October 26, 2006 - First Phase of Chemo Done

Hi Everyone-

Jim has finished his first phase of chemo. We went in Monday, and he sat for 4 hours while they hooked up the IV to his pump and then ran his chemo. After he finished his IVs, they hooked up his pump. The pump is relatively small - about the size of a Walkman. He wears the pump in a fanny pack. The pump administers his chemo continuously for two days. When he wears his shirt untucked, the pump barely shows at all.

Jim's body handled the chemo really well at the hospital. He also did pretty well on Tuesday. Unfortunately, Wednesday was a pretty rough day for Jim. He was very nauseated and we were thankful to get the pump off him at the end of the day.

The best part about Wednesday was seeing the nurses at the hospital. They all came over and gave Jim hugs. They all remembered him from his hospital stay, and apparently they've been requesting him when they see his name on the chemo schedule. I know their warm welcome made Jim feel good.

Right now they are working on different combinations to lessen Jim's nausea. The doctors and the nurses all said that the days of extreme nausea after chemo are over - it's just a matter of finding the right combination of drugs that will help Jim get through it. They seem to have found a combination on Wednesday night that works pretty well for Jim. He had a better day today, although he's extremely tired.

Jim is on extremely high doses of chemo (while still appropriately measured for his body), so we are hoping that this treatment will provide significant results. He's scheduled for around 6 months of chemo. He gets to have a CT scan every 2 months so we can monitor the progress. Jim's schedule is that he'll have one week on chemo, one week off; he won't be having another treatment until November 6.

Thanks for your tremendous show of support. Jim's been challenged by another cancer survivor to beat 600 cards. Jim practically runs to the mailbox now...and his face just lights up when he gets cards. If you're inspired to send him a card, I know he'd love it. He COUNTS his cards almost every night!!!!

Love to everyone - we'll keep you updated.

love, Kate, Jim, Rachel and Jake