconnect, and then a Subway steak and cheese sandwich 2 days before my infusion this time. Oh and I also had smoked oysters a couple times in between, which have a lot of the good kind of iron. Otherwise I've been avoiding red meat but trying to eat plenty of protein and fiber.
I did exercise a couple of days ago; went to check out a gym and did a few exercises for them to check my fitness (squats, easy pushups on a box, and 10-second planks). I'm not sure they are the gym for me; I think I will do some more looking around before I make a decision. I definitely want to find something that's nearby and month to month with no contract. I might start with yoga first, though, and then ease into more active exercises. I have lost a lot of upper body strength with my weight loss, and I want to address that and also improve my cardio health.
Today I also asked for and got a hard copy of my two CT scans, and also the surgeon's report from my colon resection. The oncologist was kind of skeptical about us wanting the surgeon's report, and I can see why; there's a ton of medical jargon in there. The report does confirm that the inflamed part of my colon had attached to the uterus (which had been mentioned both before surgery based on the CT scan, and after surgery, so that wasn't a surprise). A gynecologist helped them keep the vagina and uterus out of the way while the surgeons separated things that needed to go from things that could stay. They didn't see any evidence that there was malignancy extending to my girly parts, so I kept those (except the uterine fibroid they removed to get it out of the way; good riddance).
I think my favorite line in the document is "The colon was eviscerated." I never thought I might be eviscerated and have it be a GOOD thing. Best evisceration imaginable. 10/10. Would prefer not to eviscerate again, however.
My next favorite line is "The patient tolerated the procedure well."
Overall the report reflects what the surgeon told us in person: the procedure went very well, with no complications.
I did pick up the neulasta injection I need for Tuesday, and it is in the fridge.
I haven't had any notable new side effects yet; we got home about 5 hours ago. My appetite is still pretty good and I was able to eat a normal-sized dinner; homemade macaroni and cheese, and fresh veggies. The only thing I couldn't eat was the red bell peppers; they tasted like mud. Mud that tasted suspiciously like it had gross things growing in it. I gave those back to my husband.
I'm belching more than usual, about the same as after previous injections. The nutritionist seems to think that I may be getting the bloated stomach and belching rather than nausea. instead of nausea. If so, I'll take it. It makes it hard for me to eat much for 3-4 days, but I'd rather deal with the discomfort than have nausea. So I'm hoping she's right.
I am sure I also have the cold sensitivity this round, but I haven't tested it yet.
I did sneeze maybe 5 or 6 times during the oxaliplatin infusion, and I think I did that during the last one too. Hoping that doesn't get any worse or herald a potential allergic reaction.
DX: sigmoid colon cancer 5/2018. 48 F
laparoscopic sigmoid resection (24 cm removed); no stoma.
7.5cm adenocarcinoma -- mod. diff.
1 noncontiguous tumor deposit removed; 0/31 lymph nodes
T3 pN1c M0
5/18 before surgery, CEA 11.2
6/18 began FOLFOX
7/18: CEA 1.9; added neulasta post infusion
9/18: CEA 2.8
10/18: 25% chemo reduction
11/18: CEA 1.8
7/19 CT scan clear