Birthday Week – Round 6 Begins

Today Matt began his last round (Round 6) of chemotherapy treatment. It’s somewhat biiter-sweet as he will be spending his birthday in the infusion center. However, as you can see from the photos attached the staff here at the infusion center went all out for Matt. Lots of decorations, his favorite donuts, some white sparkling juice and even some bass fish flops! I might even have to get me a pair of those. The staff also wore their Matt Strong All Day Long shirts in honor of his birthday. A big thank you to the staff for all the love and support you’ve shown Matt during his treatment at the infusion center. As I’ve mentioned here before we consider them family.

It’s been a rough past two weeks for Matt as he was recovering from lung radiation. The radiation he’s had in the past has always been to areas where there were not as many critical organs near the site being radiated. With lung radiation there are several organs nearby which can be affected by residual inflammation due to radiation. The past two weeks have seen a lot of dry coughing, chest pains, and difficulty eating due to inflammation in the esophagus. He’s lost several pounds in the process. It’s also brought about much more fatigue and lack of energy. We’re told by our radiologist that these types of symptoms happen with lung radiation and usually peak around 2 weeks after. We’re just beyond 2 weeks now and several of these issues have resolved themselves so it looks like Matt may be back on the mend again.

Unfortunately he won’t really get a break as chemotherapy treatment starts today. Matt’s ANC counts were high enough to start treatment. His platelet count was lower than what is required to start, but the doctors felt he would be good to start treatment regardless. Platelets were knocked down more-so than usual due to the lung radiation. It takes time for the body to create more. Matt will get an infusion of more platelets if they continue to fall during this last round.

Matt is actually happy to start treatment this week even though it’s his birthday week. He just wants to power through and finish things up sooner rather than later. He will again resume the DFMO medication he’s been taking but will take it at a reduced dosage due to some of the weight loss which puts him in a different dose range.

It will be a busy next few weeks for Matt. Following this last round of treatment will be another round of MRI/CT/PET scans, an echocardiogram, and another hearing test. All of this is required as part o the clinical trial after the last round of chemotherapy. Following this the doctors are discussing the removal of his chemo port which he has been living with the past four years.

Matt started up another semester of online classes at USF last week. He’s taking 3 classes this semester which is a little more than he’s taken in the past. Hopefully things will continue to improve for him to allow him to see them through completion in December.

Lastly, I want to continue to thank all family and friends out there following along and cheering Matt on. We’re very grateful for all the cards, gifts, and gift cards that have been sent to us over the past few months. This has been a long, difficult journey for our entire family. Knowing we have a strong support system behind us makes a world of difference. I also want to thank all those who have donated to Team Matt Strong in the upcoming Race To Cure Sarcoma. As of this writing we’ve raised $8,690! It’s truly awe-inspiring to see others rally together in support of such a worthy cause.

Until next time, stay Matt Strong All Day Long!