Good Quarterly CaT

Tuesday I went to see Dr. Chang and he said the CaT scan looks GREAT.  They are able to see the stoma area and the hernia has not changed size, so that's good.  There is NO EVIDENCE of cancer of any type at this time.

Prognosis:  Prepare for recurrence, hope for no recurrence and long term remission.

Dr. Chang says statistical likelihood of recurrence is "high".  He said over 50%, but with every 3 month scan that is clear, likelihood goes down.

He wants to continue CaT scans every 3 months for the next 18 months or so, an if all is clear, we will move to every 6 months or every year after that.

If something shows up during the next 18 months, we will discuss likelihood of metastatic malignant disease, and subsequent treatment at that time.

That said, he encouraged me to prepare my body in case of the latter.  He says the better health I am in the better I will be able to fight cancer at that point and the more treatment options there will be.

Please pray for me to have the strength, wisdom, and will power to lose some weight.  He said in the long run 20 - 30% of my body weight would be good...which would get me back to what I weighed in college.

I think I would be happy with that!  It won't be easy.

I have to go to his office monthly and get the Power Port flushed and give blood, so I will be able to weigh in at that time.

My tentative goal is to lose 15 - 20 lbs in the next 3 months before my mid-November CaT scan and subsequent office visit...

No more Chemo EVER would be just fine

Just got home from Dr. Chang's office.  My kidney protein output was still high, and he said he doesn't want to push it and risk any kidney damage.  The kidney protein levels should come down to "normal" levels once I'm off the Avastin for a while.  The plan going forward is to discontinue Avastin.  I will go back to his office in 4 weeks and give a blood sample.  In 7 weeks, I will have another CaT scan and will get the reading of said scan in 8 weeks.

The next step is dependent upon the scan.  A)  If the scan is good like the last two scans have been, we will continue to do blood tests every 4 weeks and CaT scans every 12 weeks.   B)  If "bad guys" show up on the scan we will move to another type of Chemotherapy.  He is still considering what that next step may be but we hope we never have to find out!

Love ya'll...I will try to keep this updated in 4 - 8 weeks with results as we go forward.

Where has the year gone!?

Can't believe it's been over a year since my last post.  Most people already know this, but the last two Cat Scans, in Jan 2012 and April 2012 were "very boring" according to my oncologist.  That's VERY good.  No signs of anything "out of the ordinary".  No "hot spots".  No nothing!  I have continued approximately biweekly on Avastin.   Two weeks ago, May 29, 2012, my urine protein levels were too high so we didn't do Avastin.  Tomorrow, 6/12/2012, I see Dr. Chang again.  I did another 24-hour fluid collection last week, so we shall see what the levels are at.  I will report later what the plan is from that point.

Prayer requests:  1)  That whether or not we administer Avastin tomorrow, Dr. Chang and I will be able to make a plan going forward that is wise and will continue to improve my cancer-freeness.  2)  Over the last several months I have gained some unwanted weight.  Yes, this is a lifetime struggle, and I would like to get it back down to what it was 10 months ago!