Maggie was admitted Monday morning for chemo as planned. She has experienced a prolonged and pronounced level of diarrhea throughout the 48 hour infusion. The usual protocol is to NOT stop diarrhea as this is the body’s response to the toxicity of the chemo drugs and the cleansing is a proper response. Maggie is given Imodium as an exception to the rule to help control this particular side effect of one her “adult” colon cancer chemo drugs since it can be quite severe. However, Imodium is not doing the job this round. She’s “been through the wringer” in a manner of speaking. Due to the difficulty and the lack of rest we both experienced last night, we made the decision to stay one more night for hydration and rest. Her chemo infusion is complete as I write (8:30 pm). At this time, her belly has been calm for four hours – giving her a well deserved break. As long as this continues, we plan to discharge early Thursday morning and head south to the Burg. Once again, Maggie’s ability to remain positive in the face of an overwhelmingly negative situation astounds me. I watch her being sustained by her Lord and it inspires me more than I find words to express.

We do have good news to report. Maggie’s CEA (tumor marker) was down to 9.21 from 10.47 noting a measurable response to the switch to Cetuximab (targeted therapy). This is after one infusion two weeks ago. We are optimistic that the next test (in two weeks) will show even more response. While we feel this gives us breathing room to choose our time in going to MD Anderson, we also are aware of the strain this chemo regimen is placing on Maggie’s overall health. She may not be able to tolerate many more of these infusions. We’ll be contacting MDA this week for a return appointment (possibly toward the end of February) to discuss clinical trial options. In the meantime, we’ll plan to return for another scheduled treatment here in two weeks.

The prayer requests are simple: a settled tummy and quick recovery from this round of chemo; success in making plans for MDA; a clinical trial opening that will knock Maggie’s cancer to the curb; patience and persistence in running this race.

Thank you for caring about the details, loving us on good days and bad, and praying for peace to guard our steps, our hearts, and our minds. We pray the same for you.