It definitely IS always something

I spoke with Dr. Healey last night and here's the broad overview: There are two areas of concern that are "suspicious for metastatic disease" -- one on my skull and one in my left iliac bone. While he would not know for certain if they are metastases unless he biopsied them (which he doesn't see a reason to do), the MRIs he has now advised me to have will give him some additional information. Mainly he wants to know if there are any soft tissue masses that have grown out of the bone. Depending on the findings, we have a few options and they will likely be parsed by Dr. K and Dr. Healey when they discuss the contents of the radiology reports. My appointment with Dr. K for tomorrow has been rescheduled so that she can have all the information she needs before we proceed.

We are going away for a few days. My MRIs will be performed on September 9 and I will see Dr. K on September 12. That will give her time to come up with a game plan.

So I wrote too soon when I thought I would start another round of Gemcitabine next month. I should know better than to make predictions without all the facts. The good news continues to be that my lungs are stable, so the evildoers are losing the fight there. It appears they may be attempting a counter-attack from other angles, but I think we can take them. All we need is a good strategy.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!

It's always something

First the good news: My lung tumors/nodules are stable. YAY!!! (I don't have more specific information because I haven't actually seen the report.) That should mean that Dr. K will start a new round of Gemcitabine on September 12, hopefully with treatment every other week. That should give my white cells enough time to recover and I won't have to miss any more treatments because I'm below the minimum. I'll know more after I see her Friday morning.

Now the unknown: The thoracic surgeon's office called yesterday to cancel today's appointment because my lungs are stable, but the nurse informed me there is an "area of concern" on my scans. In the past, Dr. K and I have discussed what she called "bone islands" in my iliac bones (pelvis) and they have remained stable throughout my scans since August 2006. Apparently, one on the left lit up on the bone scan, which may indicate it is metastatic. I don't know anything more than that as I am still waiting to hear from Dr. Healey, who ordered the scan. Perhaps he will speak directly with Dr. K prior to my appointment with her. Whatever the case, I will update you when I hear something. In the meantime, the anatomy lesson can continue with a look at the iliac area here: http://www.innerbody.com/image_skelfov/skel18_new.html

Thanks for your continued concern and support, and for sending nasty thoughts toward the evildoers. That is definitely working well. :)

Thank you!!!

Quite a response from all of you in my plea for big, fat, juicy veins and it worked! Thank you so much!! The nurse was excellent and found a hidden vein inside my right elbow (what do you call the space inside your elbow other than the inside of your elbow??). She was in so quickly and easily that I didn't know she had put the needle in. I do admit to not doing a very good job at drinking lots of water during the day nor did I stay up late, but I did sneak in a bottle of water at 5 a.m. I also walked the 14 blocks and three avenues to the radiology facility in the hopes that the exercise would get those veins a-pumpin'. With those efforts plus all your good wishes, we had great success.

The tech people never tell you anything about your scans, I suppose for fear of providing inaccurate information, so it will be next Wednesday the 27th before I hear anything about my CT scans and who knows when I will hear from the orthopedic surgeon about the bone scan. I'll probably have to call his office next week for an update.

I return to the office on Monday, so I'm trying to enjoy my last few days at home. We slept until 7:50 this morning!!! Ed went to bed very late and I was wiped out from my day, so I suppose that explains it. I haven't slept that late in a long time.

Thanks again to all and I'll be back with an update as soon as I have one.

Needles

So tomorrow is the big scan day and I'm starting to freak out about the needles. I'm assuming that they will start an IV line to inject the radioactive stuff for the bone scan and I'll be able to keep it in for the CT contrast material, which means one stick instead of two. Unfortunately, since I have to stop drinking even water four hours prior to my CT scan, my little veins will be even tinier and harder to get into.

Now as a grown woman who has been through major surgery and three rounds of chemo, I should not be so scared of a needle that hurts for 30 seconds -- even if it's the same needle they try to stick me with two or three times. Okay, so maybe it stings for 90 seconds in total, what's the big deal??? I'm feeling a little foolish for being so scared about it.

I know, you're all thinking that I'm not really afraid of the needle, I'm afraid of the results of the scans, but I don't think that's true. Once they get the IV in, I'm fine. I really believe that the scans will be what they will be. I've done everything I can do to fight the evildoers (with some help from the gemcitabine), and the scans will reveal the results and we'll go on from there. So it's the needle.

My plan for today is to drink as much water as I can tolerate and to stay up as late as possible (10 p.m. is like the middle of the night for me) to keep drinking. I'll be on the 5:15 bus tomorrow morning so I'm sure I won't have a great night's sleep (imagine how many trips to the bathroom I'll be making) but hopefully my veins will stay puffy enough that it isn't a struggle to get the needle in. Tomorrow at 8 a.m. EDT if you want to send me a mental image of big, juicy veins, that would be terrific. Otherwise, just keep your fingers crossed that it's a one time stick.

Thanks for the support. It helps ease the anxiety a bit. :)

Monday, Monday...

It's my last Monday at home for the summer and I took advantage of it by staying in bed until 7:20. Since I spent the past two days basically sitting on my butt either watching television or reading, I should have bounced up out of bed when Ed got up at 6:40. But no. I'm feeling okay -- no nausea, very little fatigue thus far -- although it feels like I'm fighting a cold. Let's hope that doesn't develop into anything.

The weekend weather was lovely here, especially yesterday, so I sat in the shade of an umbrella and read an entire book. Meanwhile, Ed washed the car, mowed the lawn, whacked the weeds, and did laundry. At least I helped get the pool cleaned up, and I intend to use it today if the weather holds up. We're expecting 88 degrees and sun. Yay!

