Jan’s week since her second infusion has been the best since mid-December. She has had no side effects from the dose of Herceptin infused last Tuesday and is beginning to regain her jovial spirit.
The week has been busy. She ventured out alone for the first time in at least six weeks (I swear I heard bits of MLK’s “Free at Last” as she departed). Carol Silva dropped by to visit and deliver armloads of healthy foods. Gretchen’s Mom Lynne D’Huyvetter, a 15 year cancer survivor, carved a lengthy visit out of her busy schedule and shared her strength, experiences and wisdom on handling the disease with Jan. We’ve selected a “cranial prosthesis” in anticipation of Jan’s hair loss. We’ve taken a walk by the river, and we’ve ventured to the gym for a light workout. Sunday we spent some time being entertained by Ian and his parents.
As we’ve gone through the week, we are learning that Jan’s energy levels drop late afternoon. Consequently we’re scheduling social outings at mid-day instead of evenings. We also tend to avoid large public gatherings given her reduced resistance caused by the infusions.
Tomorrow Jan and Gretchen are attending a presentation by Cookie Aftergut and her Chemoflage organization. Cookie is a cancer survivor and puts on the sessions to teach others to deal with the disease. After the session, Jan will head back to Dr. Austin’s office and receive her third infusion. It will contain Herceptin only, so we are expecting next week to be another good week.
We appreciate all who have called and / or sent notes to Jan. She checks email regularly and enjoys hearing from all of you. Your contacts help maintain her spirits as she prepares for the March 9 session — the next session in which she will receive all three drugs. You can reach her at janet1025 at gmail dot com.