6.15.2025
Cycle 1 (Continued)
This week Doris received the final infusion treatment of Cycle 1. The oral chemotherapy pill continues daily through the end of treatment. We learned on Thursday - infusion day - that for Cycle 2 beginning on June 26, there will only be one infusion. We are so grateful that Doris had no reactions for this final infusion of Cycle 1. Combined with the news that there will be only one infusion during Cycle 2 and having no reactions to this latest infusion, we are feeling good about the prospects of the treatment. As a close-knit outsider to this treatment, it seems to me that Doris is tolerating everything well. Admittedly I did not know fully what we might see when we discussed treatment on May 23, and we still do not know. But I had expected something worse than what has happened. Doris has a consistent sense of heartburn and fatigue that we can manage. Because Doris does not feel miserable, we are still able to enjoy our time together. The times include unpacking from our packing up for our mission to Bristol (England), working on household needs together, such as laundry, and an outing when it fits into our schedule.
On Tuesday morning, I was able to spend time in the Boise Temple. Because we are unsure about whether the treatments have already weakened Doris’ immune system, I went alone. It was a beautiful but also emotional time because we were not together. While I have visited the temple on my own previously, I have not been there under a cloud of serious illness affecting my sweetheart. And yet there is comfort in being there. In the afternoon, we took a drive to Hidden Springs, a nearby community. Then we decided to extend our trip up Highway 55 to Horseshoe Bend. We had heard about a family farm market that sells not only produce, but also fruit pies. We bought some huckleberry jam, and a peach pie. Doris reports that it was the best peach pie she has ever tasted. That was a trip well worth the investment of fuel and time. We need to find some more of those opportunities.
While Doris feels good and we are enjoying our time together, there are still those times when emotions surface. Such was the case as we were assimilating the items that we had packed in preparation for our mission to Bristol in our efforts to reclaim our living space. We completed a great deal of that assimilation on Friday. Those items are all consolidated and are ready to for us to store them elsewhere. We will then have our bedroom back. I felt again a sense of loss and mourning because of the finality of this experience. We will not be serving a mission to England. Doris has cancer. The treatments will continue for many more months. Even with the reassurances we have from both medical personnel and our individual prayers and prayers together, we recognize that there is the looming serious nature of MCL in our lives. We still do not have any blood tests that show the effect of those treatments on the disease, or on her healthy blood cells.
We like to track positive progress. One of the positive items we are tracking is our walks together. Normally we walk for 40 minutes. There are a couple of breaks, and the 40 minutes is usually accomplished over a longer period of time. “W” means a full walking day. The “I” stands for an infusion day. The squashed “W” means it was a shorter walk than normal.
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