New Treatment Begins!

Barb and Jason’s day began today at 6:45am at the hospital. Barb went in for surgery to put in the port at 9:45am. She came out a bit groggy, but was at Dr. Merchant’s to talk about chemo at 11:30am. They talked about going on the Filfiri and possible side effects of the new chemo drugs. Barb will know in about 2 weeks if her hair will stay in or fall out.
Melissa was with Barb and Jason most of the day. Melissa’s husband Al showed up at chemo as well as Amy. Barb is so blessed with wonderful friends. It is sure hard on days like this to be so far away in California!
Barb finished chemo and went home with her pump at about 4pm. She will be getting the 5FU for 46 hours on the pump. Barb is ready with her anti-nausea drugs in case this new chemo upsets her stomach. She is off of the pump Wednesday and then gets 12 days off. According to the report from Phoenix, these drugs should be effective on Barb’s tumor….something about the biomarkers….I’ll leave that for Katie to explain to me! Barb will have her tumor marker (CA 19-9) retested in 4 weeks and then heads back to Mayo Clinic in 8 weeks. Barb is so thankful to all of you for the prayers, emails, cards, and hugs. The support of her ARMY has been amazing, and Barb gains strength knowing so many people love her. Keep the faith! Love, MK
PS Happy Birthday to Barb’s nephew Kevin Haller, who turns 5 today!