8 down, 8 to go...

Yesterday we went to session number 8... half of the chemo session are done... we're on the home stretch! Things are starting to get more and more routine. We seem to know everybody, know the system, know what's coming next.

This makes it a little more relaxing, and a little more boring. No doctor's appointment this week so it was right from blood draw to waiting room. There is a woman who has been there at the same time as us for the last few weeks. We couldn't help but notice that she has looked significantly worse (skinnier, more frail) every week. She has gone in four weeks from strolling in and sending her daughter to pick up sandwiches to needing help walking to the private bed that she needed. As we were waiting to be called in she started talking to Michele... asking how many more sessions she had. She went on to tell us that she had breast cancer in 2002, had a mastectomy, and seemed all clear. Now she has liver cancer and told us that the treatment was much, much worse. She looked at Michele with a very serious glare and said "...promise me that you will demand a full body scan every year, not just a blood test... demand it!" She said that her doctor just gave her blood tests and mammograms and that the cancer lie dormant, undetected in her liver. This was all very sobering.

Once we got in the treatment area it was the normal routine. We had a nurse whom we had not had before. She is from Scotland, so it was fun to just listen to her explain everything with her accent. The process flowed along, if a little slow, and we did our usual talking, eating, and eavesdropping. Michele did much better on the Benadryl this time and only acted a little drunk.

Michele was a little nauseous when we got home, but took a quick nap and felt a smidge better. Our friends Jay & Kay came up and made us dinner and hung out which helped to occupy her mind. She had a decent night sleep and seems to be ready to rock 'n roll this morning.