Chemo Round 15

Yesterday was my second round of FOLFIRI -- my 15th round of chemo total -- and it went off without a hitch. I got to Norris a little late and was still a little sleepy from my huge weekend (a post about my Foundation's basketball tournament coming soon, I promise!), but blazed through my blood draw and was hanging out with my nurse practitioner, Taline, moments later. We discussed my side effects from last round's chemo (which were really minor: a bit of constipation at first (probably caused by my pre-med drug, a belly ache on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and some loose stool persisting into last week) and decided to cut my pre-med drug that probably caused the constipation in half. My blood pressure and temperature were perfect, as usual, and I'd be getting news on my CEA tumor marker by tomorrow (yup, that's right, today -- hold your horses, I'm about to tell you about it).

This new FOLFIRI cocktail is agreeing with me. Treatments only last a few hours (as opposed to the almost endless sessions of FOLFOX after my surgery when I developed some issues with oxaliplatin, which led to super long infusion times and double the Benadryl). Side effects are totally manageable, although I make sure I really, really take care of myself and chill. My appetite has remained normal, and this time around, my bowel movements have been absolutely lovely (no constipation and no stomach aches yet). And, best of all...(cue the drum roll)....

My CEA is dropping!!

Actually, it's falling like a rock. When I got back from my post-treatment trip to Europe, my CEA was at a 23, which is elevated (anything over a 10 is a pretty good indication that something not great is going on, anything under a 3 means you're as normal as they come). That's when we noted my pleural effusion and got it drained (and that's when we found out that the fluid was clean and I did NOT have cancer in my pleural fluid as the foolish, foolish radiologist had practically guaranteed in my scan report). However, the following week, the CEA didn't drop but continued to climb...to 37. And that's when we knew that more chemo in addition to another stint with Sugarbaker was pretty much a lock. Before I even started chemo, though, my CEA dropped to 29, and then to 22 (evidently, my just thinking about killing cancer is enough to do the trick).

And now, after a single round of FOLFIRI, I'm down to a 16.

This is awesome, awesome news. These straggler cancer cells are dropping like flies, and I'm loving it. I love fighting cancer, and -- you're not going to believe it -- but I love chemo. I love that it helps me kill cancer. I love that it doesn't take too great of a toll on my body. I love that it does exactly what I want it to do. 

Those poor, half-dead and dying cancer cells don't stand a chance, and I'm feeling stronger than ever.