The scope that I had done yesterday was well-tolerated. I think that's mainly because I was soooo completely out of it! They must have given me the good stuff because I have no recollection of anything and slept a good long time afterwards. Then I came home and slept 4 more hours. Poor Brian...he says I kept asking him the same questions over and over last night.
Dr Sokhi "stretched" a portion of my esophagus where there was some narrowing. He also removed a polyp in my stomach (not unusual) and then took two biopsies. I'll have those results in about a week. He diagnosed me with Gastritis and also said there are some varices that we'll need to keep an eye on. Hmmm...I wonder how we do that? I was still zonked out when he explained all of this to Brian, but he and his nurse wrote some things down and also provided a diagram of the areas we're talking about. I'll have to contact him with my follow up questions now that I'm no longer feeling comatose.
I actually feel pretty good today. There's not an appointment to be had until next Wednesday and that almost feels wrong...like I'm forgetting something.
I want all of you to know that you shouldn't feel badly or left out or rejected or sad that you didn't receive a Christmas card from us this year. We just didn't get around to sending them. Who knows...maybe we'll wish you well when January rolls around. But it just became a weight on my shoulders that I couldn't handle feeling the way that I did. Brian really wanted them out, for obvious reasons, but I told him that all of you would understand and that it wasn't critical. So we apologize for not being in touch, but believe me when I say we truly value all of you and wish you happiness not only during these holidays, but throughout the coming year. Holy cow...2007 is just around the corner! Let's hope it's a heckuva good year for all of us!!
Time for some lunch now. I actually feel hungry!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Awesome Gift
The most creative, unexpected, thoughtful gift came to me from a group of employees where I work (and some of their family members as well). The two Kristis got together and formulated a plan to participate in a local blood drive in my honor. They spread the word at work and 16 people participated! I am just in awe at what a fantastic thing this is! I understand that many others let it be known that they could not donate for a variety of reasons and that is so completely understood. Heck, not even I can donate blood. This truly is a gift of life for many, many people. And to have given of yourselves in my honor is quite touching. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
In addition to the blood drive, KB had little cards available for folks to decorate and send me Christmas wishes. They were so cute and festive. I loved every one. I think you can all understand why I miss going to work and seeing all of these wonderful people every day!
While my platelets are still low, it appears we are going to proceed with tomorrow's GI scope anyway. To be honest, I was kind of hoping to get out of it, but I guess it's important that it be done. I've had no episodes the last day or two (of course) but that doesn't mean the problem is solved. Not sure how quickly I'll have results but I would think it could possibly be a case of immediate feedback.
I had my follow-up with the ENT doctor today and he was actually able to cauterize two blood vessels in my nose. That was an "odd" sensation, to say the least. Hopefully it will offer some further relief. The further away we get from the last Avastin treatment, the less intense the nosebleeds seem to be. So we know it's all related. Now we just try to keep things as controlled as possible.
Christmas was quite nice and it was a full day. It's always such a treat to be at Brian's mom's house with all the many kids and grownups. Yes, a bit overwhelming...but always fun, always happy, always an amazing sense of family.
Time to get cozy and settle in for the evening. I'll let you know how the scope thing goes. May be a little hazy from the sedation tomorrow though, so don't hold your breath.
In addition to the blood drive, KB had little cards available for folks to decorate and send me Christmas wishes. They were so cute and festive. I loved every one. I think you can all understand why I miss going to work and seeing all of these wonderful people every day!
While my platelets are still low, it appears we are going to proceed with tomorrow's GI scope anyway. To be honest, I was kind of hoping to get out of it, but I guess it's important that it be done. I've had no episodes the last day or two (of course) but that doesn't mean the problem is solved. Not sure how quickly I'll have results but I would think it could possibly be a case of immediate feedback.
I had my follow-up with the ENT doctor today and he was actually able to cauterize two blood vessels in my nose. That was an "odd" sensation, to say the least. Hopefully it will offer some further relief. The further away we get from the last Avastin treatment, the less intense the nosebleeds seem to be. So we know it's all related. Now we just try to keep things as controlled as possible.
Christmas was quite nice and it was a full day. It's always such a treat to be at Brian's mom's house with all the many kids and grownups. Yes, a bit overwhelming...but always fun, always happy, always an amazing sense of family.
Time to get cozy and settle in for the evening. I'll let you know how the scope thing goes. May be a little hazy from the sedation tomorrow though, so don't hold your breath.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Merry Christmas to All!
