From Classics to Chemotherapy

Here I am again with our little update...After feeling a lot better from the flu on Saturday, we did some more exploring in Innerstadt (city centre) on Sunday and bought tickets for a chamber orchestra "konzert" on Monday.  The concert was played by the Vienna Residence Orchestra in relatively small ballroom of the Palais Auersperg, a palace where Mozart performed on the harpsichord at age 6.  The sound from the instruments (violins, violas, flute, cello, bass and piano) was very rich as they performed several pieces from Mozart and Strauss.  A few of the numbers were accompanied by ballet dancers and opera singers.  They even had a few comic moments to make the evening very enjoyable.  Will was pleased to hear the lead violinist playing on a "stradivarius" violin; Alexis loved the ballet; my Mom could've listened to more of that music for hours; I loved the whole experience, but couldn't stop gauking at the chandeliers!  (Dad opted out of this event).  Interestingly, a viennese coffee house (Cafe Dommayer) that we've been to a few times by my clinic is the site of Strauss's first concert.

And that's the end of the Classic's paragraph.  Onto Chemotherapy...

Before I got here, at the request of Dr. Kleef in Vienna, I had arranged to have my 2010 tumour biopsy sample sent from Calgary to Professor Bojar at a lab in Germany.  Once I got here, Dr. Kleef also sent Dr. Bojar some of my blood so he could examine my live circulating tumour cells to determine if my cancer cells have changed in what makes them live and die.  It turns out that the chemotherapy drug I have been on from Calgary would have been effective in 2010, but according to my current blood cells, it is completely NOT killing my cancer cells right now, but is apparently wreaking havoc on my white blood cell count, which was determined Monday to be critically low (which puts me at high risk for infections).  I had asked my oncologist back home twice about doing this type of chemo-sensitivity testing, but it is apparently not part of their standard practice and she did not know of any reliable labs who do this, nor whether the information obtained from such a test would be useful.  I am trying to present this in the blog in a reasonably objective, non-emotional way, but anyone who knows me can imagine that I am angry and not sure what to do with that anger.  If/when my current cancer treatment approach is helpful, I'll be looking to meet with some higher-ups in Alberta Health Services to share my story.  If you've got connections, let me know when I get back.

So, needless to say I'm done with my previous chemo drug.  I was given Neupogen to boost my white blood cell count which responded well, and was given a different chemo drug (Oxaliplatin) at 40% of its usual dose, followed by a full-day of whole-body hyperthermia under mild sedation.  I'm told it went very well, but have no recollection of that part of the treatment.  Now it's a "wait and let the drug take effect" while I continue to do and take the other immune-boosting treatments.  I think my next dose of the oxaliplatin and hyperthermia combo is aimed for 4 weeks from now, just before we're due to go home.

God Bless,
Shawna