New Beginnings: Cycle 4, COPDAC Chemo, and Springtime in Paris!

Finally, the weather broke in Paris, and the sun has emerged from its long winter slumber.  One of the best things about Institut Curie (other than the fact that they save people’s lives every single day) is the hospital’s location just a 2-minute walk from the Luxembourg Gardens.  Now that the trees are green and the flowers have bloomed, Ryan and I enjoy spending time in the Luxembourg Gardens whenever we catch a break.  Likewise, we also enjoy flâneur-ing along the Rue Mouffetard, where Ryan has ranked every crêperie from “Too Much Pancake” to “Too Much Nutella” to “Oh Hey That’s Not Bad.”  If you know Ryan, you know the latter rating is like saying, “This is amazing!”

When the sun finally comes out in Paris!

It’s been fun exploring Paris together under blue skies, but let’s not forget the reason we end up in the Latin Quarter so often.  On Monday, Ryan started his 4th cycle of chemotherapy.  Wow - it’s hard to believe he’s been at this for so long now.  To me, it feels like yesterday that we received his diagnosis.  To Ryan, of course, it feels like an eternity.

This 4th cycle also begins a new chemotherapy protocol.  He has moved onto COPDAC medications.  This was part of the original plan, although we had hoped to start COPDAC during Cycle 3.  The doctors were extra cautious about the activity still showing in Ryan’s chest and kept him on the more aggressive OEPA therapy during his 3rd cycle.  However, that’s behind him now, and these next 3 cycles should be a bit easier - fingers crossed!

Ryan’s COPDAC protocol looks like this:

Week One - BIG WEEK, 3 days - IV drips are Vincristine, Cyclophosphamide, Dacarbazine

Week Two - 1 day - IV drips are Vincristine and Cyclophosphamide

Weeks Three and Four - Rest

On the home medication front, Ryan continues to take Prednisone for the first 15 days of each cycle.  And he’s armed with lots of other pills and potions to combat nausea, muscle pain, bone and joint pain, infections, gastrointestinal discomfort and stomach cramps.  You know, standard chemo crap.

To Love It is To Hate It: The Vinc

He’s doing quite well, these days.  After his hospitalization a couple of weeks ago, Ryan got a break from IV drips that lasted almost 3 weeks, giving his body the opportunity to replenish its white blood cells and neutralize some of that poison we keep injecting into him.  The sunshine and longer days have helped to keep his spirits up, and some of our friends here in Paris have recently been “lending” us their dogs, which is a bigger help than you can imagine.

If all goes well during this round of chemo, we’re planning a short getaway to the Dordogne region of France (with the go-ahead from Ryan’s doctors).  One of Steve’s work colleagues has a lovely vacation cottage in the countryside, and we will spend a few days there with Ryan and two of his friends.  Please, keep Ryan in your prayers over the next few days and keep your fingers crossed that he stays healthy, so we can manage his side effects in such a way that he can still enjoy lots of time outdoors - laughing, smiling, and playing with his friends!

Ryan, Shannon, and Steve eating Sunday Lunch in the Marais, American-Style, Schwartz Paris

As for Next Steps, Ryan will have these 3 rounds of COPDAC, then another round of tests, and there is a CHANCE, friends, that he will be in complete remission when that is over.  Realistically, there’s also a small chance he’ll need a little more work under the hood, and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.  As always, we simply ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  Ryan really loves (LOVES!) to get snail mail from his friends and family in America, so if you can, that’s one small way in which you can offer him your support.  For those who’ve lost our Paris address, email me and I’ll happily remind you :)

Thanks again to EVERYONE who has helped, in petite ways and in énorme ways - for those who call and write and send gifts from home, for those providing meals, and for the fabulous ladies who occasionally drag me out for a tour or a cocktail, and to GOD for providing this lovely Parisian weather this week.  We can’t get through this without all of your support, and our incredible family, and our dedicated friends.  Thank you!

PS - May is Oncology Nursing Month.  If you know an Oncology Nurse, you know that person is extraordinary.  Thank you, to all of my friends who are Oncology Nurses.  Et merci à toutes les infirmières à l'Institut Curie qui aident Ryan, vous êtes incroyable!