Here's hoping this Christmas Eve finds all of you with family and friends enjoying the love of the holiday spirit. Our day has been fairly uneventful, but I did manage to get the gifts wrapped. Who knew even that could be such an undertaking?!
There was no treatment to be had on Friday because my platelets are still too low. I'll have labs on Tuesday to determine whether or not we can proceed with Wednesday's procedure (the scope). Dominic will be hopping the train on Tuesday also as we send him ahead to MN. He's quite excited about that. He likes the "train people"---both those who ride and those who work on there.
I hope everyone is feeling merry and bright! God bless us everyone!!
There was no treatment to be had on Friday because my platelets are still too low. I'll have labs on Tuesday to determine whether or not we can proceed with Wednesday's procedure (the scope). Dominic will be hopping the train on Tuesday also as we send him ahead to MN. He's quite excited about that. He likes the "train people"---both those who ride and those who work on there.
I hope everyone is feeling merry and bright! God bless us everyone!!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Ups & Downs
Where to begin...? I haven't been on here in a few days again so I have to stop and think what has all occurred.
Back to my birthday I guess.
Immediately upon entering the clinic the women at the front desk were wishing me a happy day. Then, as I'm walking back to the chemo room, Liz is on the loudspeaker announcing it's my birthday and singing "Happy Birthday" in her Marilyn Monroe voice. Every one of the nurses is there to wish me well. My chemo chair already has balloons and a stuffed teddy bear from my friend Deb sitting on it. After seeing Dr K I came back to my chemo chair and here sits my friend, Fay! She came bearing balloons and my b-day presents from Brian. (I came to find out later that she was a fill-in for Santa who was supposed to bring my presents but couldn't make it early enough in the day.) Debbie and Lizzie also came to visit me with a purple poinsetta and a gift bag of treats! The nurses gave me a cupcake with a candle in it and handed out cupcakes to all the other patients and visitors as well. After all that excitement I did manage to get a short nap in. Then KB arrived to haul me and my piles of goodies away. She swung by the hospital with me for a blood draw and then carted me home.
That night was Brian's work party which I managed to attend for a while, thanks to the benefits of the steroids. I caught a ride home early with another couple that was leaving and as we rounded one corner in my neighborhood I spotted a cut out wooden donkey attached to a stop sign. I immediately knew something was up!! You see, when we were in Mexico last March, Brian and Ed rode donkeys up into the hills on one of the exursions they went on. Donkeys have been a running joke between us ever since. Sure enough, we pull in the drive way and here is an elaborate set-up of "The Ski Donkey Express" with a sleigh full of Santa and his chihuahua and empty beer cases and cans, being pulled by six more of these cut out donkeys. (Over the course of the next day or two Brian found four more donkeys hidden around the yard.) So that was the kicker for my birthday. I wanted to call Brian and tell him to come home right away! This one is going to be hard to top!!
Saturday was an all-day affair with my blood transfusion, but I did manage to stop in at my company's holiday party too, just long enough to say hello. I know I missed some folks, and I felt badly, but that was a long time on my feet and I was wiped out. But still, we did manage to then enjoy dinner out with a group of 4 other couples. It was a mellow evening but oh so worth it to be together with everyone. More hearty laughter to wear me out further. On Sunday I slept until 4pm! I knew the chemo and activity would catch up with me eventually.
On Monday we received the VERY good news that my tumor marker dropped another 500 points!! That was totally unexpected and was received like a belated birthday gift. If only the way I feel could reflect that number. Having peaked at one point at 5000 (we weren't even aware it had gone that high) I am now hovering at around 1000. This is great progress!!
My latest "issue" is a problem with swallowing and having my breath catch. It's like something is constricting in my chest and now allowing things to function properly. So I saw Dr Sokhi yesterday right away and he's going to send a scope down my throat next Wed. Today, however, we did a chest CT to see if that showed an obvious problem. What we found was not at all what we were looking for. It turns out I have fluid built up around my lungs. This can be a side effect of the daily shots I've been receivng for my platelets. So while this is not good news, it is very good that we found it so early and, once again, purely by chance. Obviously there will be no more of that injection for me and they have me on a prescription for fluid reduction anyway so we've just increased the dosage. Is the fluid around the lungs related to the 'catch' in my breathing/swallowing? We don't know that yet. We'll see what the scope shows next week and see if there's any improvement with stopping the injections.
