Waiting for information is always hard and, for me, writing and talking about my fears and worries is therapeutic; but blogging about the things we've experienced also serves as a diary of sorts. Everything is documented and there to help me recollect things I need to, in caring for my husband. But, I also think it may help others who are facing similar experiences.
Last Friday, my Terry came home with some of the same sort of itching we used to see before he was diagnosed. HIs ankles were particularly "itchy", with a mild rash and in the days since we have also seen his ankles swell, as well as his calves. He is retaining fluid again. Today, he also told me he could feel fluid building up behind his eyes and into his sinuses again. He had kidney disease at one time, brought on by the Hep C they finally diagnosed him with after years of suffering with the kidney problems he had; so, perhaps, what we're seeing is recurrence of THOSE issues that are part of the residual kidney damage their misdiagnoses caused him. The chemo lowered his blood pressure while undergoing treatment, so the blood pressure medication that was prescribed him years ago to control fluid levels was discontinued. It's been a month since his last RCHOP treatment; so, even though we're terrified of a relapse already, I'm trying to focus on the likelihood that it is "just" the kidney issue recurring and not the cancer.
We'll be sure to mention it to his oncologist on Friday. She agreed to run the necessary blood and urine tests we felt needed to be run which brings us some level of sanity in the midst of all this waiting. I'm thinking they will want him to start taking that BP med again which should alleviate these uncomfortable symptoms of his.
This is all so hard to sort out. And, with the possibility of late term side effects from the RCHOP, that can be extremely dangerous, we shall (I fear) just have to learn to live in a case of mild terror, indefinitely.
