Thanksgiving and the 2nd round of Temodar!

We had a very eventful week this week! Particularly, when you consider that Jake is only two weeks old! On Tuesday I HAD to go buy some pants that actually fit me. There is nothing more demoralizing than giving birth and then trying on pants.... Anyhow, I thought that since we had a rather busy week ahead, I might need something to wear besides the Yoga pants I had worn every day since Jake was born! :-) So, Tuesday I went and got Thanksgiving groceries, tried (unsuccessfully - long story) to fill Matt's chemo prescription, and bought pants. On Wednesday Matt had an appointment with Oncology so he could start the next round of Chemo. Matt, Jake, and I left early - around 8:00 a.m. and picked up my mom at work so she could come with us. Matt's appointment went well. We met with a new Oncologist (since our regular, but never actually sees us doctor is on personal leave for 2 months......) and we really liked him. He spent quite awhile evaluating Matthew and talking with us. Matt looked great. His counts were wonderful and he got the go-ahead to start the next round of Temodar. We also found out that next month Matt will get another full set of MRI's. I thought this would be happening in January, and am not really looking forward to having these done a few days before Christmas. I talked to the doctor about our next plan if the Temodar (like the Carboplatin) is not shrinking Matt's tumor. He said there would be another 'tumor board' meeting about him and that most likely Matt would begin radiation earlier than originally planned. I am just anxious to get the scans and results! Each treatment we try brings us closer to the end of the options we have - once you've tried several Chemotherapies, the chance of any Chemotherapy affecting the tumor is slim since all Chemotherapies take advantage of the same process. I just want the Temodar to WORK!!!

Thursday was Thanksgiving (and, incidentally, Warren and I's ELEVEN year anniversary!) and we just had a wonderful day! We hosted the dinner - but I didn't cook anything (thanks Meg for organizing, and everyone for bringing everything and helping!) I was more comfortable keeping Jake at home and having people here, then I was taking him out in the cold while he is so tiny. My brother-in-law did a deep fried turkey. It was so FUN and the turkey was amazing! The food was awesome and the company was even better. Alex (my brother) brought his Wii and there was always a crowd of kids and adults laughing and playing games. Everyone seemed to enjoy eating and visiting and eating some more.

The rest of the long weekend was spent putting up Christmas decorations, and Warren and I were able to go out to dinner Saturday night to celebrate our anniversary. I kept Jake home from church again on Sunday - I'm just not ready to expose him to 'Church germs' yet! :-)

Matt completed his second round of Temodar yesterday (Sunday). He has seemed to tolerate it pretty well, although today he has been complaining of being tired and has had a hard time eating. Tonight I made chicken and black bean enchiladas - usually a favorite dinner for him. However, he took one bite, turned completely pale, and I thought he was going to be sick. He made himself a cheese sandwich, but still only ate a few bites. Hopefully this symptom will be short lived and he will be able to eat normally in a day or two. I will be interested to see if this round of Chemotherapy affects his blood counts. So far, nothing has really bothered his counts, and he seems to have 'Chemo-proof hair'. I keep trying to prepare him to lose his hair, but that isn't happening. His hair is as thick and wiry as ever!

Let the Holidays begin!
-Alli