First Week

I haven't had much access to the web in the past week, so I'm slow in letting you all know how much I appreciate all my anonymous friends out there. It's impossible to completely say how very much we're thankful for what you're making possible. The folks here at the center have already been impressed with the kind of support they have seen us receiving. I hope it will be a reflection on the kind of God we serve.

I've had a full week's worth of treatments now, and so far so good. Saturday's treatment was with Zomeda - a drug to attack the bone cancer - and it made me feel pretty uncomfortably flu-ish for about 24 hours. None of the other treatments have caused serious discomfort. The chemotherapy is administered after insulin has been used to drop my blood sugar, so I get a mighty blood sugar ride. It's not exactly pleasant, but it's all worth it because I get to eat dessert after the treatment to bring my blood sugar back to normal. I haven't eaten sweets for months now, so that's a real special treat. (Even healthy desserts are limited to after chemo treatments.) And those desserts are made from entirely raw vegan ingredients. You would never have known the difference between the almond fudge I had on Thursday and normal fudge. Today I had coconut-almond macaroons which I also loved. It's absolutely amazing what the chefs here do with raw veggies, seed sprouts, and nuts. I'm certainly not suffering. I will be providing many of my own meals beginning next week, since, although the food is delicious, it is also very pricey. Because I've been eating raw food since late July, I feel prepared to handle my own food needs. I sure am excited to try making nut cheese on my own. We did that in "cooking" class this week and the result was very similar to feta cheese. And I had thought I would never be able to eat cheese again.

Last week I have had 4 Vitamin C IV treatments, 1 infrared sauna treatment, one oxygen treatment, 1 chemo treatment (called IPT therapy), 1 Zomeda treatment, 1 specialty massage (too intense to be a pleasure massage), 1 treatment I would rather not go into detail about (a good one - but you'll just have to guess what it is), exercise classes, food preparation classes, several consults with the head nurse to educate me on the oral vitamin therapies, and a 3-hour consultation with the doctor in charge, Dr. Lodi. Last week was light since I didn't check in until Tuesday afternoon and since it was my first week. Next week, several of the therapies I listed will be doubled (not the vitamin C and thankfully, not the Zomeda which will only be given once a month), and several others will be added.

I've gotten to know many of the other 20 or so patients. What a diverse group! I haven't found two from the same state yet, and several are from other countries. Today I learned from another patient that all the patients who are currently involved in treatment and have reached their 5-to-6-week mark have received good news from their mid-point PET scans. The extent of the good news varies from person to person, but all are evidently doing better than standard medicine had predicted. What an encouragement!