Sadly, I'm going to miss the Viking/Packers game tonight. It's just too much for me to take on today. Brian is going with his brother instead. I know they'll have a good time, but I don't know that I can count on Dale to cheer for the Vikings for me!
Time to go push some more fluids and pop some more pills. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring at the clinic...labs, yes. Treatment? Hard to say. Eventually I'll get back on here and let you know how it's all going.
Back to my birthday I guess.
Immediately upon entering the clinic the women at the front desk were wishing me a happy day. Then, as I'm walking back to the chemo room, Liz is on the loudspeaker announcing it's my birthday and singing "Happy Birthday" in her Marilyn Monroe voice. Every one of the nurses is there to wish me well. My chemo chair already has balloons and a stuffed teddy bear from my friend Deb sitting on it. After seeing Dr K I came back to my chemo chair and here sits my friend, Fay! She came bearing balloons and my b-day presents from Brian. (I came to find out later that she was a fill-in for Santa who was supposed to bring my presents but couldn't make it early enough in the day.) Debbie and Lizzie also came to visit me with a purple poinsetta and a gift bag of treats! The nurses gave me a cupcake with a candle in it and handed out cupcakes to all the other patients and visitors as well. After all that excitement I did manage to get a short nap in. Then KB arrived to haul me and my piles of goodies away. She swung by the hospital with me for a blood draw and then carted me home.
That night was Brian's work party which I managed to attend for a while, thanks to the benefits of the steroids. I caught a ride home early with another couple that was leaving and as we rounded one corner in my neighborhood I spotted a cut out wooden donkey attached to a stop sign. I immediately knew something was up!! You see, when we were in Mexico last March, Brian and Ed rode donkeys up into the hills on one of the exursions they went on. Donkeys have been a running joke between us ever since. Sure enough, we pull in the drive way and here is an elaborate set-up of "The Ski Donkey Express" with a sleigh full of Santa and his chihuahua and empty beer cases and cans, being pulled by six more of these cut out donkeys. (Over the course of the next day or two Brian found four more donkeys hidden around the yard.) So that was the kicker for my birthday. I wanted to call Brian and tell him to come home right away! This one is going to be hard to top!!
Saturday was an all-day affair with my blood transfusion, but I did manage to stop in at my company's holiday party too, just long enough to say hello. I know I missed some folks, and I felt badly, but that was a long time on my feet and I was wiped out. But still, we did manage to then enjoy dinner out with a group of 4 other couples. It was a mellow evening but oh so worth it to be together with everyone. More hearty laughter to wear me out further. On Sunday I slept until 4pm! I knew the chemo and activity would catch up with me eventually.
On Monday we received the VERY good news that my tumor marker dropped another 500 points!! That was totally unexpected and was received like a belated birthday gift. If only the way I feel could reflect that number. Having peaked at one point at 5000 (we weren't even aware it had gone that high) I am now hovering at around 1000. This is great progress!!
My latest "issue" is a problem with swallowing and having my breath catch. It's like something is constricting in my chest and now allowing things to function properly. So I saw Dr Sokhi yesterday right away and he's going to send a scope down my throat next Wed. Today, however, we did a chest CT to see if that showed an obvious problem. What we found was not at all what we were looking for. It turns out I have fluid built up around my lungs. This can be a side effect of the daily shots I've been receivng for my platelets. So while this is not good news, it is very good that we found it so early and, once again, purely by chance. Obviously there will be no more of that injection for me and they have me on a prescription for fluid reduction anyway so we've just increased the dosage. Is the fluid around the lungs related to the 'catch' in my breathing/swallowing? We don't know that yet. We'll see what the scope shows next week and see if there's any improvement with stopping the injections.
Sadly, I'm going to miss the Viking/Packers game tonight. It's just too much for me to take on today. Brian is going with his brother instead. I know they'll have a good time, but I don't know that I can count on Dale to cheer for the Vikings for me!
Time to go push some more fluids and pop some more pills. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring at the clinic...labs, yes. Treatment? Hard to say. Eventually I'll get back on here and let you know how it's all going.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
MY Day
What a very happy birthday it ended up being today! Seriously!! Even with spending several hours at the clinic for a treatment I had quite a wonderful birthday. THANK YOU to ALL who contributed to the fun of it!! I'll go in to more detail at a more reasonable hour of the day. The steroids are wearing off though and I'm more than ready to have my head hit the pillow now.
