An Update from Bridget

Hi all, it’s Bridget! I thought it was a good time for an update since we have been getting a lot of questions.

In the last post my dad shared that the tumors spread to my bones. Because of this I was no longer a candidate for a liver transplant. It was devastating news, but I quickly focused on “what can I do now?”. My oncologist proposed a chemo treatment called Folfox because it seemed the spread to the bones was more aggressive than my pancreas/liver tumors.

Chemo works well for cells that divide quickly which is why the Captem chemo I did several years back did not work for me as my cell division is low.

I had plans to start chemo before Christmas, but then I got COVID so I had to wait a minimum for 21 days to start. Thankfully my case was mild and I did not get very sick. I did get monoclonal antibodies the next day after my positive test before I had any symptoms. I believe this really helped me!

The initial plan was to do 4 rounds of chemo every two weeks and then get a scan to see if it is working. I had a bit of a rough start. I did not respond well to anti-nausea medicine and ended up in the ER and hospital. The medicine made my heart feel like it was racing, I could barely talk, couldn’t sleep and had involuntary facial muscle movements. It was scary! Because of this I was nervous to do my next rounds at home. The way Folfox works is you go outpatient for a 2 hour infusion of the first chemo and then they connect you to a pump for the second chemo. It runs for 46 hours and then a home nurse comes to disconnect you. The next 3 rounds I did in patient at University of Chicago and they went much smoother.

After the four rounds of chemo I had a PET scan to see what was happening. We were praying for no progression. The scans showed stability so not much of a change which we took as a win. If it was aggressively spreading it would have been a whole new conversation. Because the chemo was keeping the tumors stable I decided I would do another 4 rounds. Oh fun!!

I am pretty thin and have lost a lot of weight and muscle and felt the dosage was too potent for me. I also have a lot of extra weight that is fluid that was configured into the chemo dose calculation. After discussing with my oncologist I was able to reduce the dose by 20% and increase the time in between to 3 weeks. I still have 3 pretty hard days but some of the side effects aren’t as bad. With the reduction, I didn’t get mouth sores and the cold sensitivity didn’t last as long. Almost immediately after starting the treatment you have a sensitivity to drinking/eating anything cold and if your hands and feet get cold it hurts. The extra week is great because I'm feeling pretty good by then and can actually LIVE my life.

Overall, I still get tired and have to rest a lot. Partially from the chemo and also from the distention and fluid retention. I’ve had some issues walking over the last month. My tumors cause me to have really high cortisol levels. This combined with the distention causes extreme muscle tension and knots. It got so bad that I was having difficulty putting weight on my left leg. I also figured out from going to a chiropractor that my hips and spine were out of alignment. I went to a chiropractor that uses an activator gun. It is a gentle adjustment that I need since I have severe osteoporosis (thank you cortisol!). For the last couple weeks I have gone twice weekly and each time I went I felt a little better. I practiced at home putting weight on my left leg and tried not to use the cane as much. Over the weekend I realized I walked across the kitchen without the cane! Now, I haven’t used the cane in several days. I am walking faster and can go up and down the stairs a lot easier and quicker.

On Monday I start chemo treatment #7. This time I have something fun to look forward to afterwards. I haven’t been on a vacation in 3 years and that last trip was the one where I got pneumonia and almost died. It has been really hard having to stay home when my family goes on vacation without me. Since I have a good handle on the chemo routine and can somewhat predict how I will be feeling and bc COVID has simmered down, I feel I am ready to travel. It won’t be easy and will require a lot of extra planning, but it will be worth it to smell the ocean air and to see the smile on my kids' faces. My family, along with my parents and sisters will be going to Rosemary Beach, FL in May. YEAH!

When I get back from Florida, we will have Kieran’s kindergarten graduation and then I will start chemo #8. After the 8th treatment I will have another PET scan to see what’s happening. So if you are the praying type, please pray that my family and I are healthy and able to travel and that the chemo is doing its job and stabilizing and shrinking the tumors!

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for my family and me, sent flowers, food and gifts. We appreciate it and feel very grateful to have all of you in our lives.

Now hopefully with the pandemic simmering down we will be able to see you in person over the summer!

Bridget

Bridget Sievers

773-742-0026

www.holisticbliss.co

@holisticblissdotco