My scans are Wednesday and I'm trying to quell the pre-scan needle anxiety. You would think I would be concerned about the results of the scans, but it's the needles that freak me out.

I'll be back soon with an update, but I won't have any scan results before the 27th.

Live from chemo!!!

Isn't this exciting for all of us??!! Here I am posting live from the chemo suite while I'm hooked up to my Ativan drip, to be followed by my Decadron/Tagamet mixture and finally by Gemzar. My ANCs were 3.3 today, way above where they needed to be, so I'll make my full six treatments in this round.

When I was here a few weeks ago, one of the patients had his laptop with him and said that in some of the chairs, he could get a wireless connection. So today I decided to bring the laptop and was lucky enough to get one of those chairs. Well, when I arrived all the chairs were full, but by the time I got hooked up, everyone was gone. Kathleen, one of the nurses, said there were a number of 20 minute infusions today which are now complete, so it's her, Joyce (the other chemo nurse) and me, along with the Olympics on the television and anyone who may be reading this between 2 and 4 p.m. EDT. Oh, and Ed is in the waiting room reading.

I'll be checking in again this weekend to let you know how I'm doing. The Ativan is finished and Kathy is changing out my meds. Doesn't this make you feel as if you're here? LOL

Hanging in there

It's been a week since my last treatment and I'm feeling pretty good. Still tired but I'm back to doing more than sitting around reading for hours at a time, which is about all I did last Thursday and Friday.

My mom arrived yesterday and I took her to visit the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm that I bought a share of this year. We get a big box of organically grown vegetables and herbs each week, sometimes supplemented by pick-your-own rasberries or blackberries and eggs. She was interested to see where I go each Saturday morning, and Farmer Leo was kind enough to spend about an hour with us showing her all the vegetables he's growing and explaining about his new beehives. He even gave her a few yellow squash, which I give back from my box each week.

Today we're supposed to go peach picking, although Ed just told me that storms are headed this way again. It's been unusually cool (in the upper 70s) and stormy (although not much rain to speak of) the past week or so. Isn't August supposed to be really hot?? Regardless of the weather, it's lovely to have her here for a few days.

I have treatment again on Friday and then my scans on Wednesday the 20th. I'm also having a full body bone scan that day, requested by my orthopedic surgeon. I'll definitely be glowing in the dark that night! I found out from my boss that he's extended his stay by a week, so I'll be headed back into the city on the 25th rather than the 18th. A few extra days of no alarm clock is fine by me. :)

Five down, one to go

Yesterday my ANCs were 3.8, up from 0.9 on Friday, but not as high as the last recovery, which was 0.7 to 4.4. I had treatment, but the next few days will be tough as my white cells will take quite a beating. Thank goodness I've been able to give myself an extra two days to recover and will try for my final treatment of this round on Friday, August 15. Ed is watching me like a hawk for an sign of low counts, like a fever, but so far so good.

We had a fun visit with our friends, Anne and Andy, and received a special bonus of finally having an opportunity to meet their lovely daughter, Amanda. They (Anne) forgot their bathing suits, which was a bit of a bummer since it was possibly one of the nicest pool days of the season, but we hit the pool in their honor after they headed back to Pennsylvania. Thanks for coming to see us!

Forgot to wish our friends John and Joann much luck in their new home in Tennessee. They have moved across the state and are now closer to their children and grandchildren. Hope you are all settled in and enjoying your new home!

My mom turned 78 today. Happy birthday, Mom!!! She's doing well, still living on her own and keeping somewhat busy. She'll be coming to stay for a few days next week. I hope we have some warm, sunny weather so we can enjoy the pool.

In closing, I just thought I would mention again what a terrific husband I have. Besides taking excellent care of me (even though sometimes the attention can be a little annoying) and putting up with all of my aggravation, my steriod-induced moodiness, and my crazy treatment, doctor and scan schedules, he still manages to surprise me, even after almost 20 years of marriage. Here's the surprise he walked in the door with the other day (and no, he didn't buy or do anything he wasn't supposed to -- I asked LOL):

This is getting frustrating.

Today my ANCs were at 0.9, 0.1 below the minimum level to have chemo. So, we decided we will try again on Wednesday the 6th and with any luck my count will be above 1. Then I'll have the last treatment of this round on August 15, which will give my body 10 days to make enough baby white cells to pass.

It's frustrating to get my mind wrapped around the fact that I'm going to have treatment and my weekend is going to be screwed up because I'll be tired and/or nauseous, adjusting our dinner schedule because I can't eat anything that isn't bland, and making the trek to the facility only to turn around and come home with nothing accomplished other than bloodwork. I guess I should be pleased that I've received a bonus of a few days without feeling yucky (my language skills are so sophisticated, aren't they?), but I'm still disappointed.

The good news is that I'll be feeling good for a visit from our friends from Florida, Anne and Andy, who will be visiting family in Pennsylvania for a few days and are driving over to see us on Tuesday. We're supposed to have good weather, so I hope to spend our time with them in and around the pool. I guess this also means I have no excuse for not doing some more dusting, although I really should be resting up and not overworking, right??!? :)

I wanted to thank our friend Amy who, with her husband Chris, sailed with us on the infamous cruise when we met Anne and Andy. I sent Amy a link to my blog recently and she apparently read the whole thing. I can't imagine going back and reading 105 posts, but I appreciate her caring enough to know what's been going on. Thanks, Amy! Big hugs to you and Chris.

While I try to keep everyone up to date through this blog, I don't take the opportunity often enough to thank you all for caring so much. It truly touches me to know you are following along with this ongoing challenge and sending positive thoughts my way. Even if we aren't in regular contact, just knowing you are out there and thinking about me humbles me. So thank you. Big hugs to all of you.

Have a great weekend! I'll be back after Wednesday's treatment.