Just wanted to update you on the fact that I did have chemo today...and I'll be having a transfusion at the hospital tomorrow. Then shots again all of next week for the platelets. We're going to spread the chemo out from here on to give my blood more time to "buck up" in between. I'll still have the Avastin before XMas, but I'm now done with chemo until after the new year.
Sleep well. I really, really will try to get back to this blogging during the weekend to catch you up on some things. Happy B-day to me!!
Just wanted to update you on the fact that I did have chemo today...and I'll be having a transfusion at the hospital tomorrow. Then shots again all of next week for the platelets. We're going to spread the chemo out from here on to give my blood more time to "buck up" in between. I'll still have the Avastin before XMas, but I'm now done with chemo until after the new year.
Sleep well. I really, really will try to get back to this blogging during the weekend to catch you up on some things. Happy B-day to me!!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Dreary
That word describes both the weather and my mood. I had chemo last Friday and have been feeling lousy ever since.
I saw the Ear, Nose & Throat doctor today and he has pretty much confirmed that my nose bleeds are a result of the chemo. He gave me some treatment options to try at home that will hopefully give me at least a little relief. From there it was to the VLCC to get a blood draw. Counts are good enough that I don't have to have any shots this week. That's a plus.. The side effects from treating the side effects are really getting to me. If numbers stay on track then I'll have chemo again this Friday.
I'll go into more detail when I'm feeling better, but the homemade gifts I received from people last week are what really help pull me through these tough days. Pete wrote me a song of my very own; Joan made me a cushy, comfy blanket; and Mac (via KB) made me two really great hats! Visits with co-workers also have given me a little "oomph." Trying to get into the holiday mood. Tougher when I feel so rotten physically.
I'll get back to you again later this week...
I saw the Ear, Nose & Throat doctor today and he has pretty much confirmed that my nose bleeds are a result of the chemo. He gave me some treatment options to try at home that will hopefully give me at least a little relief. From there it was to the VLCC to get a blood draw. Counts are good enough that I don't have to have any shots this week. That's a plus.. The side effects from treating the side effects are really getting to me. If numbers stay on track then I'll have chemo again this Friday.
I'll go into more detail when I'm feeling better, but the homemade gifts I received from people last week are what really help pull me through these tough days. Pete wrote me a song of my very own; Joan made me a cushy, comfy blanket; and Mac (via KB) made me two really great hats! Visits with co-workers also have given me a little "oomph." Trying to get into the holiday mood. Tougher when I feel so rotten physically.
I'll get back to you again later this week...
Monday, December 04, 2006
Nope...not today yet
Those darn platelets are still not cooperating so we couldn't do a chemo treatment again today. We did do the Zometa (bone strengthener) and the Aranesp (red blood cell booster). I'll have shots of the Neumega every day this week to try and get the platelets back to where they belong. Friday we'll run the labs again and hopefully be able to continue with the chemo (Taxol) and the Avastin. Now that we know these drugs are proving to be effective, I really want to get back on track and continue with the treatments.
Thank you for all of the excitement generated by my last blog entry! Your comments here, and phone calls, and emails are all great boosters for me.
Still trying to get some Christmas decorations up, but day by day it's happening bit by bit. Our tree is HUGE and fragrant. All credit goes to Brian for that, but thanks to Felix, too, who happened to show up at the exact right time to help haul it into the house!
Have a great week everyone.
Thank you for all of the excitement generated by my last blog entry! Your comments here, and phone calls, and emails are all great boosters for me.
Still trying to get some Christmas decorations up, but day by day it's happening bit by bit. Our tree is HUGE and fragrant. All credit goes to Brian for that, but thanks to Felix, too, who happened to show up at the exact right time to help haul it into the house!
Have a great week everyone.
Friday, December 01, 2006
JOY to the WORLD!
Dr K had the nurse call me specifically this afternoon to tell me the good news. My tumor marker has dropped almost 2000 points!!
We must be doing something right--when we're able to do it, that is. Now we just need to get my blood to cooperate so we can continue with these treatments and get that number down...down...down!
Have a FANTASTIC weekend, one and all. I'm going to gaze upon the beautiful snow that fell today and get some holiday cheer going with decorations around the house. The steps are a killer, but I have my elf boys to help with all the boxes.
We must be doing something right--when we're able to do it, that is. Now we just need to get my blood to cooperate so we can continue with these treatments and get that number down...down...down!
Have a FANTASTIC weekend, one and all. I'm going to gaze upon the beautiful snow that fell today and get some holiday cheer going with decorations around the house. The steps are a killer, but I have my elf boys to help with all the boxes.
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