Two. #2 twodown
George had his second immunotherapy infusion this week. So far, so good. No big side effects, only perhaps increased fatigue and some lower abdominal pain that didn't last very long.
Immunotherapy is relatively new as a cancer treatment but is more palliative than curative. It gives your own immune system a boost to help fight the cancer.
And this is where the port comes in. The infusion can be given through the port, eliminating the need for those tricky IV pokes each time, assuming a viable vein can even be found. In George's case, that becomes a major challenge.
Before each infusion, he has blood draws that determine his overall status and ability to tolerate the infusion. Once the lab has released these results, we see a nurse practitioner who makes that determination. George's hemoglobin is still low but staying steady. His iron is still low as well contributing to his weakness, and so a series of iron infusions were ordered, separate from the immunotherapy appointments.
So now we simply put the key in the ignition and our Suburu automatically goes to the hospital cancer center. Who needs an electric car?
The staff at the cancer center are very kind and it's not an altogether unpleasant experience. To prepare for our winter in Arizona, we will need to find an oncologist there, arrange to have the immunotherapies ordered and of course, find a cancer center where we can continue the course.
Hopefully, we'll be able to continue the "so far, so good" reports. We thank you for all your support and encouragement.
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