4/1 - Day 14, Cycle 1: Heading into Her Good Week of Cycle

As the adage goes, "no news is good news" and it certainly fits Kristine's story over these past few days. Kristine's been getting outside walking and enjoying the fresh air. Her weight is nearly back to normal (most of the retained fluid has disappeared) and her appetite is equally healthy. She still gets exhausted at even the mention of household tasks. Although I suspect that this is more a mental side effect of being waited on hand and foot over the past two weeks than it is from the chemo. Of course, I can't prove this with any certainty. So her mom and I will continue to do the chores when they need to be done and dance around like trained monkeys when Kristine needs a laugh -- after her miserable week of chemotherapy, I think we would do almost anything for a glimpse of her brilliant smile and laugh.

Kristine's cousin Cris (left inset) was in over the weekend and her Aunt Jan is in for the next week. Her mother will remain in town for a few more weeks until she heads back to Texas for a short reprieve. Having family in town has really helped keep her spirit high and attitude positive. And as you can image it's been incredibly helpful for me to distribute some of the burden. You can see just how helpful Kristine's dad Jim was with our dog Rufus and foster dog Lucas in the photo to the right. (In all seriousness he really was helpful... when he wasn't napping.)

I mentioned in the last blog that Kristine hasn't yet lost any of her hair. She had it cut shorter to minimize the "mess" (her words) when it does start coming out. She said this morning that her scalp felt a little funny... tingly -- the first sign of imminent alopecia (i.e., hair loss). And a few times throughout the day as she ran her hand through her hair more than a few strands detached freely into her fingers. She said that she will likely avoid brushing or washing her hair for a few days to prolong the feeling of a full head of hair.