Walt again: Yvonne's oncologist was very encouraged by her CT & MRI scans - said they were much better than he expected. But the downside is that he can't explain the constant nausea. As he read all the results from the blood tests and the scans, he said there was no reason for Yvonne to be feeling as bad as she is.
I was very nervous about her beginning a new chemo regimen in her weakened condition, but I think the Dr. is correct that the cancer is causing the nausea somehow (it would explain why the nausea is getting worse), and the sooner she gets started again the sooner it will go away. Another reason to begin as quickly as possible is that the new cancer in her bones is already causing her some pain. Two years ago it was the bone cancer that rendered her nearly immobile until chemo killed it.
We are very grateful for everyone's continued prayer.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Some good news
Walt again: We won't get the technical explanation until next Tuesday, but according to the oncologist's nurse the results from yesterday's MRI "look very good, and we're very pleased."
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Philippines & after
Hi, this is Walt filling in for Yvonne. We flew to the Philippines on May 26 to attend Megan's graduation. The week before we left Yvonne began having more than the usual difficulty with nausea and so had trouble getting food and liquid down. We went ahead with the trip but it was very difficult for her from the moment we left. Once there Yvonne was able to attend the 3 graduation related events - baccalaureate, Senior/Parent breakfast, and commencement, but the rest of the time could do little but sleep.
We had planned to spend 5 days after graduation in Boracay, a resort island in the central Philippines. The day before we were to leave, however, it was very clear that we needed to get Yvonne home as quickly as possible. Megan's host family, the Becks, went far beyond the call of duty and worked to get our flights changed, and we returned to Oregon on Monday, June 2.
By the time we got Yvonne to the Dr. on Tuesday she was severely dehydrated. She was given an IV to rehydrate her, along with steroids & anti-nausea med, and by the end of the day she was feeling much better. The Dr. scheduled her for CT scan on Wednesday & MRI on Thursday (today).
When she went for the CT scan Wednesday morning she was given two large cups of Barium drink to get down, and after that she was nauseated & ill. She began feeling better by the end of the day and asked for some leftover spaghetti (w/o the tomatto sauce). It felt so good to her to eat that she asked for more - which I gave her after waiting for a half-hour or so. This was the first time in two weeks she had felt hungry, and we took it as a good sign.
She ate the second spaghetti and was feeling good, and was up watching a movie with her sister when she suddenly started feeling sharp abdominal pain that quickly spread to her upper torso & radiated to the arms. After trying some antacids without success, we took her to the emergency room.
By midnight the pain had subsided quite a bit. The ER Dr. couldn't offer any concrete diagnosis, but suggested that, since stomach irritations and ulcers are common in chemo patients, the food she had eaten probably caused the reaction. She was given pain med, anti-gas-whatever it's called, and more anti-nausea med and sent home. She almost made it home before throwing up again. This morning she is awake and weak, but not feeling any pain.
While the ER Dr. was checking all her online records, he read us the results of the CT scan that had been done in the morning. As Yvonne suspected, there is new cancer in her lungs, liver, and vertebrae in her back - all very small spots so far, but still... She is scheduled to start a new chemo regimen this next week.
We are so grateful for all your prayers for Yvonne.
We had planned to spend 5 days after graduation in Boracay, a resort island in the central Philippines. The day before we were to leave, however, it was very clear that we needed to get Yvonne home as quickly as possible. Megan's host family, the Becks, went far beyond the call of duty and worked to get our flights changed, and we returned to Oregon on Monday, June 2.
By the time we got Yvonne to the Dr. on Tuesday she was severely dehydrated. She was given an IV to rehydrate her, along with steroids & anti-nausea med, and by the end of the day she was feeling much better. The Dr. scheduled her for CT scan on Wednesday & MRI on Thursday (today).
When she went for the CT scan Wednesday morning she was given two large cups of Barium drink to get down, and after that she was nauseated & ill. She began feeling better by the end of the day and asked for some leftover spaghetti (w/o the tomatto sauce). It felt so good to her to eat that she asked for more - which I gave her after waiting for a half-hour or so. This was the first time in two weeks she had felt hungry, and we took it as a good sign.
She ate the second spaghetti and was feeling good, and was up watching a movie with her sister when she suddenly started feeling sharp abdominal pain that quickly spread to her upper torso & radiated to the arms. After trying some antacids without success, we took her to the emergency room.
By midnight the pain had subsided quite a bit. The ER Dr. couldn't offer any concrete diagnosis, but suggested that, since stomach irritations and ulcers are common in chemo patients, the food she had eaten probably caused the reaction. She was given pain med, anti-gas-whatever it's called, and more anti-nausea med and sent home. She almost made it home before throwing up again. This morning she is awake and weak, but not feeling any pain.
While the ER Dr. was checking all her online records, he read us the results of the CT scan that had been done in the morning. As Yvonne suspected, there is new cancer in her lungs, liver, and vertebrae in her back - all very small spots so far, but still... She is scheduled to start a new chemo regimen this next week.
We are so grateful for all your prayers for Yvonne.
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