The Next Mountain to Climb

Kristi had a bit of a rough week this week. Monday when I got home from work and I walked in the house I immediately noticed that her face and lips were almost white. DJ was also there and had mentioned that she was looking pale. She also was feeling a little bit dizzy and hadn’t mentioned it until I got home. We immediately took her blood pressure and it registered 85/55 — way too low. After some consultation with the Stanford triage nurse via phone and then also getting in touch with Dr. Ganjoo, We decided to let her lay down and monitor her and only go to the emergency room if other symptoms developed.  They did not.  The reason for this low blood pressure is likely adrenal insufficiency, which unfortunately is caused by some of the medication that she has been taking. That means she gets to take more medication to counteract that and Dr. Ganjoo immediately prescribed yet another medicine that should get her blood pressure back up to a more correct level.  Unfortunatel...

 Kristi had her most recent immunotherapy's injection last Friday, and this round has been a little tougher than usual -- we were told the side effects tend to build up with each new treatment. By Sunday, as we made our way home from the Bay Area, the fatigue and body aches had set in, and she’s spent the rest of this week in bed. The delayed side effects gave us one great day on Saturday, though—we were able to head over to San Jose (Los Gatos actually) for a Reedley College football game. We had a good time and enjoyed some INCREDIBLE food. You must try Limón if you are in the Bay Area. Reminder: Pazopanib (Votrient) is the major component of Kristi’s current treatment plan. Unlike traditional chemotherapy that directly attacks cancer cells, pazopanib works by blocking the tumor’s ability to grow new blood vessels. Without that supply of oxygen and nutrients, tumor growth can slow down. The tradeoff is the side effects that come with it—Kristi often experiences deep fatigue, musc...