July 13, 2010
Yesterday was the first day of chemo. I was relieved the treatment was finally starting but felt Bobby's pain at having to submit his body to such a toxic cocktail. He has been an "organic" guy for many years. He's not a fanatic but he does keep very healthy habits. He said starting treatment was like turning over the car keys to someone else. He's not in the drivers seat anymore. Figuratively and physically that is true. He's not able to physically drive at this time and he is having to submit the care of his body to someone else. His age and his otherwise good health are significant factors in fighting the cancer and being able to tolerate the treatments. We feel very positive that he will do well.
The day after proved to be a bit of a rough day. Some nausea, lack of energy and lack of appetite. I think a general feeling of fatigue, because of the situation, and a desire for extra nurturing all contributed to the day. It's been a long struggle getting to this point both physically and emotionally.
Our main goal/challenge is to get enough food into him. Nutrition is an important part of the treatment. The Herbalist that is working with him said he needed to get a minimum of 1100 calories a day. When I read that I thought that wasn't enough to keep him from losing more weight and I thought that wouldn't be hard to achieve but now realize it can be difficult because of the nausea.
The other element is fatigue. It's really important for him to exercise as much as possible to circulate the chemo throughout his body and get it into the bone. We picked him up after I got home from work and brought him home to have dinner with him and walk and let him sauna.
I go to bed when I need to, to be ready for work, and David takes him home when he's ready. Sometimes he spends the night on the couch. I always worry that it's not comfortable enough, but he says it is.
We have his car now so David can go get him during the time I'm at work. They're planning to do a lot of walking.
All three oncologists said he would feel better after chemo began so we wait to see how he feels tomorrow.
