Dad is all hooked up and has had his port accessed (the needle put in) and has had his pre-meds...anti-nausea, steroids, and benadryl....and so he is now off in benadryl-land (better known as lala land) so he will be asleep for about 3 to 4 hours. He's doing fine this morning.
Today he has 2 main drugs given, but it takes all day because one is hard on the kidneys and they have to give 4 bags of saline to super hydrate him before the chemo drip is started. So we're here for the whole day. One of the drugs today is the platinum analog that I described on Feb. 16 and the other today is Rituxan. Again...this technical information is mostly for Shanna, but the rest of you might find it interesting. The Rituxan is a monoclonal antibody. Part of your body's natural defenses against germs/bacteria, are antibodies. The antibody recognizes bacteria, attaches to them, and helps the immune system destroy them. Antibodies can be made in a laboratory and designed to bind to a specific target, such as cancer cells. These are called monoclonal antibodies. In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Rituxan works by attacking B-cells. All B-cells have a marker on their surface called CD-20. Rituxan binds to CD-20 and kills it. So there's the scientific version of what's going on today! Being very non-scientific myself, I find it amazing that somebody figured all of that out!
I was going to bring the camera today to take a picture of the view out the window here, but it didn't snow last night and the snow from yesterday is all gone. Right now there are 2 bluejays and one cardinal outside the window. We're supposed to be getting some snow tonight, so we may have to get up pretty early to get here tomorrow if the roads are bad...but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
I'll post later today to let you know how Dad's doing.
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keep fighting the good fight, dad! how late will you all be there today?
ReplyDeleteTake that CD-20!!! Those B-cells don't even know what they got comin' to them.
ReplyDeleteIf it's like last time, we didn't get out of here til around 5:30 or 6:00.
ReplyDeleteWell, Dad's blood pressure machine just went off and it's 122 over 67 so he is definitely in a relaxed state (translated: still asleep!).
It is truly amazing that someone figured out how all that works and thank goodness it does!
ReplyDeleteCan't be too sad about the snow not piling up. It looks pretty but then someone has to drive on it or shovel it. Won't be too much longer and everything will be green and blooming.
I'm sending all my positive energy your way. Put it to good use and get rid of those B-cells.
Thinking of you!! Sending lots of love!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I am amazed you can wrap your mind around all that...I have far too conceptual of a mind (Emergenetics reference) to handle that kind of data! haha so props to you, mom!
ReplyDeletewhat are you guys going to order from culver's today?
ReplyDeleteDad thinks he'll have a caramel cashew sundae...yeah, right! He had an uneventful chicken sandwich, yogurt, and banana...and lots of water and some tea. His shirt buttons are about ready to pop with all the IV fluids he's had plus the drinking water. He's doing fine...we're playing a few games of gin rummy right now.
ReplyDeletewho's winning?
ReplyDeleteDad 4, me 2. Obviously, he isn't phased by the chemo!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the geek description Linda! Sara: here's a good link for understanding it: http://lymphoma.about.com/od/treatment/p/mabtherapy.htm, but Linda did a great job.
ReplyDeleteThis is a bit of a stretch metaphor-wise, but let's try it:
Part of your [city’s] defenses against [bad guys], are [cops]. The [cop] recognizes [bad guys], attaches to them, and helps the [city] destroy them. [Cops] can be made in a laboratory and designed to bind to a specific [bad guys], such as [serial killers]. These are called [special investigators]. In [your dad’s city], Rituxan (the name of the “special investigator”) works by attacking [serial killers]. All [serial killers] have [souvenirs] of their [crimes]. Rituxan finds these souvenirs to find the serial killers and then kills the serial killers.