Oomphless

Steve and Terry saw Dr. Hu yesterday as scheduled. Terry called me this morning with how the last week went and with a medication update:

Steve's nausea and fatigue have progressively worsened. He has very little energy and has stopped all unnecessary activity. He is constantly nauseated but mostly keeps his food down. Eating small, frequent meals is best. Crackers and low-sugar apple juice have become his best friend.  He lost two pounds this week. He still has excess saliva and acid reflex which contribute to the nausea and he has antihistamine to take when he needs to dry him up, but Steve has gotten tired of taking pills and doesn't take this one as often as his symptoms might warrant. Dr. Hu added prescription strength Prilosec (40mg) to help settle his stomach (in addition to the Maalox). He also added 10mg Compazine, three times a day to be taken with the Zofran to help control the nausea. Steve had lab tests done on his blood and all was as expected.

Steve continues with Monday thru Friday radiation in the mornings. I asked about how big an area the radiation covers. It is aimed at the location of the original tumor plus two centimeters around it. Steve now has a special, metal-free lotion, Radiaguard, to apply to his scalp because of skin redness. Terry rubs it in after the radiation treatment and before bed. She says his skin has been getting flakey and this helps. She's careful around the scar from the surgery.  It's now scabbing and starting to fall off, and his hair is starting to thin. Not big amounts, but she notices it, especially around the areas where the radiation machine aims.
I wonder if Steve will end up bald. Wouldn't that be a funny sight?

They are now half way through the chemo/radiation schedule. The last day is March 23rd, unless they tack on the two pills Steve missed earlier to the end.

Steve's job has been taking the boys to school in the mornings. He enjoys doing it and he mostly has enough energy in the morning. Then they go to radiation and Steve gets tired after that. He has not exercised for a while now. He lies around, resting, watching TV, reading his Kindle or the computer and checking e-mail. Their younger son has a school concert next week Steve is hoping to attend. Adam is a tootsie roll in a Willy Wonka style play. How cute is that? Their older son has a concert at Disneyland two weeks afterwards, but they're not planning on seeing that one because it would be too exhausting for Steve. Isn't that sad?

For those of you who know Terry, she received accolades from the boys elementary school for her years of service as a volunteer. She was honored at an award ceremony Tuesday as Volunteer of the Year. I know it was well deserved. She also had a brief scare after a mammogram this week and had to have an ultrasound to confirm she did not have breast cancer. Fortunately, her doctors expedited the process so she didn't have to worry too long before she received her negative results. She has been a trooper helping Steve and supporting her whole family. I'm glad that scare didn't trouble her for any longer.