Immune and chemo therapies

regular
BMT
hospital
A big IV tower and lots of drugs …
Author

Colin C.

Published

November 12, 2023

It is the middle of the night / early morning, Day minus 2 until Sam’s BMT. Sam is finally asleep. I don’t think he realized the level of pain he was in and it has taken about three hours to get a cap on it. Today will be another big day of immune therapy and chemotherapy drugs.

Update: Slept well!

Sam woke up following a relatively short sleep but he slept really well. He was full of energy ready to take on the day!

Last couple days

Friday last day of radiation (day -4)

Sam completed his radiation therapy. This third day was much better then the days prior – no pain or nausea. Sam even had a burst of hyper energy in the evening and literally ran around the ward - excited to have completed the radiation phase.

Nana, Kevin, Shannon, and Kaden were able to come by for a visit. Nana is staying with Tina at the RMH for a few days – great to have her support!

Saturday fist day of immune and chemo therapies (day -3)

Sam’s immune suppression therapy began. It started with bringing in the big IV tower – it currently has 8 IV pumps with room to expand. Sam will have to push, pull, and drag this thing around for the next month or more. With the IV tower in place the immune therapy began. Numerous drugs were administered through the day. Later in the evening Sam received his chemotherapy drugs. So what’s all this mean for Sam?

New therapies bring new and weird sensations. All of it causes fatigue. The return to chemotherapy is a hard reminder of how these drugs make his body ache and pain management becomes more challenging. I also recognize that while outside of the hospital we had incredible flexibility in pain management. The medical team at Canuck Place were able to consult with us at any time and had given us a lot of tools to manage pain. Here at the hospital it is more difficult as specific orders need to be written and the nurses are generally restricted to those orders. … changing them in the middle of the night on a long weekend can be done. It just not very easy.

Upcoming

A couple of Sam’s friends are planning to pay a visit before he goes into isolation! It will be so good for Sam to see them. This whole process can be very isolating and it important for him to know that his friends are still there for him.

This Tuesday Sam should receive the transplant! The weeks following will focus on facilitating engraftment and managing his day to day health. None of this will be very easy especially given that he will have no immune defenses for a number of weeks.

Victories and concerns

  • Thankful that Sam’s radiation sickness was brought under control. By the last day Sam was actually feeling great!

  • It has been amazing to see Sam out from under the influence of chemotherapy. To see him return to strength of mind and to have capacity for more activity. It is hard to see him have this strength pulled away from him.

  • Thankful for friends who have chosen to meet regularly to pray for Sam. If you would like to join them talk with Beth H., Krista C., or contact the Westwood Church office.

  • We have completed a major chapter in Sam’s treatment. With the completion of this last/ sixth round of chemotherapy and targeted radiation. We now pivot to the bone marrow transplant – this current and upcoming treatments brings hope of removal of the disease but also anxiety about both the challenging process and the potential for long term side effects. We hope and pray that this treatment will be effective in beating the cancer for life.

  • It is flu season and covid is still out there. If any of us get sick it will add challenges to Sam and the BMT process as he will be entering a phase where he has no immune system for weeks.

  • We are continually thankful for our medical teams here. They continue to provide incredible care. They are always open to conversation and answering questions. They have been incredibly pro-active and I am glad we are prepared for the next steps.

  • Thankful that the chemotherapy has been effective at initially reducing the cancer and keeping the cancer contained (as indicated by the PET scan). Thankful that these results allow us to move forward.

  • In preparation for the BMT there are numerous items that need to come together:

    1. Due to some timing and logistics we have had to change donors. We are thankful for this current donor who will provide a peripheral blood sample and is a good match for Sam.
    2. We are desiring that side effects both immediate and long-term would be limited. Ideally, that there would be no measurable side effects long term.
    3. The medical team has a huge coordination task ahead of them. From our meetings with them it seems all of the pieces are coming together, but with so many moving parts it is easy for things go wrong.
    4. These last days leading up to the BMT are very busy with lots of drugs running all day. Concerns during this time are that everything is able to be delivered as planned and that Sam does not have any overly negative reactions to any of this.

  • We are thankful for the support of family and friends. Thank you for your notes of encouragement.

  • There is always concern as the cancer remains. We long for the day when Sam is clear of this disease.