I need to help Susan with everything right now. Dressing, bathing, brushing teeth, having meals, getting around the house – every activity is broken down into steps that require great amounts of coaxing or me to do them for her. She’s on super-slow motion, 6x, 10x. I’m adjusting to her slower pace and trying to be patient during the 10-20 second intervals before she acknowledges what I’ve said. Sometimes it doesn’t stick and I have to repeat it. Now I know why Dr Liau says brain cancer is a devastating disease. Fatality is one thing, but the loss of function is a killer too.
We arrived at UCLA and shuffled into the Jonsson Cancer Center waiting room about 15 minutes late, a normal thing these days. We didn’t get called in for Susan’s blood draw until almost 2pm, which delayed her 2pm infusion until lab results came in. Her blood work was ok, so she started her infusions about 3:30pm and had an exam by Dr Nghiemphu. She noted Susan’s swelling and disorientation (didn’t know the day, month or date), and suspects decadron is the culprit. As much good as the steroid does for brain swelling, it can cause degenerative symptoms once the swelling abates. It’s a balancing act. She reduced Susan’s dose from 12mg to 8mg for now and moved up her next MRI by two weeks to 6/23, after having two doses of Avastin.
We arrived at UCLA and shuffled into the Jonsson Cancer Center waiting room about 15 minutes late, a normal thing these days. We didn’t get called in for Susan’s blood draw until almost 2pm, which delayed her 2pm infusion until lab results came in. Her blood work was ok, so she started her infusions about 3:30pm and had an exam by Dr Nghiemphu. She noted Susan’s swelling and disorientation (didn’t know the day, month or date), and suspects decadron is the culprit. As much good as the steroid does for brain swelling, it can cause degenerative symptoms once the swelling abates. It’s a balancing act. She reduced Susan’s dose from 12mg to 8mg for now and moved up her next MRI by two weeks to 6/23, after having two doses of Avastin.
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