Chemo Weeks 11 & 12

Over the past couple of weeks, Felicitas has had many visitors! She loves having people visit. It really lifts her spirits and is a great distraction. Felicitas' sister-in-law, Cindy accompanied her to the eleventh chemotherapy session. 

Felicitas & Cindy at Chemo

Shauna, Felicitas, Maya & Graciela

Later that day, Shauna Dunton, Felicitas' college roomate, came to visit from San Francisco. She wasn't able to make it to chemo, but spent some time with Felicitas at her home shortly after. Felicitas hadn't seen Shauna since Graciela was a baby, so needless to say, it was wonderful to see her! 

Kristine & Felicitas at Chemo

For her 12th round, Kristine was back in town and able to go with her. It's been so nice that Kristine's been in San Diego as much as she has! 


Last Wednesday, May 18th, as part of the I-Spy 2 trial, Felicitas had an MRI to check the progress of her tumor. The following day, she met with Dr. Parker to hear the results. The MRI showed that her tumor has shrunk to 1.2 cm x 0.9 cm! Dr. Parker was so amazed and thrilled with the results, although Felicitas of course wishes it was completely gone! But Dr. Parker reminded her of how large (6 cm x 6 cm) and dense the tumor was before she started the clinical trial. These results are awesome! They won't know until surgery, how much of the remaining mass is actually scar tissue or cancer cells. 

The Rayray's & Aunt Chilo

The next four rounds of chemotherapy will be two new drugs, Adriamycin and Cytoxan. This chemo will be administered every other week instead of every week because it tends to bring on more side effects and can be harder on the patient's body. These medications can cause more nausea and a greater decrease in white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelet counts. 

Spending time with Monica

The first round of this new chemo was scheduled to take place this past Friday, May 20th, but was cancelled due to low platelet counts. Since the Adriamycin and Cytoxan will be harder on her body, Dr. Paker wants to make sure she is as healthy and rested as possible before beginning this new combination of drugs. Of course, Felicitas wasn't happy about her chemo being cancelled, since this pushes her treatment back a week, but she trusts Dr. Parker's judgement and knows she's putting her health first. Felicitas' Aunt Chilo and Comadre Monica were in town because they were planning on taking her to chemo.