Well, we can all breathe a little easier again because the MRI of my brain was clear. No cancer was found!! Words cannot describe the relief we felt when Dr. Gupta read us the results. Now, we can just focus on the current chemo treatment regimen that I am doing and pray for good results.
The chemo did not have any bad side effects for this first round. I mostly felt fatigued. The anti-nausea meds did the trick. I am hoping to feel as good for this next round on Friday.
Thank you again for all of the prayers. We truly believe that God is giving us the strength to battle this again. Keep the prayers coming!!
Love,
Teresa
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Not the News We Wanted to Hear
We met this morning with Dr. Rhees (Radiation Oncologist) to discuss the results of the PET Scan that Teresa had on Monday. Dr. Rhees informed us that the cancer had spread to two more bones (base of neck/right hip) and that the spot on her liver had increased from 3 cm to 6 cm since the last PET Scan in June. Needless to say, this was not the news that we wanted to hear. Especially since she had been feeling better in the last week or so. Dr. Rhees told us that she knew Dr. Gupta would want to start chemo in order to treat the liver. So, before we left the office an appointment with Dr. Gupta was scheduled for next Tuesday. However, we didn't have to wait until Tuesday to find out the course of action.
Dr. Gupta called me this evening and talked about his plan. Teresa is going to start chemo on Friday. She will be given Gemzar and Carboplatin. These two drugs will be given one time per week for two weeks and the third week will be off. Dr. Gupta said that the side effects will not be as harsh as TAC was over 2 years ago. At this time, he said that we are not backed in the corner. However, he said that he is concerned with how fast it is growing on the liver. Dr. Gupta feels that there are two things that are working positively in her favor as she heads into the treatment. First, the spot on the liver is smaller than the first time. Second, the treatment the first time had significant response from her body for a long period of time.
I know that Teresa is a strong individual and she will attack the chemo and cancer with the same attitude that she has had over the last 2 1/2 years. Her spirits are down but she will battle. Her faith in God and the love for her girls will continue to help her through the next few weeks. Please keep her and the rest of the family in your prayers. We know that they have been answered to this point and have no reason not to believe that they won't be in the future.
Dr. Gupta called me this evening and talked about his plan. Teresa is going to start chemo on Friday. She will be given Gemzar and Carboplatin. These two drugs will be given one time per week for two weeks and the third week will be off. Dr. Gupta said that the side effects will not be as harsh as TAC was over 2 years ago. At this time, he said that we are not backed in the corner. However, he said that he is concerned with how fast it is growing on the liver. Dr. Gupta feels that there are two things that are working positively in her favor as she heads into the treatment. First, the spot on the liver is smaller than the first time. Second, the treatment the first time had significant response from her body for a long period of time.
I know that Teresa is a strong individual and she will attack the chemo and cancer with the same attitude that she has had over the last 2 1/2 years. Her spirits are down but she will battle. Her faith in God and the love for her girls will continue to help her through the next few weeks. Please keep her and the rest of the family in your prayers. We know that they have been answered to this point and have no reason not to believe that they won't be in the future.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Done with Radiation!
I received my last radiation treatment on Thursday morning. Dr Rhees said she is confident that they treated the right area, but it may be 4 - 6 weeks before I feel real relief. She said that obviously the tumor had done some nerve damage and it will take a few weeks for the nerve endings to re-train themselves on how to respond to movement, etc. I will meet with her again on Tuesday to go over my treatment plan regarding all of my prescriptions.
My tumor markers had gone down from 63.4 to 42.6 in just a short amount of time. We usually celebrate that as good news; however, Dr. Gupta said he is not sure that we are going to be able to rely on those numbers anymore to accurately pinpoint what is really going on with the bone cancer. He scheduled a PET scan for October 17th to get another clear picture of where the cancer has spread, tumor sizes, and locations. I will get another tumor marker test at the end of October to see how they have changed in a month. I am scheduled to meet with Gupta on November 1st to go over results and set up my next treatment plan.
I have been very thankful that I have been able to drive and take my girls to all of their activities. I have been able to attend all of their sporting events, too. It is the simple day to day tasks that really mean the most to me. We are so blessed to have so many people in our lives that offer to help us out, too. We really appreciate it!!
My tumor markers had gone down from 63.4 to 42.6 in just a short amount of time. We usually celebrate that as good news; however, Dr. Gupta said he is not sure that we are going to be able to rely on those numbers anymore to accurately pinpoint what is really going on with the bone cancer. He scheduled a PET scan for October 17th to get another clear picture of where the cancer has spread, tumor sizes, and locations. I will get another tumor marker test at the end of October to see how they have changed in a month. I am scheduled to meet with Gupta on November 1st to go over results and set up my next treatment plan.
I have been very thankful that I have been able to drive and take my girls to all of their activities. I have been able to attend all of their sporting events, too. It is the simple day to day tasks that really mean the most to me. We are so blessed to have so many people in our lives that offer to help us out, too. We really appreciate it!!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Week #2 of Radiation Completed!
Two down and one to go. I will finish up my radiation treatments on Thursday. The doctors said that the radiation will continue to work in my body up to a month after the treatments are finished. The main way we will know if this has worked will be my pain level.
I finally started a new drug called Neurontin on Friday evening. The doctors had been trying to get me to use it two weeks ago, but I was very hesitant about starting it. The potential side effects made me nervous, but I felt I had no choice but to try. I just needed some relief.
