Another Brief Update

Very short update from my appointment last week. Tumor markers had risen 3 small points (dr says he's not concerned). I continue to have lots of nausea and vomiting - the most embarrassing one being at a nice restaurant with a friend for lunch. Thankfully, I had an airline barf bag with me which I whipped out in time to put my deposit in. I was also wearing my "cancer sucks" t-shirt which hopefully explained to people what was happening. Still, I felt bad for the other patrons who were trying to eat.

Chemo week continues to be rough. I basically don't leave the house for a week and spend most of the day resting, wishing I could be more productive.

Brief Update

Last week we found out my tumor markers had dropped from 106 to 83 (normal is 0 - 35). Yeah! And the MRI of my brain showed no change - better than the other direction. We're happy.

A great week

At my last doctor's appt on Monday (18th) we got good news that my tumor markers had dropped from 120 down to 106. Yeah! Unfortunately, my weight is going in the opposite direction. I've gained around 30 lbs in the last 8 months. Heavier than I've ever been which is discouraging since it's mainly due to the steroids I'm on. Discussing it with my physician's assistant, she said I could cut back slowly on the steroids and see how I do with nausea, appetite, etc. I'm on a tiny amount as it is but it still affects me a lot. Swollen face, neck, hands, feet, etc. I shouldn't complain but my vanity gets in the way.

On an entirely different note, our oldest daughter, Miriam recently announced she is pregnant for the first time! She and her husband adopted our adorable little 4 year old grandson, Isaiah and he was the one to make the announcement that he was going to be a big brother. He has no idea what that means but he dutifully recited was he was told to say. Very cute. The next day, their pug gave birth to six puppies. The father is a boston terrier and the puppies are so cute (at this stage anyway). We love playing with them.

Had all the kids over for Sunday lunch and in the heat of the afternoon (except for Hannah who was napping - and I) went outside and doused each other with water balloons and water guns. They were laughing their heads off so I guess they were having fun. Isaiah was soaked to the skin as were most of them. What a great family I have. I'm so blessed!

A good direction

Had more chemo on Monday (27th) and found out my tumor markers had dropped slightly which pleased us. Also, we had been told the results of my last CT scan showed more tumor growth in the liver - but as it turns out, they had been comparing it to a 6 month old scan instead a more recent PET scan. Compared to the recent scan, the tumors had actually gotten a bit smaller rather than larger. Nothing massive but at least things are moving in a good direction.

Liver problems

We saw a doctor who does the SIRTS procedure. According to my oncologist, he's the best in the state. After comparing scans, he felt I should go ahead and have the procedure. He explained that it's actually 3 surgeries. One to map, one to shoot radioactive beads into one liver artery and the third to shoot the beads into a second liver artery. In the meantime, they want to keep me on chemo which becomes slightly complicated since I can't have chemo too close to the surgeries. After we had talked and decided I would go ahead and do this, the doctor's office called me that evening. My oncologist and the SIRTS doctor had put their heads together and decided I should wait and give the new chemo treatment more time to see if it would have a positive effect on the liver perhaps making it unnecessary to have the other surgeries. I'm all for not having surgery if I don't need it but it makes me a bit nervous to wait very long in case the chemo doesn't work on the liver. Right now, I've decided to take the doctors recommendation and wait. Hoping and praying this is the right decision for the moment.

My tumor markers were up again but the doc says he's not that concerned since the scans are the more accurate tests to go by. Thankfully, I'm not in any pain and my only real complaint is fatigue and some nausea the week of chemo. I think I can handle that.

CT scan results

I had another CT scan (which shows the chest and abdomen) on Wed. The dr called me yesterday with the results which were mixed. Everything was better - shrinking tumors - except the liver which showed more tumor growth. We had looked into a procedure several months ago called a SIRTS (don't know what that stands for) which is threading a catheter into the femoral (leg) artery and up into the liver where they inject radioactive beads. This involves 2 surgeries. The first one is when they "map" the area so when they are ready to inject the beads, they will know exactly where they are supposed to go. Unfortunately I must be awake during both procedures which doesn't sound like fun to me. I was very distraught when this was first brought up but in the meantime, I've been in contact with a very pro-active cancer patient named Suzanne who had this done herself and credits it for extending her life by years. She also didn't think the pain was too bad. It was very good to talk to her since she was able to give me a patients point of view and reassure me I could do this.

One thing that still makes me a bit nervous is that there is the possibility that in spite of the "mapping" they do, they might still get some of the radioactive beads in other organs nearby and this would definitely cause problems and pain. Because of this, I'd like to find an experienced doctor who has done this procedure many times. Right now, I don't know any.

I'm supposed to get an appt in the next week or so and proceed from there. Prayers are appreciated. Right doctor, right timing, etc.

Woohoo!

I saw the doctor yesterday and got the best news I've had in a long time. My tumor markers had climbed to 168 at the last count 3 weeks ago (normal is 0-35). Yesterday's count had dropped to 75 - less than half of the previous count! This simply means that the new chemo I'm on must be having a positive effect on the cancer. Now I'm just praying for it will continue to drop to zero.

I continue to feel fine although with a bit of nausea this week due to the chemo. We have a big wedding coming up in two days for my nephew and I'm hoping to hold up for all the festivitives.