Yesterday was my 18th day of radiation and chemo. That means I have 6 more treatments. On Thursday, the doc said I can double up next Friday to get everything out of the way, and be finished. It'll be on heck of day, but I think that is what I am going to do. So next Friday I'll go in for radiation in the morning, then again at night. Fin.
With that out of the way, the next thing will be a trip to Omaha for a followup consult with Dr. Loggie. We will be leaving LGA on Mar 2, staying overnight in Omaha, then I have to be at the hospital at 7 AM to check in and start drinking my barium (blech). CT scan will be at 9 AM, and then I'll see Dr. Loggie at 10 AM. Hopefully we can meet Kat for lunch, then it will be off to the airport to catch our flight home. Another whirlwind trip.
If Dr. Loggie says he wants to proceed with another surgery, then we will probably head back there in three or four weeks for that. I'm still hoping he'll say another surgery isn't necessary...
As for how I'm doing, the chemo and radiation is making me exhausted. I'll be glad to get this over and done with.
That's it for now. Thank you all again for your thoughts, prayers, good will, etc.
Kevin
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Over The Half Way Point
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am officially over the half way mark on my radiation/chemo treatment. Whoo Hoo.
Tomorrow (Monday - 1/25) will be treatment #14. With a total of 24, that will mean after tomorrow, I will have to go only 10 more times. I won't be sad at all to say "adios" to that place.
The treatment themselves aren't that bad. I lay down with my hands over my head. They line be up (using tattoos and targets drawn on my stomach and sides), then rotate the radiation machine at seven different angles to zap me. That way the tumors are getting over 100% of radiation, but since it is hitting me at seven points, my skin is not getting burned.
I am also taking Xeloda, an oral form of 5FU chemo. No horrible side effects, but in conjunction with the radiation, it is making me really tired. I have the weekends off (no radiation or chemo), so by Monday I start to feel somewhat normal, and then by the end of the week, I feel pretty crummy.
So, you might want to know if this is being effective. Honestly, I have no idea. I had my tumor markers taken right before I started the treatment, and I am sad to say, they jumped pretty dramatically since last time. My CEA (normal is between 0 - 2.5) went from about 7.6 to about 21 before treatment. I had them taken again last Wednesday, and the CEA is now at 29.3. Quite a jump from just a couple of months ago. The CA 19-9 went from 40 a couple to months ago to 56 before the radiation treatment started to 65 from last Wed. To say the rise is disconcerting is an understatement. I'm not sure what would cause the quick jump, besides tumor growth that is.
So, apart from all of that, I am doing relatively well. Tired a lot, but I am getting some exercise with walking Elke. When it's nice out, I take her to the dog park so she can play with other dogs, which helps tire her out.
After the radiation and chemo, we will head back to Omaha to meet with Dr. Loggie. I'll get another CT scan to determine if the treatments did any good, then he will decide if it is worth doing another surgery to try and get the remaining tumors. I would love it if he said something along the lines of "The radiation was more successful than we thought! Looks like the tumor is dead and we don't have to do any surgery." That would be sweet. The other possibility is he will say something like, "The radiation was successful, and has shrunk the tumor enough so I can go in and remove them." The worse thing that he might say is, "Hmmm... doesn't look like the radiation did any good at all. Not much else we can do now but continue to just wait and see..." That would suck.
That's it for now. Your thoughts and prayers are, as always, appreciated.
Kevin
Tomorrow (Monday - 1/25) will be treatment #14. With a total of 24, that will mean after tomorrow, I will have to go only 10 more times. I won't be sad at all to say "adios" to that place.
The treatment themselves aren't that bad. I lay down with my hands over my head. They line be up (using tattoos and targets drawn on my stomach and sides), then rotate the radiation machine at seven different angles to zap me. That way the tumors are getting over 100% of radiation, but since it is hitting me at seven points, my skin is not getting burned.
