This round of chemo has, again, been a bit of good news/bad news.  Thankfully, the good things seem to be more numerous than the bad.  Due to Cathy's will power, or the reduced dosage, or some other factor, her energy and appetite have been much better this week.  She was awake for a few hours today, showered and dressed, and ate more than I've ever seen on a Thursday.  She told me she was "just pushing through," but I think it's a little more than that.  The last four rounds I don't think she could have pushed through with all her might.  This round is a little different.

The peripheral neuropathy is still present, but mild.  It hasn't gotten worse, which I count as a blessing.  It doesn't keep her awake and I can usually get it off her mind with a foot rub at bedtime.  Cathy stopped taking her Compazine, an anti-nausea drug, one day earlier than last time (which was one day earlier than the time before).  She thinks the anti-nausea meds make her foggy, so she doesn't want to take them if she doesn't have to.  She keeps them at the ready, though!

Cathy now weighs less than she did on the day we were married.  She looks thin, but not to an unhealthy degree.  She's really only fluctuated 10-15 pounds in the last 15 years, so we aren't really concerned, yet.  I think she's lost some muscle mass.  We're working on increased protein to build muscle and she's walking/doing yoga when she feels up to it.  I think when she feels better on a regular basis some of this will come back.

The big thing this time around seems to be that her thermostat is becoming more and more out of whack.  She goes from sweats to chilly pretty quickly, with most of the time spent in sweats.  This is great for me, especially at night because I'm always the one kicking the covers off, but I wish she could be more comfortable.

Cathy is so tough, so determined, so sweet, so loving.  I hate that she has to do this.