Yesterday (Feb 18th) was the 5th anniversary of my MOAS (Mother Of All Surgeries), which was done in Washington DC. So, 5 years ago today, I was probably getting out of ICU and being moved to my private room, where I would spend the next 16 days.
Since then, I have had some ups and downs. Roni and I have had opportunities to travel to some great places (Israel, Florida, Arizona, Bahamas). We have spent time with friends and family. We've eaten some great food and have enjoyed life.
On the down side, we have gone through the battle of cancer recurrence. We have met with cancer specialists, spent time in doctors offices, and chemo rooms.
It's been one heck of a ride, and one that we were hoping not to have to go through again, but, here we are.
We are thankful that G-d has been with us, and seen us through some rough times. He has given us the courage and strength we needed, when we needed it. We are thankful for friends and family that have stood with us during this time, and can never do enough to show our appreciation for the love that has been shown to us, and the prayers that have been offered up for us.
So, 5 years since my major cancer surgery, and 5 years, 4 months since I was diagnosed and I'm still here. In 5 years, I hope to post again about the adventures, trials, good times and bad times that we have gone through.
Kevin
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
One Week of Chemo To Go
As the title of the post says, I have one week of chemo left. Tomorrow (Monday) I will get my last infusion of Oxiliplatin. This is one thing I both dread and look forward to. Dread, because of the pain, and the side effects. The reason I look forward to it is because it is the last infusion, and I'll be glad when it is over and done with.
As you may know, I am taking two types of chemo. Oxiliplatin is one, and Xeloda is the other. Xeloda is taken orally in pill form. I take 3 in the morning and 3 at night. The last day I will have to take Xeloda is next Sunday (Feb 22), which will also be our 17th wedding anniversary. It's pretty safe to say I won't be up for much celebration, so we'll have to wait until some of the side effects start to wear off.
As one of the latest posts Roni made, we need my platelets to be high enough so that I can get the infusion tomorrow, so we seek your prayers that my blood levels will be good enough for the chemo treatment.
I also want to update you on my tumor markers that were taken during my last chemo infusion. After three rounds of chemo, my CEA dropped from 28.9 to 15.7. After the fourth round, it went back up to 16.5. Not a big increase, and my oncologist didn't seem that concerned. The normal range should be between 0 and 2.5, so it still has a ways to go. We're praying that the blood test taken tomorrow, will show another decrease. My oncologist also said that the chemo will probably continue working for up to a month after the treatment, so hopefully, the CEA will continue to drop.
So, what can we expect after the chemo is over? There are a couple of scenarios. The first week in March, I will get another PET/CT scan to see if the lymph nodes near the tumor "lights" up. If it does, that means that the tumor is still active, which will most likely mean another surgery. Because I will have to wait at least a month after chemo, the surgery won't take place any sooner than March 23rd. If the lymph nodes do not "light" up, that could mean that we just go back to watching and waiting. After the PET/CT scan, we'll meet with our specialist to see what he recommends.
We continue to both seek, and appreciate your prayers and thoughts as we continue this journey.
Kevin
As you may know, I am taking two types of chemo. Oxiliplatin is one, and Xeloda is the other. Xeloda is taken orally in pill form. I take 3 in the morning and 3 at night. The last day I will have to take Xeloda is next Sunday (Feb 22), which will also be our 17th wedding anniversary. It's pretty safe to say I won't be up for much celebration, so we'll have to wait until some of the side effects start to wear off.
As one of the latest posts Roni made, we need my platelets to be high enough so that I can get the infusion tomorrow, so we seek your prayers that my blood levels will be good enough for the chemo treatment.
I also want to update you on my tumor markers that were taken during my last chemo infusion. After three rounds of chemo, my CEA dropped from 28.9 to 15.7. After the fourth round, it went back up to 16.5. Not a big increase, and my oncologist didn't seem that concerned. The normal range should be between 0 and 2.5, so it still has a ways to go. We're praying that the blood test taken tomorrow, will show another decrease. My oncologist also said that the chemo will probably continue working for up to a month after the treatment, so hopefully, the CEA will continue to drop.
So, what can we expect after the chemo is over? There are a couple of scenarios. The first week in March, I will get another PET/CT scan to see if the lymph nodes near the tumor "lights" up. If it does, that means that the tumor is still active, which will most likely mean another surgery. Because I will have to wait at least a month after chemo, the surgery won't take place any sooner than March 23rd. If the lymph nodes do not "light" up, that could mean that we just go back to watching and waiting. After the PET/CT scan, we'll meet with our specialist to see what he recommends.
We continue to both seek, and appreciate your prayers and thoughts as we continue this journey.
Kevin
Monday, February 02, 2009
Platelet count came up
I just heard from Kevin that his platelet count is up to 102 from 80 last time, so he's okay to proceed with today's chemo infusion. That's an answer to prayer, so for anyone who prayed, thank you!
Roni
Roni
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Four rounds down, two to go
Kevin has made it through four rounds of the infused chemo, Oxiliplatin. The good news is that the tumor markers dropped 48% after just three rounds, which indicates that the chemo is having the intended effect of shrinking the tumors and preventing new cancer cell growth. When Kevin goes in for round five tomorrow, they will first run blood tests to see what the tumor marker results are after round four. We pray the markers continue to drop.
While we’re grateful that the chemo is killing “bad” cells, good cells have come under fire as well. A cumulative result of the four infusions that Kevin has had so far is that his platelet count is down. If it goes too low, the doctor may want to hold off on the two remaining chemo rounds until Kevin body’s had a chance to recover a bit. Understandably, Kevin does not want to have any treatment delayed; he just wants to get these six rounds behind him so he can really recover. After each successive round, the peripheral neuropathy has lingered longer and now the fatigue is more intense and is not lifting between treatments as much as it did in December. Kevin also has a bad case of cabin fever, as it’s been too cold for him to even sit on the balcony. Spring – and the sixth round of chemo -- can’t come soon enough!
Please pray for protection of the healthy cells in Kevin’s body, especially his platelet count, and of course for the chemo to continue to be effective against the cancer.
Roni
While we’re grateful that the chemo is killing “bad” cells, good cells have come under fire as well. A cumulative result of the four infusions that Kevin has had so far is that his platelet count is down. If it goes too low, the doctor may want to hold off on the two remaining chemo rounds until Kevin body’s had a chance to recover a bit. Understandably, Kevin does not want to have any treatment delayed; he just wants to get these six rounds behind him so he can really recover. After each successive round, the peripheral neuropathy has lingered longer and now the fatigue is more intense and is not lifting between treatments as much as it did in December. Kevin also has a bad case of cabin fever, as it’s been too cold for him to even sit on the balcony. Spring – and the sixth round of chemo -- can’t come soon enough!
Please pray for protection of the healthy cells in Kevin’s body, especially his platelet count, and of course for the chemo to continue to be effective against the cancer.
Roni
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