I am also taking Xeloda, an oral form of 5FU chemo. No horrible side effects, but in conjunction with the radiation, it is making me really tired. I have the weekends off (no radiation or chemo), so by Monday I start to feel somewhat normal, and then by the end of the week, I feel pretty crummy.
So, you might want to know if this is being effective. Honestly, I have no idea. I had my tumor markers taken right before I started the treatment, and I am sad to say, they jumped pretty dramatically since last time. My CEA (normal is between 0 - 2.5) went from about 7.6 to about 21 before treatment. I had them taken again last Wednesday, and the CEA is now at 29.3. Quite a jump from just a couple of months ago. The CA 19-9 went from 40 a couple to months ago to 56 before the radiation treatment started to 65 from last Wed. To say the rise is disconcerting is an understatement. I'm not sure what would cause the quick jump, besides tumor growth that is.
So, apart from all of that, I am doing relatively well. Tired a lot, but I am getting some exercise with walking Elke. When it's nice out, I take her to the dog park so she can play with other dogs, which helps tire her out.
After the radiation and chemo, we will head back to Omaha to meet with Dr. Loggie. I'll get another CT scan to determine if the treatments did any good, then he will decide if it is worth doing another surgery to try and get the remaining tumors. I would love it if he said something along the lines of "The radiation was more successful than we thought! Looks like the tumor is dead and we don't have to do any surgery." That would be sweet. The other possibility is he will say something like, "The radiation was successful, and has shrunk the tumor enough so I can go in and remove them." The worse thing that he might say is, "Hmmm... doesn't look like the radiation did any good at all. Not much else we can do now but continue to just wait and see..." That would suck.
That's it for now. Your thoughts and prayers are, as always, appreciated.
Kevin
Thursday, January 21, 2010
HIPEC Procedure to Be Profiled on TV Tonight
Roni here.
Tonight's airing of Grey's Anatomy will be including in its story line the HIPEC (heated chemo wash) procedure that Kevin had in 2004, which saved his life.
This exposure is very exciting to us, as too many in the medical and insurance communities still say HIPEC is experimental, though it has meant the difference between life and death for so many with peritoneal/appendix cancers, and is now being explored for other types of cancer.
I hope that this brings increased awareness that results in better survival rates for many who are not aware that this procedure is an option for them.
Tonight's airing of Grey's Anatomy will be including in its story line the HIPEC (heated chemo wash) procedure that Kevin had in 2004, which saved his life.
This exposure is very exciting to us, as too many in the medical and insurance communities still say HIPEC is experimental, though it has meant the difference between life and death for so many with peritoneal/appendix cancers, and is now being explored for other types of cancer.
I hope that this brings increased awareness that results in better survival rates for many who are not aware that this procedure is an option for them.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
The Fun Starts Again...
Yep, it's that time again. Tomorrow I go see my oncologist for a quick checkup, and tumor markers. Then Tuesday, it's time for my first radiation treatment. I'm a little nervous, but have been told that the side effects should be minimal. That's what I'm hoping.
The radiation treatments will be 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Supposedly it will only be about 20 - 30 minutes from start to finish. I'll kep you updated as things progress.
On a positive note, Roni and I had a great time with my family in OR during the Christmas holiday. We had enough miles (had to buy a few) to fly first class, which for tall people like us, made the cross country trip much more comfortable.
We left Elke with a friend in Philly who took great care of her (thanks Keri). And we were very glad to see her after a week. She was very glad to see us too. :-) We sure did miss that little nudnik.
The radiation treatments will be 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Supposedly it will only be about 20 - 30 minutes from start to finish. I'll kep you updated as things progress.
On a positive note, Roni and I had a great time with my family in OR during the Christmas holiday. We had enough miles (had to buy a few) to fly first class, which for tall people like us, made the cross country trip much more comfortable.
We left Elke with a friend in Philly who took great care of her (thanks Keri). And we were very glad to see her after a week. She was very glad to see us too. :-) We sure did miss that little nudnik.
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