Kauai Cancer Treatment Center

Well, we can all wish such a place officially existed because then we could travel to Kauai and get our medical insurance to pay for it. It is incredible to me that one day of Chemo drip costs WAY more than our entire trip to Kauai (including EVERYTHING, even the things we didn't do because the weren't in the tourist budged).

That said, we had a great time in Kauai and got lots of vitamin D in the form of Sunshine on our skin!

Today I got the results of my April 28 CaT scan which I see I neglected to report on the blog.

Well, Doctor Chang says it is great news. There has been no spread to anywhere else in the torso (these bad guys tend to like to spread to the liver and lungs). There is still a "hot spot" in the pelvis region near the original tumor site. It is possible this is metastatic disease, but it is also possible this is just continued healing and inflamation from the major surgery six months ago. It has shrunk considerably since the February 12 CaT scan. This is encouraging.

We have added a new "Chemo Poison" to the mix. Avastin. This is a DNA Genetically designed drug to suppress the creation of blood vessels. It is designed to specifically target any bad guys that may be trying to get blood supply and tell them "NO!" It has some lovely, but rare side effects including "Extreme Hypertensive Events" and "Possiblility of Stroke and/or Congestive Heart Events" and "blurry vision", "loss of balance", "loss of short term memory"

umm...what was I typing??

Anyway, I am to report anything unusual to Dr. Chang and take my Blood Pressure daily and report it at each appointment.

The good news is it sounds like we will only have 3-4 more "cocktail" Chemo treatments and the continue with the Avastin only for the rest of the year or whatever seems appropriate....

The Avastin drip only takes about an hour so that will be much nicer for my work schedule and hopefully it won't knock me down as much either with fatigue (or the insomnia that I am currently experiencing at 3:30am)

Thank you all so much for your constant prayers!

Love ya'll...

Victor

Booked!!

25% of my Chemo sessions are done, and I have seen very little in the side-effects category. After 1 and 2 I saw some issues with a "cold tongue" but that went away after about 24 hours.

After #2 I forgot and drank a gulp of cold water. I won't forget again, but it wasn't super horrible. I felt like I just drank an ice cube, but it was OK once it warmed up again. After #3, I had a little bit of tingle in my fingers after I pulled some frozen meat out of the freezer, but not too bad.

I still have a fair amount of fatigue for a day or two after the Chemo and will continue to try to eat healthy and get activity where I can and when I feel like it. I am trying to get 40+ hours per week in at work, some from the office, some from home.

At the end of last week, we BOOKED our flight to Hawaii!! We're going!! About six weeks away...should be great...that will be the half-way point for Chemo too, so will be a great time to take "half time". Dr. Chang says going an extra week between treatments won't hurt a thing.

Thank you for all who are praying for me. It encourages me and I know it He strengthens me through this struggle.

Love ya'll!

Some have asked...

So after being 5 days out from the fires Chemo round, I feel pretty good. I haven't had to battle side effects much. When I got out of the Dr.'s office, I did have a cold tongue, and I was a bit cold and fatigued for the next two days when the 5FU was pumping, but I feel well now.

Jeanah and I are considering keeping our plans to go to HAWAII the first two weeks in May as long as I can tolerate the next couple treatments nearly as well as the first.

One nurse did tell me that sometimes people do experience effects after the 2nd or 3rd treatments they didn't see in the first. Also, (mean) Dr. Chang may boost the quantity of Chemo given if I'm tolerating it.

Anyway, seems encouraging to this point.

Love ya'll

Drip...drip...drip...

Today was relatively painless. I got there at 9am and they started me on a drip of Calcium and Magnesium which is to lessen the potential side-effects. After this, they gave me a drip of Steroids for the same reason. At that point, they gave the O...and L... and then I waited 15 minutes before they could give the last which was a dosage of the 5FU and then hook up the take-home pump.

I didn't have much of a problem with side effects today. Some fatigue and a funny flushed feeling. I also had some coolness on my tongue, but that is gone now.

We shall see how the 5FU affects me over the next day or two...hoping I will be right as rain (which we have plenty of right now).

The CT scan I had Sunday didn't show anything of concern and Dr. Chang gave the drugs as previously discussed.

Here we go...

Today I saw Dr. Chang, my oncologist and we discussed the Chemotherapy option he thinks is best. We will start at 9:00am next Tuesday, Feb 15. The way I understand it is I will get 5 hours of IV Pump Chemo that day with two chemicals and a hint of the third. Leucovorin and Oxaliplatin are given with a flush of the Flourouracil (5FU).

Then, the 5FU is used in a slow push pump which I take home with me for 46 hours and I go back in 2 days to get disconnected.

So basically from 9am Tuesday to 3pm Thursday I will have chemicals going through my body hopefully targeting and destroying any "microscopic baddies" that may still be left over after the surgery...

If you want to read more about chemotherapy, go here Chemocare.com or to find out more about the particular drugs click on the names below:

Leucovorin
Oxaliplatin
Fluorouracil


I will have the second of 12 treatments on Monday, Feb 28. He said the protocol is to do this for 6 months (12 treatments) but if something non-desirable is occurring we can modify or even stop the treatments as needed.

He will prescribe medication to help fight nausea which is a potential side effect. Numbness in the fingers and toes is another potential side effect.

Please pray that I will be able to tolerate the treatments well and that the side effects will be minimal.

Love ya'll!

Victor

Back to Normal! (For at least a week)

I saw Dr. Lee, my surgeon, today. He says everything looks great and is healed nicely. I have no more drainage issues and he says "eat normal, have normal activity"...keeping in mind I have the stoma.

Next Tuesday, Feb 8, at 3:30pm, I see Dr. Chang. We will discuss Chemotherapy and what that will look like (assuming I choose to do that, which is most likely).

I worked full-time, mostly from the office last week, and Jeanah and I took a long weekend in La Grande with her parents this weekend. I was tired after the work week and the end of my tailbone didn't allow me to drive much on the way there. I'm hoping my body gets more used to sitting up and working!

Thank you all for your continued prayer and kindness!

Hawaii or Chemo...tough choice!

I'm about 90% certain I will start preventative chemotherapy sessions sometime in February and will do a session about every 2 weeks for 6 months (that's until July). Dr. Chang says he estimates a 40+ % increased chance of cure if we do. That sounds like a winner to me! We had planned on going to Hawaii in May, but are going to change that to most likely a trip to sunny Mexico in October.

On a good note, the drainage I had to endure out my backside has subsided. To me, this means probably no "secondary probing" surgery visit in February. We will know more Feb 1 when I talk to Dr. Lee.