chemo-puko

yeah, this chemo is heavy.
Gopilila is really wiped out. She has had no apetite and when she eats something it's throws up.
we were warned that nausea, fatigue and constipation were some one of the side effects of the chemo. In fact the docs prescribed pills and meds for the nausea and constipation ahead of time.

Chemo- round 2

Gopilila started with her chemo therapy for her lungs. The program is 4 days of chemo, 28 days of rest, 4 days of chemo, then 21 days of rest, 4 days of chemo for the next few months. The doc says that there is at least one quarter sized growth in her lungs and several smaller ones. He has had patients with similar growths in their lungs and has had "success" in treating them. Incidently, the chemo that she is being given, topotecan, is derived from some chinese herb. It's main function is to stop cell division, meaning "all" cell division.
Anyways, Gopilila was wiped out after the chemo. she has been in a lot of pain, especially in the left side and back of her chest.
Tomorrow, we got more chemo...
We were blessed with some wonderful visitors and association this last week - Narottam, his wife Tanvi and baby Lila visited us from Columbus for a couple of days and then Vrindavanath and Sita-Rama from New york. It was so wonderful meeting old friends and catching up. Devotee association is so special and enlivening; gopilila especially was really appreciative.

Chemo again

So, the word is that the cancer in Gopilila's lungs has spread from her cervix. Unfortuntely, the docs have not offered any alternatives to more chemotherapy. So, as it stands, Gopilila is in for more chemo on monday, december 10th.

biopsy update

We saw Gopilila's primary care physician today. Well, the news is that the cancer is in her lungs. They are doing some kind of culture with the biopsy to determine if the cancer has spread from her cervix or it is something new. It will take a few days to get this result and then we will have a better idea of what the line of treatment will be etc.

Tomorrow we will talk to her oncologist to set an appointment.

lung biopsy

yesterday, nov 27th, Gopilila had a biopsy done on her left lung. The PET scan done a couple of weeks ago had shown something. In a couple of days we will know where we stand on the infection in the lung. Meanwhile, Gopi has been experiencing pain in her left side/lung area. Incidently, this is also the area where she had a surgery earlier this year to remove part of her pleura.
The results of the biopsy are due in a couple of days.

Gopilila, the kids and I got to visit the Boston temple this evening. Mangari Lila visited us from PA and took us there. It was really wonderful to visit the temple .

PCP

Last week we met with Dr. Cabrera, a charming lady from Peru, who will be Gopilila's PCP (primary care physician) .
I spoke to her (Dr. Cabrera) today about the PET scan that Gopilila had on saturday. The word is that the cancer looks to have spread to her lungs. Tomorrow I will speak to the oncologist, Dr. Fuller, about scheduling an appointment and finding out the real situation.

the cancer specialist

Yesterday, we met with Dr. Arlan Fuller, the oncologist. He was a really nice old gentleman, probably in his late sixties.
He did some preliminary exams and he said that Gopilila condition seems positive and that her cervix looks mostly normal. Next saturday, they have a PT? scan scheduled. They run this liquid through her body so they can identify the hotspots or any potential danger areas.
This is the next step...
Apparently, the lungs may not be cancerous or at least the PT scan will give us a better idea.