First Day of Chemo

Derek's first day of chemotherapy is officially in the books. He spent today receiving an infusion of Folfirinox, a combination of four chemotherapy agents. As he goes through his chemo cycles, the first day of the chemo regimen will always take place at the hospital as outpatient treatment where he will receive two of the chemo agents. Once the first two agents have been infused, Derek will receive a 46-hour infusion at home, delivered through a pump connected directly to his port. On Day 3, he will return to the hospital so that his pump can be removed. This treatment will be repeated every two weeks for several months.

Derek already got hit with some side effects today. He has experienced stomach cramps, nausea, neuropathy (tingling in his hands) and fatigue. Tonight, thanks to some heavy anti-nausea medications, Derek is able to sleep and stay comfortable. While the side effects certainly make the journey more difficult to bear, we believe that each side effect signifies that the chemo is doing its job to attack his tumor. As we continue down this road, we will focus on the goal of this treatment plan which is to shrink the tumor to get Derek to surgery. This obviously won't be easy, but we believe it is possible!

Thank you for keeping Derek in your thoughts and prayers and for the few dedicated friends who have actually waxed their chests in support of Derek and pancreatic cancer research. Check out the video below created by one of Derek's best friends in the Wax Off Pancreatic Cancer movement. Let's keep it going.