Happy Autumn! and 1 down, 7 to go!

Hi Blog Buddies if there are any left. I just got first place in the worst blogmaster in the universe contest. It's been a while and now we are into my favorite season of autumn. Pumpkins, leaves changing colors, grape fragrance from the vineyard.... on and on.

So my story continues. I did have the CT scan on 9/9 but the dr. appt. scheduled for the following Fri. (9/11) was changed to Mon. (9/14). That appt. confirmed that I still had enlarged lymph nodes but my dr. was not there to discuss my treatment plan so we had to go back on Wed. (9/16). I had not seen my surgeon/oncologist since the day of surgery in Feb. He was very sure that the next step would be more chemo with a different drug -- Topotecan (toe-poe-TEE-kan). It sounds like an African bird to me, like a toucan, and I visualize him eating all the nasty cells. I had a choice of going to Roswell every day for 5 days, then having 16 days off, then repeating that cycle or going once a week for 8 weeks. I chose the once a week. My first infusion was last Wed. (9/23) and took only a half hour compared to the 5 - 8 hours I had for two days with the last regimen. Of course I need to have blood work first and a preliminary infusion for hydration and medication to prevent nausea so we were actually there for about 2 hours. At the end of the 8 weeks or possibly before, a CT scan will be ordered to see how things are going. After 8 weeks I will have 3 weeks off, then start again if needed for as long as needed. I must say the side effects are minimal compared to what I had before, at least so far.
The pharmacist was also at our meeting with the doctor and she ordered something to increase my appetite which was still quite poor. I never got hungry and had a hard time thinking about food let alone eating it. After 4 days on the medication, I notice my appetite returning which is great as this has been a struggle for the last 6 months since eating is not an option.
So that is the update for this month. We appreciate your continued prayers and wish you a wonder-filled fall season!
Bunny Hugs--
Teri :)