I have been away from the blogging scene for a little while. Life became a bit overwhelming when we found out the MIBG did not clear all of the cancer from My’isha’s lymph node.

That being said, we have finished 2 out of the 6 cycles of chemotherapy My’isha will be going through. She is getting Irinotecan and Temodar for these 6 cycles, and so far she is tolerating them both extremely well.

PhotoGrid_1463927030910[1]
Last day of cycle 2 and handling chemo like a champ.
I have some confessions to make. We started My’isha on CBD oils just before her MIBG therapy. We had to stop due to her being on a medical study, and we were cleared to restart after she had the final scans from the MIBG study. So we continued with the CBD through her first week of chemo. We have not restarted the CBD yet, but will be soon.

My’isha acts totally normal. You would never know that she has to take an oral chemo for a week and an IV chemo for 2 weeks. She has not changed since before starting the chemo. She has no nausea, no diarrhea, NOTHING! Even the doctors say she is doing amazing.

Everyday we have to go to the clinic, they offer to give her Zofran. I respectfully decline every time. The weeks that she has to take the oral medicine, I give her a dose of Zofran in the morning, in hopes it will help keep the nasty stuff down. Other than the 1 dose a day for a week every 3 weeks, there really is no need.

She was prescribed an antibiotic to help with diarrhea the crazy blow-out diarrhea the chemo is supposed to give her. I have given it to her maybe once, and her stools have not changed from her normal.

All children who take chemo have to take a medicine called Bactrim or Septra. It helps keep away a bacterial pneumonia chemo patients are more susceptible to. I had given her this medicine ever since she started treatment this time and I religiously gave it to her during her first bout with cancer. Funny thing is, she had a runny nose that I always blamed on the chemo. The doctors told me chemo could cause her to have a runny nose, so I really thought it was the chemo. I stopped giving her the Bactrim, mostly because I forgot(it is only a Saturday Sunday medicine). She has not been ill with even a cold since the last time I gave it to her.

Her oncologist also recommended that I continue giving My’isha an inhaled steroid since she has such over-active airways causing a simple cold to turn into wheezing and breathing treatments. I stopped doing that as well because she has been doing so well, I have a hard time giving medicine when she is fine.

So, I really am not sure what all of this means. It just keeps ringing in my ears that the medical industry is not in the business of healing, they are in the business of making customers. Do they give these medicines out of habit? Is there some benefit to them or the hospital for prescribing medications we do not need?

We should be on a LIST of medications going through this treatment based on the medicines they want me to give my daughter. By not giving her these medications, am I putting her at risk? Or am I putting her at greater risk when I give her medicine that she does not need.

The chemo has a purpose… the kill the hiding cancer cells. Putting more medicine in her body “just in case” sounds more harmful than good. I have all of the medicine and inhalers on hand in case things take a turn for the worse, but for now… they will sit in the cabinet with the Tylenol until needed.