Wednesday, Oct 3, 2012 6th Treatment

We are home from Leland’s 6^th treatment which went very well.  We were able to meet our daughter, Chaunda, and go to a small Thai Restaurant for lunch, after which we went to Harborview Hospital to see a friend from church here ( Jackie) who has had a stroke and very serious brain surgery.  Our prayers are for her and her family, and we hope she will be have a smooth recovery.

Leland was sick for a couple of days last week, just after I posted the last blog.  He had another episode of bone pain, in his  lower left leg, which was new.  When I called the clinic for him, they were concerned it could perhaps be a blood clot, and they thought he should get an Ultrasound on it, but it resolved within a couple of days, so  the US was not necessary after all.  The pain meds make him feel weird, and it seemed to upset his stomach this time.    However, by yesterday he was better, the pain was gone, and he was off the meds again.

Today, he got his first dose of Iscador, or Mistletoe, an immune therapy being used quite extensively in Germany. It is given by a small needle in the   interdermal fat layer.  The nurse showed us how to do it, since I will need to give it to him three days a week. He is still getting his vitamin “cocktail” by IV every week before the Chemo, along with the other nutritional therapies.

 I have been getting acquainted with some of the other patients  while Leland is napping, very nice people, all of them struggling with this awful disease. I met a couple across the aisle from us today from Leavenworth.  They are an older couple (like us? : )) and he has liver cancer.  She is from Germany so I was asking her about the package insert that came with the Iscador since it was all in German. They told me that when her husband started the Iscador, that he really began to feel better-almost normal.  So we are hoping for the same results for Leland.  

 We had a good trip both ways again for which we are thankful. We were delayed on I-90 for an hour on the way in.  They stopped all traffic going both ways for an hour for blasting.  Fortunately we had a book to read aloud and our supper, so we took a break right there in the middle of the freeway.  It is good to be home again.