Chemo Cycle 6 Round 2 - Cancelled

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I met with my chemo doctor this afternoon. I described the severe difficulty I had over the past three days… fatigue, coughing, phlegm, not sleeping, muscle tightness, pain, weight loss, etc. My worst symptom is the muscle tightening and resulting pain. He said this chemo can adversely affect areas which were previously radiated. As such, it may not be muscle tightening; it may very well be the interaction between this chemo drug and where I received the highest radiation dosages in my left jaw and neck areas. Whatever it is, the end result is the same, severe pain.

He reviewed today’s blood counts and thought they looked good. He wanted to move forward with the chemo, but at a 25% lower dosage. I asked for a few extra days to recover before getting another infusion. He suggested than that we cancel this infusion and call this a completed chemo cycle. He suggested that we start chemo cycle round 7 next Wednesday with the reduced dosage. I agreed. There is obvious risk here, but there is risk in too much drug poisoning also. A body can only take so much punishment. If I were James Bond 007 in Casino Royale, I could probably take more (he took a lot sitting in that bottomless chair being beaten with a knotted rope), but I'm not. I'm just a mortal soul who has been beaten into submission. I'll tell you anything you want to know, just stop the beatings. There are no clear answers, but I’m glad at this moment in the direction we have chosen for today. The chemo has completely worn me down physically and mentally. I began to feel better today and hope to feel even better tomorrow.