Half way done with Chemo and the Pavlovian Response

Well, Candace has officially hit the half way point in her chemo and she has a PET scan scheduled for next week to see if any of that pesky cancer is still around. We had a nice meeting with Dr. Chase prior to chemo and were told that if all the cancer is gone and Candace so wishes, she can talk to the radiation oncologist and possibly stop chemo after 4 cycles and get radiation instead. The radiation treatment involves getting strapped in to a linear accelerator and having the area where you have cancer zapped with tachyons until you turn invisible and you wander the star ship thinking you are dead..oh sorry, that's Star Trek. No really, it is called a linear accelerator but they just zap you with radiation to kill any cancer cells that may have survived the chemo and make sure it doesn't come back. The bad thing about radiation therapy is the possibility of secondary cancers and other problems developing down the road. The area of Candace's largest tumors is in her chest so that would be one of the target areas. This area being zapped could bring on many nasty secondary ailments including, but not limited to; lung cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and becoming invisible. The other tumors are in her neck which I believe is close to the brain....sooo, Candace is leaning towards sticking with just chemo because even though it sucks now, there is less of a chance of long term secondary cancers and a very similar remission rate.
Speaking of sucking now....Candace has verified every psychology 101 textbook lesson on classical or "Pavlovian" conditioning. Just going to the chemo lounge and looking at the nurses, the IV pump, the chair and indeed just smelling the room was enough to get her to loose her cookies, or in this case, her fries (what she herself described as the best french fries ever). This puts us in the unique position of having to deal with her getting sick BEFORE treatment. The funny part of this all is that she feels better when she leaves the chemo center than when she arrives and indeed is doing quite well this time around now that she is home. She says she feels ok and has slept for most of the day, just getting up to eat and youknowwhat. No nausea to speak of and this time around and she has been taking her Ativan regularly so I think that has helped. She hates to take the drugs because they make her dopey, but they work! I have been pushing them a little harder this round to see if they make a difference. So far so good.


"Pavlov's Dog"

Try this fun game about Pavlovian conditioning!!
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/pavlov/pavlov.html




This is how Candace recovers from her Chemo (Sadie helps)

Thanks for all your great responses to the last post! It is good to hear what gets you all in the Christmas mood.
We will keep you all posted with the PET scan results and with any luck Candace will be cancer free for the holidays.
Look for a post from Candace in the next day or so when she breaks out of the chemo/ativan haze.
Be well, Happy Holidays
Dennis