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!

Sunny Weakend

I am feeling especially weak this time around. I sorta feel like the day after you have the flu when you feel better, but really weak...only about double that. Jeanah and I were able to do some yard work in the great sunny weather on Saturday and we put together some new outdoor furniture. It looks great. I'm tired, but sitting down helps!

I'm going to watch the OSU Beaver's baseball team play this evening. Hoping there is still some sunny weather left by 6pm...the forecast in Corvallis is for showers :( better take my rain gear...

Dr. Chang says as long as I can tolerate the punishment we will go the full term of 12 treatments. This last one was #8 so I have 4 more. I can't wait to be done! We will probably continue with Avastin after these 12 treatments. Will be anxious to see what the "after" CaT scan shows to see if there is anything to be concerned about at that point.

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