Cycle Two, Round One......

Sounds a lot like a boxing match, doesn't it!! And, we're in a fight.....for Bob's life.....

Had things gone as planned, right now he would probably be experiencing the worst days of the SCT. Because of the C. Diff infection, that phase had to be postponed. God often works in mysterious ways! (Meaning, if we were heading in the wrong direction, He could give us cause to rethink our decision.)

After a two month respite, Bob returned to the Cancer Center this morning to begin another round of Chemo. For now, he'll be back on Velcade/Dex. The Velcade tends to cause some neuropathy, in his legs, and the Dex (Dexamethasone) sends his Blood Glucose soaring. We have "drugs" for the neuropathy, and insulin for the Blood Glucose. His lab numbers still look pretty good. As usual, he has some low and some high - but nothing major.

We met with his PCP, after his Chemo treatment, and received acknowledgment that we had made the right decision in discontinuing the Celebrex. Dr J. prescribed an anatacid to be taken daily, to try and rescue the stomach from the damage caused by the Celebrex.

I called Pfizer, on Monday, to learn how long it would take Celebrex to get out of Bob's system. I was told 3 days. It's amazing how many law suits are in process, and how many $$$ Pfizer has paid, due to Celebrex wrongful death suits. And it was amazing at the end of the call, the Pfizer rep wanted to know if I would like to have some information mailed to me, about Celebrex. Yes, of course I would!! Not!

Dr. J. said that the Celebrex was already "out of his system", but it would take longer for damage recovery. I'm sure it may be a great drug, for some ....but it certainly didn't work for us.

I'm just waiting for the morning when he wakes up and says "I feel good....I'm hungry". Then, I'll know his tummy is all better.

My advice to any caregiver is to pay attention to the drugs that are prescribed for your patient (or even for yourself). Just because a doctor says you need them; doesn't mean they'll work for you. Stay aware - manage your own care!