And another update.

Michael went in for his daily radiation this morning, then met with a nutritionist, and then had his weekly appointment with his oncologist.

He will apparently be meeting with the nutritionist weekly now. Michael has lost about 13 pounds since January. The first few pounds were the result of good old-fashioned improving the quality of his diet; the last several pounds, however, are more the result of the toll the chemo is taking on him. She told him that it's especially important that he get plenty of protein right now, as his body will start breaking down muscle mass otherwise. He's already drinking protein shakes every day, and she has him adding Boost or Ensure to his diet and encourages plenty of cheese, dairy, and ice cream. All the things that are normally no-no's are are now a big YES, so if there's a bright spot in here anywhere, I would personally vote for the go-ahead on ice cream. I think I will go stock up this afternoon (not for me, you understand).

His oncologist has decided to stop chemo for the next several days. My first question was, will this prolong his treatment? No, apparently. Dr. A said that the symptoms he's experiencing - the mouth sores, pain in his feet and hands - are signs that his body is saturated with chemo meds and that the dosage needs to be adjusted. So a little break for a few days to hopefully give him a chance to rebound a bit, and then early next week he'll go back and his dosage will be lowered.

His spirits seem to be flagging. Whose wouldn't?