after 3 rounds my sister is better

butlerdebbie

hello to all:) i wanted to post another message about my sister... she has had 3 rounds of rituxan, her chemo's, and her neulasta.(cycles of 21 days). she takes allpurinol also. she had a recent repeat pet scan(after 3 rounds) and her onc. "told her that there is dramatic improvement" my sister did not ask all of the "nitty gritties"(details), she doesn't want to know them until all of this is over(she is a registered nurse), age 44. we are now even more positive and hopeful. she is to have a repeat muga scan tomorrow and 2 more rounds of the rchop and have another pet scan... she has done fairly well. she has had the initial bout of nausea, some constipation, fatigue(probably from the neulasta), minimal tingling, certainly a metallic taste in her mouth, and her red blood cells only dropped once(which she received an injection for)... she, for about a week, does get a "chemo head", which she refers to, as some confusion, and increased confusion etc. but she has hardly missed any work... she drinks and flushes 5-6 liters of fluids per day, and now has tried to focus on good nutrition, such as "super foods"..she did have a titanium port placed in her chest(onc. nurse), recommended it, and glad she did she has a phlebitis in the vein, where the 1st. round of the rchop was given(she was given keflex, for that). she immediately(after round 1), did indeed begin to lose her hair and it wasn't long at all, before she needed to have her head shaved... i wanted to share with all of you...it's been very helpful to me, as my sister's caregiver to read your very positive and comforting messages. so to all hang on and remain strong and positive! we believe in prayer and recovery:):):)when this is all over, she will ask the details of the bone marrow, staging and all pet scan results(she chooses not to know them now)...