Update

Not too much has been going on here since my last post. Just more of the same really. I have had about seven "good" days from early October until now. I keep fighting the nausea and just basically feel crappy all of the time. I have absolutely no energy and usually not much appetite. The good news is I have not had any pain. They keep lowering the dosage of my pain meds and I am getting along fine with that so far. They adjusted my nausea meds again last week, and they seem to be working better. I had chemo yesterday, so I will see how my body reacts to them with that in my system. My big problem seems to be the high calcium level. It just won't go down to a normal level. I get Zometa and Saline to flush through my body, but it isn't really lowering it to an acceptable level. We got the impression from Dr. Gupta yesterday that he thinks my liver/tumors are causing it to be high, which might mean that the chemo isn't doing its job. I will finish this round of chemo next Tuesday and then have the week off from treatment. I am scheduled for a scan on November 25th and will also get a tumor marker test at that time. Dr. Gupta wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving to do this, but Rob and I didn't want to wait. We would just rather get the results and see what is really going on. Please continue to pray for us. It really helps knowing that so many people are lifting us up in prayer. It is very comforting to us as we go through all of this.

September 8 - October 6, 2013 Update

I had more blood work on September 8th. My Calcium level tested at 11.3 and I had a few other elevated levels related to my liver function. The next day, I had to get an xray of my bowels to check for possible blockages, because I had been having a lot of issues with constipation. I also received chemo that day. On Thursday, September 12th, I was in extreme pain again, so I was admitted at St. V in Indianapolis and stayed there until September 19th. I received wonderful care from the nurses on their Oncology Floor and also really liked working with Dr. Brown and the whole Supportive Care team. I also got to see Dr. Gupta every day I was there, so that made me feel better too. They figured out the best way to keep my pain under control and also a bowel protocol that works for me. We also found out that even though my port has worked, it has not been fully functioning on all levels. Dr. Patel performed surgery to remove the old one and put in a new one on the other side. It works great now! We also found out that my tumor marker test revealed that it is 630, so that is up from 129 in July. Last week, I just rested and hung around the house. I was able to do a few of my normal household chores that I enjoy doing. I even went to the girls soccer games. It was so comforting to be in a little bit of a normal routine again. I had my family and friends help with all of the tasks that I can't do. Since I was feeling better, I had to turn down a few offers, but I told them they will probably get a chance again sometime soon. Everyone's help means so much to me. Whenever I am able to drive again, I think it will make things easier around here. I appreciate all of the prayers, cards, heart felt notes, gift baskets, flowers, food, phone calls, and visits. Everything means so much to us. We have so many people praying for us. It is just astonishing! It is helping us fight this bravely knowing that God is on our side. I started chemo, October 1st. I am using Taxol and Gemzar again. I have received these drugs before and had great success. Dr. Gupta and a group of his colleagues decided that this was where we needed to start. I will receive 4 to 6 treatments, and then get a scan and tumor marker test to see if we are making any progress. We will also keep my pain treatment regimen at the same level, unless something changes. I will receive chemo two Tuesdays in a row, receive a Neulasta injection, and then I will have one week off. We will just have to wait and see how my body responds to these meds. We don't know which days I might feel worse than others, nauseated, or tired, etc. We will just take it one day at a time. I felt fine on Wednesday and then the nausea really started to kick in on Thursday. By the time Friday arrived, I was vomitting and felt horrible. I ended up with a type of Zofran that dissolves on my tongue and starts working immediately. I had to go to the hospital Friday evening, where they administered nausea meds intravenously and gave me some fluids to help with dehydration. I finally got some relief by Friday night and felt a little bit better on Saturday. I have been able to eat and drink a little bit, but nothing sounds good or tastes good. I get my usual bloodwork tomorrow and then should get chemo again on Tuesday, October 8th. I am hoping that I feel better this time around. Thanks again for all of your prayers and support!

Forget my "no news is good news" motto..........

