Thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers; they’re
paying off. Mom had her initial two week follow up with her oncologist Dr.
Martins today to check the progress of her new daily pill treatment. He says
she looks great and everything is going as they would like for it to. Her blood
labs are normal and he opined she is responding to the treatment.
Symptomatically mom’s shortness of breath and nagging cough are improving. It
is normal to expect it may take some time before these symptoms completely
resolve.
There are a couple areas of concern. Her blood pressure is a
little low, so Dr. Martins recommended she discontinue her blood pressure
medication, which has more than managed what it was supposed to. More
concerning is Mom dropped between 4-5 lbs. since she was last seen at SCCA a
couple weeks ago; her appetite has decreased. Part of this has to do with the
daily pill and subsequent changes she’s experiencing with her sense of taste
and smell. Some foods that normally appealed to her don’t as much. Our
immediate goal is to stay the course with treatment and work on maintaining or
even adding back weight via a healthy diet.
Of course, as would be expected, living with terminal
illness also takes a toll on one’s emotional health. Overall mom has a
favorable outlook, and she’s so grateful for the care and treatment she’s
receiving from SCCA as well as the support she’s been receiving from all of
you. Even so there are times her spirits are a little dampened, understandably
so. Regardless of health status, for emotional tides to ebb and flow is to be
human. Some spells of depression could also be contributing to her loss of
appetite. So we’re going to be working on her emotional health as well.
Mom’s oncologist gave us the OK to try her on medical
cannabis, which has numerous benefits including stimulating appetite, easing
pain/inflammation and possibly, positively enhancing mood. Some studies show a
correlation between cannabis and reduction of cancer cells.
Mom has been staying with Terry and I in Normandy Park since
Wednesday. It’s wonderful to have her with us. We’re making her eat well and
we’re encouraging her to relax. I would love to see her engage in a daily
meditation practice to help quiet her mind and calm her nerves.
A month from now mom returns to SCCA for updated scans. At
that time her oncologist will have much more insight into what the cancer is
doing. I’m optimistic it is retreating/shrinking, and the reduction in her
symptoms points to this. Please continue with your positive thoughts and
prayers.
Thank you all again so much for your support of mom. A
special thank you to Sally and Robin Rosauer for hosting mom and Al since the
end of July! They have been thoroughly enjoying visiting with such dear, long
time friends.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
All my best,
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