well, finally some info that we can use, and makes sense!!!

Yesterday, Ken and I headed up to the infusion center for one of a few "teaching sessions" we need to get through this whole process.

Ken will have to refresh my memory on the nurse's names, but the two women who talked to us yesterday were priceless. Some info that we can finally understand and use:

The "peg": USE IT. From the get go. Do not WAIT until you feel you need it. It is your friend, and it will be your lifesaver. One of the highest nutritional priorities is hydration. Even in a healthy person, of course it is important, but now it takes on a whole new light. Hydration helps stave off nausea, or at least in some small part, it does. (I'll get back to that.) Especially when a person does not drink enough water orally, we now have a "convenient" method of making sure he gets it.

2 things regarding the chemo itself: #1, the reason it takes SO long to get it, even tho the medicine itself only flows for an hour, is because bracketing the actual infusion is an hour or more of iv fluids. One of the important things about the medicine itself is that it has to be completely flushed through the system. Therefore, a LOT of fluids are a must. The other thing... why chemo and radiation together.. and FINALLY some one explained to us why they are admitting Ken the same day as the radiation starts. turns out, that in this case, the chemo medicine itself helps potentiate the function of the radiation.

Here's how it works: I liken it to something we learned years ago regarding nutrition. For some reason, certain vitamins and minerals are absorbed better by our bodies in the presence of specific other elements. For example: in order to make sure your body absorbs iron the most efficiently, take an iron supplement with a glass of orange juice. The vitamin C in OJ for whatever reason, increases the body's absorption and retention of iron. Much like this: The chemo "sensitizes" the cancer cells to respond to the radiation, thus allowing the radiation to more effectively kill the noxious little buggers. THIS is why they changed his chemo appointment to be initially before his first radiation treatment... not in the day or two following.

So... The chemo is likely to make Ken very nauseous. In small part, adequate hydration will help alleviate that to a point. but it also helps him "maintain" if he does start throwing up, or develops the other, um... bowel related complication. He just needs to maintain hydration, and calorie intake. Now is NOT the time to to lose weight.

We went over some info regarding his portacath, infection information... a few less "exciting" details.

But we have to be back up there today to get the feeding tube inserted. More on that as the "news breaks".