Chemo: Round 2

I’ve been a little quiet lately. Not just in my ability to publish a blog, but in real life too. When life gets hard, I tend to shift inward—just put my head down and push through. But nothing about what’s happening right now feels like something I can just power through.

Nevertheless, here we are, officially in round two of chemo. If you’ve been following closely, you know Kara is on a three-week cycle, with treatments on day one and day eight. So, you might be wondering why we’ve leapfrogged to the start of a new round. Her white blood cell count was too low for the second dose in round one, so the doctor decided to skip day eight and restart the cycle. And just like that, we’re in round two.

The word anxious doesn’t seem to do justice to what I felt leading up to her next treatment. But on a positive note, I also felt more prepared. We had a better nausea plan, a tighter med schedule, and a plan for more fluids.

Kara was apprehensive about going to her appointment. She was hyper-focused on how many IV bags she’d get and how long each would take. She whined about not wanting to go, then suddenly turned and asked, "Can I tell everyone to have a nice weekend?" I told her of course—everyone would love to hear that reminder. With that, she popped up out of her chair, ready to go.

We arrived at Genesis Cancer Care, and Kara greeted everyone with a smile and a have a nice weekend as she planned. The nurse struggled to get her IV placed. Blood squirted from her arm, so Kara said what no other patient would, "Whoopie doo… we all make mistakes." Two failed attempts later, her nurse from Round 1, Amanda stepped in and got it on the first try. Kara was unphased by all of it, she continues to be one of the best patients ever, and I don’t take these moments for granted.

During treatment, the steroids made her hungry, so she devoured a cheese pizza and mac & cheese from the hospital cafeteria like it was the best meal she’d had in weeks. We were there from late morning to late afternoon, and as she walked out, she told everyone she was ready for the weekend and getting out of there! On the way home, she convinced us to drive through Wendy’s. Maybe not the smartest move on our part. That meal didn’t stay down long.

I wasn’t expecting vomit Thursday night since last round it hit on day two. She gets an anti-nausea drug in her IV that should last 24–48 hours, so I chalked her illness up to bad food choices and the volume we allowed her to consume. We started Compazine, alternating Zofran and Compazine every four hours. She went in for fluids on Friday, and I thought it would be easy compared to chemo day, but she was antsy and just wanted to leave. She slept a ton on Friday and Saturday and we've been happy that she was getting her rest.

I left her on Saturday afternoon to encourage her to rest without distractions. Then came Saturday night. Her worst day last time and so far her worst day this time. She asked to sit in the bath—we took that as a good sign. Then she got sick again.

Low-grade fever, fatigue, leg pain, nausea, and dry heaving as the night went on.

She asked: Why am I sick again? When will I be better? Can we call Dr. Aggarwal? It crushes us.

There was no sleep for Kara or my parents Saturday night.

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SIDEBAR/TW: POLITICS

I told myself I wouldn’t include this part publicly because I don’t want to alienate Kara’s supporters. But I also feel called to share my perspective, and I pray that you’ll seek to understand—or just skip this paragraph entirely if you find politics to be triggering.

On Friday, while Kara was getting fluids, the news cut to the exchange between Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, and I felt so much heaviness. I immediately thought about how if Kara and I were being treated in Ukraine, how much danger we would be in. Churches, hospitals, and schools, innocent civilians targeted. The fact is, Putin is a war criminal, and I don’t think most Americans even realize the extent of his evil. At least that's what I tell myself when people seem convinced that he can be negotiated with. Whatever political side of the aisle you fall on, I believe we should all be denouncing Putin’s actions and standing with Ukraine. There is only one right side on this issue.

It’s deeply concerning to me—the access we are giving Putin and the relationships we are fracturing with our allies. I guess I just care a lot more about world peace than the dollars spent. The irony of people saying we can use those dollars here while simultaneously cheering for all the cuts to funding that support vulnerable populations, like Kara, and our veterans, and people experiencing homelessness. Sigh, too many worries, too little time. Before my brain explodes, I'll digress…

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So now it’s Sunday, and Kara’s due for her last dose of this cycle this Thursday. It’s hard to want to sign up for another weekend like this. I wonder how much longer Kara will go along with this, now that she’s connecting chemo days to illness.

I reflect a lot on when Kara was so enthusiastic about wishing everyone a Happy New Year, completely unaware of the battles that awaited her in 2025. How she loves wishing people a great weekend, and yet hers have been stolen. It’s a punch to the gut every time.

Thanks to everyone that has been reaching out. We’re putting up a fight, resting as much as we can, and I suppose that’s all we can really do right now. Positive vibes and prayers continue to be welcomed and needed.

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If You're New Here

Hi, I’m Alisha, Kara’s sister and biggest advocate. Kara was diagnosed with Stage 4 Triple-Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (TNBC) in December 2024. Her cancer has spread to her bones, liver, and other areas, making this an incredibly difficult and uncertain journey.

Despite it all, Kara’s light still shines so brightly—she’s full of love, giggles, and endless positivity. This blog is where I share updates on her fight, the highs and lows, and the incredible community rallying around her.

Thank you for being here, for your love, support, and prayers. We need them more than ever. 💛 And of course, Go Hawks!