After the 9th treatment, scans...
I completed the 9th chemo treatment yesterday afternoon and now have the next round of PET/CT scans scheduled for Wednesday morning. As I have said, I hope to see a goal of no further spread. I would be delighted to see some of it push back, even just a little, but I am better mentally prepared to accept no further progression. If some progression is seen, I'll just have to work at it a little harder then.
Dr. Chen was back from his trip to China over Christmas and we spent some time getting him caught up on everything. He said I looked good. The vitals were 198 lbs, 108 pulse, 130/84 blood pressure, and 98% blood O2 level. Lymph nodes in neck and groin have not been as sore and a bit smaller than the past couple of weeks. Dr. Chen seemed optimistic that we wouldn't see any more progression in the next scans, he pointed out the fact that the bone aches haven't been as bad as it was when I first started chemo and my weight has been pretty stable since the drop in the diet change. I believe him completely, but my mind wants a little caution to ease any dissapointment and dispair if some progression is seen.
Before I went to chemo, I had my followup with Dr. Sytman, the cardiologist. The inflammation went down around the heart and thats a good sign. I told him about Dr. Chue taking me off of Cochilcine and put me on Celebrex. Dr. Sytman had no problem with it since the Celebrex did help reduce the inflammation. However, I will remain on Celebrex for a little longer. Another ultrasound was done on my heart and Dr. Sytman will evaluate it get back to me later on it. He did do a quick review before meeting with me and said things look stable and that we will continue holding off draining it for the time being. He is especially more interested in seeing the results of the next scan before doing anything.
Beth and I got back from California on Wednesday night. We left Tuesday afternoon and stayed the night in Roseburg, OR. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express overlooking a quite rain swollen Umpqua River. When we drove down, we stayed in Medford. I used to never break the trip over 2 days, but its easier on me these days to do so.
It was good to be in Oroville for Christmas. Lots of family was in town and so it was good to see everybody and get them caught up on how I am doing. We had a pretty large get together on Christmas Eve and it might have been a little too much. The house was packed, something like 22 people, and all my nieces were bubbling with energy and wanting to roughhouse. While I enjoyed the company and getting caught up, my right lung was feeling quite sore by the end of the evening. I knew it was my right lung because it only hurt when breathing, if I held my breath, it wouldn't hurt. And of course, the pain lasted through Christmas day and went away by Monday afternoon. At least it went away, I was concerned since this was a new pain. Christmas day, being the 3rd day after chemo, was a down day mostly for me. I felt pretty fatigued and ran down. The pain in the lung kept me even more low key than usual. I still managed to gain an appetite for dinner. Beth of course did her specialty for me. She kept me on diet by doing the stuffed tofu, vegan dressing, mashed potatoes, and mushroom gravy, not to mention she packed much of my needed food for other days of the trip. However, I had a small hunk of the turkey, just can't quite go cold turkey with the turkey! I even had a small slice of non-vegan pumpkin pie. I ate well and the weigh in at the clinic yesterday showed. All in all, it was a good trip and I enjoyed seeing the family and getting some time in with them all. Traveling wasn't all that bad and even though it rained during much of the drive, it was nothing.
Finally, while doing and waiting on the results of the scan, I will contine with the treatments completing with the 12th. I am looking at doing them on Thursday afternoon now and see how that changes my week. Unlike last night, if I can get enough sleep on Thursday night, I might be able to work some on Friday and then be ready for a Monday through Wednesday schedule. I would like to continue increasing my hours in at the office so we will see how this goes for me. Wish me luck!
I completed the 9th chemo treatment yesterday afternoon and now have the next round of PET/CT scans scheduled for Wednesday morning. As I have said, I hope to see a goal of no further spread. I would be delighted to see some of it push back, even just a little, but I am better mentally prepared to accept no further progression. If some progression is seen, I'll just have to work at it a little harder then.
Dr. Chen was back from his trip to China over Christmas and we spent some time getting him caught up on everything. He said I looked good. The vitals were 198 lbs, 108 pulse, 130/84 blood pressure, and 98% blood O2 level. Lymph nodes in neck and groin have not been as sore and a bit smaller than the past couple of weeks. Dr. Chen seemed optimistic that we wouldn't see any more progression in the next scans, he pointed out the fact that the bone aches haven't been as bad as it was when I first started chemo and my weight has been pretty stable since the drop in the diet change. I believe him completely, but my mind wants a little caution to ease any dissapointment and dispair if some progression is seen.
Before I went to chemo, I had my followup with Dr. Sytman, the cardiologist. The inflammation went down around the heart and thats a good sign. I told him about Dr. Chue taking me off of Cochilcine and put me on Celebrex. Dr. Sytman had no problem with it since the Celebrex did help reduce the inflammation. However, I will remain on Celebrex for a little longer. Another ultrasound was done on my heart and Dr. Sytman will evaluate it get back to me later on it. He did do a quick review before meeting with me and said things look stable and that we will continue holding off draining it for the time being. He is especially more interested in seeing the results of the next scan before doing anything.
Beth and I got back from California on Wednesday night. We left Tuesday afternoon and stayed the night in Roseburg, OR. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express overlooking a quite rain swollen Umpqua River. When we drove down, we stayed in Medford. I used to never break the trip over 2 days, but its easier on me these days to do so.
It was good to be in Oroville for Christmas. Lots of family was in town and so it was good to see everybody and get them caught up on how I am doing. We had a pretty large get together on Christmas Eve and it might have been a little too much. The house was packed, something like 22 people, and all my nieces were bubbling with energy and wanting to roughhouse. While I enjoyed the company and getting caught up, my right lung was feeling quite sore by the end of the evening. I knew it was my right lung because it only hurt when breathing, if I held my breath, it wouldn't hurt. And of course, the pain lasted through Christmas day and went away by Monday afternoon. At least it went away, I was concerned since this was a new pain. Christmas day, being the 3rd day after chemo, was a down day mostly for me. I felt pretty fatigued and ran down. The pain in the lung kept me even more low key than usual. I still managed to gain an appetite for dinner. Beth of course did her specialty for me. She kept me on diet by doing the stuffed tofu, vegan dressing, mashed potatoes, and mushroom gravy, not to mention she packed much of my needed food for other days of the trip. However, I had a small hunk of the turkey, just can't quite go cold turkey with the turkey! I even had a small slice of non-vegan pumpkin pie. I ate well and the weigh in at the clinic yesterday showed. All in all, it was a good trip and I enjoyed seeing the family and getting some time in with them all. Traveling wasn't all that bad and even though it rained during much of the drive, it was nothing.
Finally, while doing and waiting on the results of the scan, I will contine with the treatments completing with the 12th. I am looking at doing them on Thursday afternoon now and see how that changes my week. Unlike last night, if I can get enough sleep on Thursday night, I might be able to work some on Friday and then be ready for a Monday through Wednesday schedule. I would like to continue increasing my hours in at the office so we will see how this goes for me. Wish me luck!
posted by Beth @ 12/30/2005 03:27:00 PM
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