Challenges to Finishing Up Chemo

By Stephanie Sanders — Aug 17, 2011 12:15am

It has been the plan from the beginning to do 2 months of Adriamycin and Cytoxan (along with a host of anti-nausea drugs ;) followed by the drug Taxol once a week for 8 weeks as my Chemotherapy treatment.  All 3 drugs target the growth of cancer cells during different stages which is important since my cancer had spread to the lymph system, part of the vascular system, which means that I have microscopic cancer cells floating in my blood stream looking for places to take up residence that we are trying to kill with the Chemotherapy.

All 3 drugs have different short term and long term side effects too numerous to list, some of which can be quite serious, which my oncologist carefully monitors. An example would be the side effect of Adriamycin of heart damage for which I had a pre-Chemo M.U.G.A. scan of my heart to test how well my heart was functioning so that they can monitor any heart problems that might arise. 1 in 6 women receiving Adriamycin will experience significant decrease in heart function so its important to monitor.

Taxol, the drug I am currently taking has a very high incidence of causing neuropathy, the medical term for nerve damage, especially in the nerves of the hands and feet where the pathways end.  This is why we went with every week instead of every other week: so that each infusion is 1/2 the dose of Taxol that used to be given in order decrease the likelihood of nerve damage.  Which, unfortunately, is not actually helping me. 

I started getting a tiny bit of neuropathy after Taxol #3, barely noticeable, and I thought that I wouldn't really get any because it was so faint.  2 days after Taxol #4 I was waking up to my limbs being asleep, a feeling as different from when it is due to circulation problems as fatigue from Chemo is from normal tiredness.  It just appears without warning, for now with almost no presence of tingling.  By last weekend any time I sat, stood for a period, or walked for longer than 5 minutes I would start losing feeling in my feet and legs.  It got bad enough on a walk to the park that after 10 minutes of walking I thought that maybe my legs might stop working and I would have to call Josh to come pick me up.

So, after talking with my Oncologist today before Chemo, he is very concerned that the infusion that I had today will significantly worsen my condition to the point that I won't be able to walk, or might progress past numbness to the nerves being constantly "on" in which many patients experience pain to the point of needing a narcotic. If my neuropathy gets worse this time then the damage can be permanent.  We would consider either delaying the rest of my treatment for another week to see if my condition improved before continuing at a lower dose or talk about stopping treatment altogether.

I'm not sure what to think about either option if my neuropathy gets worse, because then we may be dealing with some permanent loss of nerve function and because it means ending Chemo. On one hand I would be ecstatic to be done early, on the other hand, we wouldn't be stopping because I had received the maximum benefit from my Taxol and so I would face the possible increase in re-occurrence from not completing my regime.

So...prayers needed for my neuropathy to either stay the same or for my nerves to actually start to miraculously heal.  I am also open to the possibility that stopping would be the best possible choice for my long term health so I am praying that if my neuropathy is to the point that we have to stop, that I would have already received the maximum benefit possible from the 3 1/4 months that I have been in Chemo.

Please pray also for my spirits.  I am still battling depression and its twin anger as I go through the grieving process.  I start counseling next week with a therapist who specializes in cancer patients.  I'm hoping he can help me walk forward into my new version of normal.  I am praying and reading my bible everyday as well as trying to exercise, as neuropathy and fatigue permit.

I end with one of my favorite verses, a reminder to myself to choose joy and thankfulness in all things:
Rejoice in the Lord always.  I say it again: Rejoice!  Your kindness should be know to all.  The Lord is near.  Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
~Philippians 4:4-7