The Battle Has Begun (April 11, 2009)

My mom signed all her treatment consent forms this morning for chemo. She will participate in a chemo clinical trial that has been running for several years. Her chemo will be more intense and last longer, but we’re hopeful it will also give better results. The doctors strongly recommended it and there was really no down side to being part of the clinical.

Her red blood cell count was low, so she got a blood transfusion right before her first chemo treatment late Saturday afternoon.

The blood transfusion really helped her to feel a little better and she was feeling pretty good after her first treatment. We know that with chemo she won’t always feel good because the side effects will take a lot out of you, so we’re happy she had a good day.

The first phase of chemo will last five weeks. If all goes well, she may come home in as little as three weeks and complete the rest of her treatments in the outpatient clinic.

She is grateful for the love and support. She had me read her all the comments from the blog. There is no question that the support and prayers on her behalf are giving her strength.

There are obviously a lot of unknowns still, but we will stay positive and ask that people continue to pray for her.