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Some Shrinkage!


paddy

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Hello All,

Just to let you know that David has had the results of his latest CT scans and they were not quite as discouraging as they have been in the past. We were so grateful to hear that there has been a slight decrease of a few of the tumors and the rest have not grown much since the last scan.

There is however, a "slight" new plural effusion in the left lung and tiny nodules can be seen in the right hemithorax , "which could represent small airways disease/Bronchiolitis, as opposed to true metastases".

The Oncologist, (who incidentally is really "listening" to me as well as David these days,) has cut his Taxotere dose to 75%, as he has been having some nasty side-effects which are not condusive to "quality of life!" He will be having 6 more sessions of Taxotere and then another CT scan. Depending on what they find then, they will either give him a break or start Iressa.

By the way, we have found that Hydrocortisone cream, (One percent,)

is very good for the awful dry skin and sores on the hands, which, (as in Dave's case,) is sometimes caused by Taxotere.

God Bless you all and thanks for all your prayers and positibe thoughts,

Paddy

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Shrinkage is always reason to say HOORAY. It is a good thing when the doctor tweaks the treatment to suit the recipient...it has been done for me many times and it is what makes it less scary to embark on the chemo ordeal. It is nice to be recognized as an individual with individual needs.

Blessings,

Margaret

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Guest bean_si (Not Active)

Yea shrinkage! Boo metal taste. I had similar problems when undergoing chemo/rad at same time. Someone else might offer a solution to get rid of the taste but unfortunately, I found I had to force myself to eat. It might be a good idea to get some protein powder. I use Spiru-tein because it also has all vitamins/minerals. I dropped from 122 to 112 lbs in a couple weeks but the protein powder (and ice cream) helped me put the pounds back on. Although for me, I'm not sure that's really what I wanted. :roll:

Cat

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Good and encouraging news, Paddy!! :) Happy to hear it!!

About the metallic taste.....a nurse said to me that some sort of citrus flavor usually took care of it for most people....but that one might have to try various citrus-y things to see just what worked. Lemon drops worked for me the one time so far, that I noticed the taste.

But she said for some people, it was orange flavor that did it, rather than lemon. So....I'd try a variety of citrus candies...juices....anything to see if it relieves the taste. Heck...maybe even an orange or lime popsicle would do it...eh? A half popsicle before a meal might work!

Hope you find some relief for the taste thing. I only had it once, after the first day of the second cycle of chemo...but it was not pleasant. :?

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Paddy,

Great to hear some good news and I hope it only gets better!

I've never had chemo, but I have had medication before that gives off a severe metallic taste, and like Addie said, orange/tangy seemed to be the only thing that really worked - at least temporarily. I hope that or suggestions from others who've really "been there" will help. Anyway, I'm glad there are positive signs and that the doctor is treating you and David with respect.

BeckyCW

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