A new friend has come into our lives! Her name is Gemcitabine. We’ve named her GB for short. She’s not terribly charming but, then again, chemo drugs aren’t known for personality! We understand it will require a bit of energy to be her hosts but, in time, we anticipate benefits from the effort. Initially, whenever they encounter each other, GB’s presence might give Shelley the chills and perhaps flu-like experiences for a couple of days, but that should be it as far as any downside to their relationship.
The budding of our friendship with GB begins on Monday, the 17th, at 11:30 A.M. Shelley will spend time with her for half an hour every Monday morning for three consecutive weeks and then they will take a break from each other the following week. This is to be the planned cycle for their (hopefully) long term relationship. Dr. Doreen will check in to see how the two are making out at the beginning of each 4 week cycle and will likely schedule a CT Scan for the end of October.
The good news of this budding relationship is that time spent with GB is only one day a week. This means that our lives will be minimally disrupted. We’ve also learned that her presence in our lives means that Shelley’s pancreatic “symptoms” should be alleviated to a fair degree and that, perhaps, her tumor might even shrink. However, as Dr. Doreen said, “if you experience your symptoms being alleviated Shelley, we consider that "success" and will ask you to continue befriending GB as long as that is the case.”
We’ve come home tired, relieved, hope-filled, and beginning to make plans.
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers especially as we work toward establishing a good relationship with GB in hopes that she will reciprocate! We are constantly strengthened by your care and concern!
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