Amazingly enough, I felt so much better yesterday. It was the first time in weeks that my pain was minimal. My goal all week had been to feel well enough to go to Indianapolis with Rob and the girls to the Sagamore Athletic Conference football games at Lucas Oil Stadium. I had my heart set on the spicy shrimp cocktail at Harry and Izzy's, too.
We had a parking pass and the restaurant was very close, so I didn't have to do too much walking. We had an awesome lunch with friends and did a little shopping. Western Boone also thumped the Chargers, so that was fun to watch, too.
I had my tumor marker test on Friday and will get those results at our meeting with Dr. Gupta on Tuesday afternoon. I am also scheduled to get my once monthly infusion of Zometa and Faslodex injection on Friday, but we are not sure if Dr. Gupta is still going to go with that plan or change it.
Please continue to pray for us as we go through this and that these treatments and medicines work to control my pain.
I finally started a new drug called Neurontin on Friday evening. The doctors had been trying to get me to use it two weeks ago, but I was very hesitant about starting it. The potential side effects made me nervous, but I felt I had no choice but to try. I just needed some relief.
Amazingly enough, I felt so much better yesterday. It was the first time in weeks that my pain was minimal. My goal all week had been to feel well enough to go to Indianapolis with Rob and the girls to the Sagamore Athletic Conference football games at Lucas Oil Stadium. I had my heart set on the spicy shrimp cocktail at Harry and Izzy's, too.
We had a parking pass and the restaurant was very close, so I didn't have to do too much walking. We had an awesome lunch with friends and did a little shopping. Western Boone also thumped the Chargers, so that was fun to watch, too.
I had my tumor marker test on Friday and will get those results at our meeting with Dr. Gupta on Tuesday afternoon. I am also scheduled to get my once monthly infusion of Zometa and Faslodex injection on Friday, but we are not sure if Dr. Gupta is still going to go with that plan or change it.
Please continue to pray for us as we go through this and that these treatments and medicines work to control my pain.
Friday, September 16, 2011
First Week of Treatment update
The radiation treatment is going fine. They are zapping the tumor from three different directions, so hopefully it will do the trick. I am taking steroids twice a day to help lessen the inflammation. They also put me on an acid-reflux medicine to help with a few stomach issues that started this week.
I continue to take Ibuprofen for the pain. I am trying to hold off on having to use something stronger. I want to be able to drive and do things for the girls that need to be done. I don't want to be wiped out and sleeping all the time.
Thursday was my worst day. I was in a lot of pain and had severe nausea, so the doctor upped my steroid dosage. Thankfully, I feel a lot better today. I just feel tired today and have some pain, but I don't feel like I am going to get sick at any given moment. The doctor said I might feel worse, before I feel better. I am hoping that day was yesterday and all the rest will be better!
I wanted to thank everyone for all of their kind words, calls, prayers, and cards. We feel so blessed to have so many people that care about us.
I continue to take Ibuprofen for the pain. I am trying to hold off on having to use something stronger. I want to be able to drive and do things for the girls that need to be done. I don't want to be wiped out and sleeping all the time.
Thursday was my worst day. I was in a lot of pain and had severe nausea, so the doctor upped my steroid dosage. Thankfully, I feel a lot better today. I just feel tired today and have some pain, but I don't feel like I am going to get sick at any given moment. The doctor said I might feel worse, before I feel better. I am hoping that day was yesterday and all the rest will be better!
I wanted to thank everyone for all of their kind words, calls, prayers, and cards. We feel so blessed to have so many people that care about us.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Good News and Bad News
I thought I would update everyone on my latest news. I have been experiencing a lot of pain in my left hip region for the past few weeks. I had an MRI of the left hip done on Tuesday. The hip looked good. Then, they did an MRI of my lower lumbar region on Friday. The MRI showed that one of the tumors in my L5 vertebrae/sacrum area is pushing on nerve endings.
The Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Rhees, recommended that I do radiation Monday through Friday for three weeks. This should shrink the tumor and relieve the pressure. This treatment should not have any bad side effects. The doctor prescribed meds for nerve specific pain and a steroid to reduce the inflammation caused by the radiation.
I had my tumor marker test on Thursday. The results showed that my markers went up from 52.9 to 63.4. We are not sure if Dr. Gupta will change my current treatment of Faslodex to something else. Dr. Rhees said that I will definitely keep doing the once monthly infusion of Zometa. So, I guess we will just wait and see what he decides is best.
We were really impressed by this team of doctors and their proactive response to my situation. They are all big believers in "quality of life" and recommend treatments that support that philosophy. We feel I am in good hands.
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
The Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Rhees, recommended that I do radiation Monday through Friday for three weeks. This should shrink the tumor and relieve the pressure. This treatment should not have any bad side effects. The doctor prescribed meds for nerve specific pain and a steroid to reduce the inflammation caused by the radiation.
I had my tumor marker test on Thursday. The results showed that my markers went up from 52.9 to 63.4. We are not sure if Dr. Gupta will change my current treatment of Faslodex to something else. Dr. Rhees said that I will definitely keep doing the once monthly infusion of Zometa. So, I guess we will just wait and see what he decides is best.
We were really impressed by this team of doctors and their proactive response to my situation. They are all big believers in "quality of life" and recommend treatments that support that philosophy. We feel I am in good hands.
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
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