Well, first things first. I said I was going to change my blog layout, but that hasn't happened yet. I need to recruit my girls to do that for me. I am a little challenged in that area. The last two weeks have not been good around here. My "off week" from chemo did not turn out the way I was hoping. I ended up having to get blood work done twice and had to go to the cancer center twice for infusions. My calcium levels kept going up higher on the high risk scale. As a result of that, I did not feel good at all. I even had to miss two of Rachel's soccer games, so that really bummed me out. Sunday night, September 1st, I started having a lot of pain on the right side of my abdomen, around the side, and back. I couldn't get a deep breath and it hurt even worse if I tried. It lasted all night, so Rob took me to the E.R. Monday morning. They ruled out a blood clot right away and determined that it is my liver that is causing me all of the pain. They put me on various medications to help get the pain under control. As with anything, every medication can cause another symptom, etc. so it has been a vicious cycle. Today, is the first day that I have felt like sitting out in the family room in the recliner. I am thanking God for all of my special care takers this week. You are a God send. Thanks to everyone for all of the prayers. It has been rough, but I feel a lot better knowing that I am in God's care. I get blood work again tomorrow and then chemo again Tuesday. I am hoping that things settle down soon and God keeps giving me the strength to fight.

First Round Complete

I had my third cycle of chemo on Tuesday, so my first round is officially complete. It has been an interesting three weeks to say the least. I am hoping the next round goes a little smoother! A few days before I started chemo, I had to stop taking the medicine that I had been on for the past 8 months. Unfortunately, my body had a negative reaction to not having that medicine in my system anymore. I was in alot pain and couldn't sleep. Then it was time to have my first treatment. I was very nauseated and fatigued, so I was mostly on the couch for four days. I started feeling better Saturday and then it was time to have my second treatment on Tuesday. They changed my dosage of nausea meds, which helped immensely, but unfortunately it caused my vision to be blurred and my eyes couldn't focus. It was such an odd feeling. I started feeling better again on Saturday, but started not feeling well Monday night. We found out my Calcium levels were elevated along with a few other things with my liver. Also, my white count was really low. I went ahead and got a reduced amount of chemo on Tuesday and then had to go back yesterday for an infusion of Zometa to help lower the Calcium and also received a Neulasta shot to boost my white cell count. I also received a bag of Saline to help hydrate me and flush my system. Unfortunately, the Neulasta shot does not kick in for 6 days, because it is designed to start elevating my white count closer to my next chemo treatment. I am praying that nothing else creeps up next week, so that I can enjoy my week off from treatment! In spite of this bumpy start, I have had a few good days mixed in with the bad. I really appreciate all of the cards, phone calls and words of encouragement I have received. I have really appreciated all of the meals and other special things that my friends and family have done for us. You are such a blessing!

New tumors

I apologize for not keeping this blog more updated, but you can always assume that no news is good news. I have had a wonderful Spring and Summer. I have not had chemo since January. It has been especially nice this summer not having to schedule our life around doctor appointments, tests, and treatments. Unfortunately, things are about to change. I had a tumor marker test July 12th and my tumor markers had gone up from 37.0 to 102.3, so Dr. Gupta had me do the test again the next week to verify the results. The numbers went up again to 129.0 in one week. I had a PET scan on July 29th and the scan showed that I have several new tumors growing in my liver. They said it was hard to differentiate how many, because they were all meshed together. I will start chemo on August 6th and will have treatments three weeks in a row in then get one week off. Dr. Gupta is going to try the drug Abraxane, which is a sister drug to Taxol. He said he is confident that I will respond well to the treatment, so we are hoping that he is correct. I am so thankful that we were able to have a few months of normalcy in our household. It was good for all of us. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we start this roller coaster ride again.

Good News on MRI

I had an MRI of my liver done on Monday, April 8th. Dr. Martinez was really happy with the results. The sections of my liver where he had done the Y-90 radioembolization looked good. There were three scars where he had treated the lower lobe, but no tumors. The upper part of the liver where the tumors have always resembled a big claw, was the smallest it had ever been. My liver was almost a normal shape. It was really neat to see. The only area of concern was a 6mm spot that showed up on the right lobe just outside of the treatment area. He said it is too small to show up on the PET scan, so we do not know if it was there in January or not. He said the tumors need to be 8mm to 1 to show up on the PET. He was going to discuss the MRI with Dr. Gupta and then decide what I need to do. He was going to recommend just waiting a couple of months and then do another MRI to see if there has been any significant changes. I meet with Dr. Gupta on the 23rd, so I will find out the treatment plan then. I have been feeling really good and enjoying my time off from chemo. I am hoping and praying that I do not have to start anything again for a while.

Update

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been feeling really good and have my energy back. I also finally have some hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Yippee!! I will get an MRI on April 8th at 10:00 a.m. and then will meet with Dr. Martinez immediately following. My next appointment with Dr. Gupta is scheduled for April 23rd. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.