Into Week 2 of the Trial

We are into the second week of the first infusion and things are going well. Laura says the worst of it currently is the constant ear ringing, which drives her crazy.

Her initial nausea from the first treatment has for the most part subsided and Laura has been weaned off of all the anti-nausea medication for this first round. She is getting stronger each day since the Cisplatin administration, although she fights fatigue and has trouble sleeping more than 3-4 hours at a time.

This graph shows the typical blood cell count during a Cisplatin treatment. The blue line shows the  blood cell count, which dips down to its lowest point (nadir) 14 days into treatment and begins recovery on day 21.

Day 21 is when the next infusion is scheduled with the idea being that the chemotherapy is a cumulative process meant to have the greatest effect it can without getting her blood cell counts into a dangerous range. The blood cell count is not a direct indicator of other symptoms, but you can imagine if they are low, then the rest of the body is feeling it.

We don't expect this first round to be anything like the next, but it has been a real blessing with how well it is going. We were all astonished with how well Laura did through her first chemo treatment in late June of last year, but the cumulative effects of the drugs did catch up to her by the second treatment. Right now we are all just so very thankful that she is well and not experiencing extreme nausea or pain.