“Cycles? How do you keep them apart!?”
It’s tricky but this has been a frequently asked question. “How many rounds of chemo does Brooklyn have, and how do you keep the cycles straight?” If I told you I caught on right away, I’d be a liar… and I must not tell lies (that one’s for the Potter fans)
In total, Brooklyn will go through 6 rounds of chemotherapy. Let’s think of it in macro cycles and mini cycles. Her 6 rounds are the macro cycles. Each macro cycle has three mini cycles: A, A2 and B. Each cycle has what I refer to as “big chemo” meaning that Brooklyn is receiving more than one drug at a time. When I talk about “little chemo”, Brooklyn is only receiving one chemotherapy drug.
Every start of a “big chemo” cycle, Brooklyn gets a backpack of fluids that pre hydrate before the delivery of her chemo. I used to be afraid of stepping on the IV line that was hooked to her broviac, and pulling her broviac out! Now with her port, I’m more comfortable coming home with her backpack of fluids while she is accessed- meaning there is a needle in her port with an external line where the fluids are hooked up.
The drugs used in cycles A and A2 are the same. The main difference between A and A2 is that during Brooklyn’s A cycle, after the “big chemo”, she receives three weeks of “little chemo”. After her three weeks of little chemo, cycle A2 starts with no time off in between the two cycles. During her A2 cycle, she gets the same “big chemo” drugs followed by only one week of the “little chemo”. After her A2 cycle, she gets two weeks off.
When Brooklyn had the broviac, we would go to the clinic during the off weeks for labs, and dressing changes. Now that she has a port, we’re hoping to have the two weeks off completely if her labs look good.
The third mini cycle of the round is the B cycle. Brooklyn will get two different drugs over three days. This is the “big chemo” that I always get nervous for because I don’t want her to struggle with nausea and vomiting. Needless to say, I lose a little bit of sleep. I try to stay on top of her nausea meds so when she wakes up in the middle of the night, and her meds are due, I give them to her. Typically shes pretty reluctant to her oral oral meds, and honestly they taste horrible. When I give her Zofran, I make sure to tell her “it’ll help your belly” and she does better. That one doesn’t taste so terribly. Thankfully, her oncology crew are trying to get away from giving her steroids which taste the worst out of all of the meds. She also gets emend in the clinic which is a longer lasting anti emetic and not given at home.
Another common question we get a lot is how she tolerates the chemo. Vincristine is one of the chemo drugs that Brooklyn does extremely well with and gets more frequently than the rest. During her A and A2 cycles,Brooklyn gets Cyclophospohmide and Vincristine with a bladder protectant as well. She hasn’t gotten sick with these two chemo drugs and we give her Zofran for a week after the cycle. She also gets the emend so she doesn’t get sick. When she just gets the Vincristine, she doesn’t need the Zofran. When we move into the B cycle, these drugs are a bit more aggressive. Brooklyn will get Cisplatin and Etoposide which have made her sick the last two times she has had them during treatment. It’s not necessarily instant, but more delayed toward the end of the week, especially if I don’t stay on top of her Zofran. Both “big chemo” rounds make her very tired, and she wants all of the snuggles…and I won’t say no!
Over all, Brooklyn has exceeded every expectation I have ever had of what chemotherapy would look like for her. I had the expetation that she would be sick within hours of getting chemo. I expected her to be sick for days and down for the count, and to lose weight rapidly…everything you see in TV series. I’m telling you, this baby BLOWS MY MIND. She is gaining weight, she is eating well, she is growing and developing well and she just looks so good! It’s so encouraging to hear her oncology staff say how well they think she is doing, how good she looks and it warms my soul. I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging…but as a first time parent with a baby that has had 3 brain surgeries, two line placements, and is going through chemotherapy…we are BLESSED.
Every night, we say our prayers. We pray for her surgeons, her PAs, her Oncology staff and we always ask that Padre Pio keep his healing hand on her, and that he continue to help her make progress in the best way that she can. Our prayers are being answered, and we are truly blessed. If youre so inclined, when you say your prayers, there are many children who aren’t doing as well as our sweet Brooklyn. If you would, pray for those kids, their parents and the medicine, that healing would happen for those children and their parents.
I hope this post clears some questions up about her cycles and how she handles the chemo! If you’ve got other questions, please drop them in the comments below. Don’t forget, if you think someone could use our story, please feel free to share our page on your social medi!
Fearfully and Wonderfully Brave 