Hang in there, Maggie. I join the others sending good thoughts.
I hope you’re okay as well.
Hey y’all,
Thanks for the thoughts - I just had my 1 year anniversary since diagnosis, and I’m still chugging along.
I started chemo again on 6/10, but because my numbers are still so low they’re giving me a much milder dose - before I had been given 3 drugs (Xeloda, Avastin, and Oxaliplatin), but this time they’re not giving me the Oxaliplatin, though they’ve bumped up the dose on the Xeloda. Oxali is the one that was causing all the nerve damage before - it’s a seriously heavy hitter, does wonders for tumor-killing, but it’s also got the worst side effects.
Only one session so far, but the side effects have been really low, so hopefully it’s working because I can totally deal with them.
I did have one scare where I went to the ER because I was exhibiting some of the “get to the hospital now” symptoms, but it turned out okay. I 1) hadn’t pooped in a week 2) was throwing up when I ate or tried to poop and 3) was having seriously painful gut cramps. Worst-case scenario would have been that the main tumor had grown enough that it had obstructed my colon, which is, as I noted early in this thread, Very Bad. However, when they did an Xray and an MRI, it turned out that I was just hella constipated from the Avastin. They gave me some stuff to clean me out, and it eventually resolved. That was scary, though.
Anyway, things are good. I leave on the night of the 4th for NYC, and I should be able to enjoy the trip pretty well, as long as I remember to take my stool softeners so I don’t get that backed up again.
That’s great news about your friend, SciFiSam! I’ve heard about the Whipple procedure - it’s drastic as hell, but sometimes, as in this case, it works really well. I wish her many more years of NED!
Yay Maggie!
Thanks for the update 
I hope you have a fantastic 4th of July weekend!
And when the cleanout started working, that was probably pretty damn scary itself :D.
Good to hear from you, and I’m glad the side effects have been easier this time around. Any resolution on the neuropathy from before?
It’s gotten a lot better - still there, I don’t know if it’ll ever go completely away, but a lot better and continuing to improve. It’s a combination of time away from the Oxali and the medication that I’m on to combat it.
However…if the current chemo schedule doesn’t work, it looks like I’ll be going back on the Oxali, which means it’ll start creeping back up again. Joy.
Sending good thoughts your way Maggie.
Good to hear from you, Maggie!
There’s a book in this.
Update Time!
Apparently the current chemo cocktail has curbed its curative course, and consequently cancer has once more come calling. My tumor markers are still in the normal range, but since June they’ve been creeping up to the very edge of normal. My oncologist has suggested that I switch treatments - instead of Xeloda and Avastin, he’s restarting me on Oxaliplatin (one of the first drugs I was given, it worked very well but the side effects were pretty bad) and moving me from Xeloda to the IV form of basically the same drug, which is called 5-FU in that format. I’ll be continuing the Avastin, too.
So that’s gonna be fun. My current regimen has very few side effects - just neuropathy, high blood pressure, and hand/foot syndrome - and has allowed me to have a pretty much normal life. Once the Oxali restarts, I’ll be feeling like crap a good percentage of the time. Also, 5-FU has slightly different side effects from Xeloda, despite being very similar, so that is an unknown. Good times.
This was expected to happen eventually - cancer mutates quickly to work around the drugs we use to fight it, that’s kind of cancer’s “thing”. Still, after two years of being able to live mostly like a not-sick person, I had gotten used to it, and part of me figured I could just keep going on like that semi-indefinitely. No such luck, dammit.
I plan to keep going on and going on as long as I can manage it. I’m still working full-time, and my work is aware of my situation and very willing to accommodate me, plus I have a fuckton of vacation/sick time, so that’s good.
Also, there are studies saying that exercise does a lot toward keeping cancer patients alive, and if we get the dog then he’ll need to be walked, which is exercise! And I hate exercise and won’t do it for myself, but I would for the pup. So that might help!
Good luck Maggie and here’s hoping you tolerate the cocktail a little better the second time through :).
p.s. - Ocelots are my favorite small felid 
By all means, get a dog, if it’ll make you exercise when you don’t want to. I friggin’ hate exercise too, so do whatever works.
Thanks for the update.
Oh yes, please get a dog. In fact, maybe you should get two dogs who need to be exercised on different schedules.
Or just one Siberian Husky fresh off her win in the Iditarod. And when it snows, you can buy her a sled, put her in it, and pull her around. Who says exercise can’t be fun?
Hoping for the best.
Well, shit! I’m sorry to hear this. I hope things go more easily than you expect.
Even if you don’t end up with the little guy from your other thread, I hope you’ll consider finding another dog, for both the exercise and the cuddles.
Sending healing thoughts your way Maggie. I hope you can tolerate the new plan without too much difficulty.
Thank you for the update. When I saw your other thread, I did wonder how things were going. I think your little guy is just the right dog for you. Big enough for walks and fun, and small enough for cuddles and quiet time. Best wishes for the new regimen. It sounds tough. Let us know if we can help (cards, puns, cat pictures).
Will you be on the same dosage of oxali? Maybe you’ll be on a smaller dose in combination with the other drugs, and won’t have as bad side effects.
Here’s wishing you the best of luck. You’re doing great!
Off to find the dog thread…
StG
Great idea! I’m in! 
Sending positive energy, good thoughts, and prayers, Maggie.