3/21 - Day 3, Cycle 1: Chemo

Kristine finished the third day of her treatment without issue today. These days feel so long as we hope for signs of even the smallest bit of relief. The fluid retention in her upper body is still causing Kristine a lot of discomfort -- breathing, eating and moving herself around are difficult tasks. By the end of the day she had lost some of the fluid weight.

We got some bittersweet news from the doctor today. In reviewing the new CT scans more closely it seems that the main tumor in the vein of Kristine's chest is not only accompanied by metastatic tumors in the blood vessels of the lung but also a series of masses along the same vein leading into the atrium (the chamber of the heart where blood is returned from the body). This could be a very serious complication and disqualify Kristine for surgery if the tumors are all independent, free standing cells. However, Dr. Staddon's team reviewed Kristine's case with colleagues and there was agreement that all the masses appear to be and are likely to be part of the same mass structure. This diagnoses means that the disease is operable. The series of masses could be surgically removed as an entire structure. Of course, surgery is contingent on the success of the chemotherapy, but this news is nonetheless encouraging.

Thanks again to all of you who have responded to the blog or emailed. I am saving all of your communication for Kristine for when she feels up to reading all your kind words. (Right now she falls asleep before I can get the computer in her hands).