Nov 5, First Day of Chemo

Mark had his first dose of chemo today at the infusion center in Opelika. He was pretty nervous going in, but became more relaxed and was giving the infusion nurse a lot of his sarcastic humor. She took it in stride and gave it right back to Mark, so I think they're a match made in heaven. haha. He received a medicine for nausea first and then some steroids. The chemo followed with oxaliplatin and leucovorin (not really chemo, but has a synergistic effect with the 5FU). They hooked up the 5FU last and let him get a little to make sure he wouldn't have an allergic reaction. He is now hooked up to a fanny pack with constant infusion of 5FU for 46 hours. He will return to the infusion center Wednesday to disconnect and we are done for 2 weeks.

He tolerated the chemo well. No nausea or side effects. The side effects are cumulative, so he may at some time develop them, but we're optimistic that he will continue to do well. He is eating well this afternoon and plans to make it to Colton's championship game tonight at the High School stadium (the "Shugar Bowl"- named after Shug Jordan, a former Auburn football coach, for those of you who aren't from Auburn). He is prohibited from getting cold or even drinking cold beverages or food for 3 days into treatment each 2 weeks. He must wear gloves to reach into the freezer and continue to stay warm. Hopefully it won't be too cold tonight at the game, but if you see Mark out dressed like an Eskimo, it is for that reason.

We requested another CEA (cancer marker) to be drawn today so we will have a data point at the start of therapy and it was 29. It was 20 at diagnosis. This is what they will follow along with CT/PET scans to see if he is responding to therapy.