Last week, I thought — and wrote — that Amy would be done with chemotherapy and radiotherapy yesterday (Friday). I was half right, in that the chemotherapy is over; however, her radiation oncologist wants her to undergo three more radiation sessions — with a narrower field — to help ensure that the anal cancer is eradicated. So, the battle continues for a bit longer … and I hope that my allusion to a more famous pronouncement of an end to major combat operations does not portend any further coincidence with the course of that theater of operations.
As I mentioned last week, Amy received another injection of mytomycin on Monday and was outfitted with another Fluorouracil (5FU) pump. The pump was removed yesterday. She was feeling pretty good — all things considered — for the early part of the week, until the side effects started kicking in (primarily diarrhea — yesterday was a 5 Immodium day — and fatigue). The last few days have been pretty rough, especially with the radiation burns increasing (and increasingly painful). She has a hard time finding a comfortable position: sitting or laying on her back would be most comfortable, except for the growing pain in her butt. We’re not out of the woods yet.
It was nice having Amy’s mom here this past week to help out in a variety of ways (with Amy, the kids, the cooking, the cleaning, etc.). Other family and friends have been in touch recently, and Amy said that some who have read my posts on the cancer counterinsurgency have not understood that her cancer, or rather, its treatment, has a very high cure rate (95%, up from the 90% I initially reported). So the long-term prognosis is very good … and keeping our eyes on this prize helps us meet the short term challenges.