OK, OK. I know it's been way too long since I have updated my blog, and some of you were probably wondering if I was still alive. You can rest assured I am. A lot has happened in the last few months, so this might be a bit long. So let's get started.
In March of this year, we found that my tumor markers continued to rise, and the CT scans showed some tumor growth, albeit slow growing. So I decided to follow the advice of a PMP specialist, and my oncologist to go back on chemo. The chemo I took was called Xeloda, which is taken orally. During the treatments, I took it for 2 weeks on, and had one week off. The main side effect was fatigue. The last few days, I had little to no energy and spent most of the day on the couch watching TV. I decided to start taking it on March 24th, so that the "off" week of the third round would be during our last week of vacation in Israel.
After two rounds, I had a set of tumor markers taken (April 28th), but we didn't get the results until April 30th.The day of the Accident.
For those of you who hadn't heard about that, here's the story. On the morning of April 30th, I was on my way to West Point Military Academy on my Harley Davidson, where I was to meet my boss, and where we were going to get a briefing on how they handle some of the Business Continuity testing. I have a friend who works there, so we were looking forward to seeing how the military would handle emergency situations, and even get a tour of WPMA. It was a few days after I stopped taking chemo, so I wasn't feeling too bad, but I have to admit, I wasn't quite 100%.
When I was about 15 miles away, I came to a "circle" or "round about" for my Aussie and English friends, when I started slowing down. I saw a car in front of me, and kept thinking that it was going to go into the circle. That was my first mistake. When riding a motorcyle, you should always assume the car in front of you is going to do something stupid. By the time I realized the car was stopped, and wasn't going to enter the traffic circle, I was too close to it to stop safely. I hit the brakes, slid, and finally was dumped on the left side. When everything had stopped, I was on the ground with the bike pinning my foot so I couldn't get up. I also realized I wasn't able to use my left arm.
Eventually someone came by, lifted the bike up and helped me up. I went and sat on a traffic gaurd at the side of the road and waited for an ambulance. I realized that I had messed up my arm, but didn't know to what extent. An ambulance took me to a nearby ER, and a state trooper assured me my bike would be towed to a safe location. On the way to the ER I called my boss, who was already at West Point and told him what happened. he quickly met me at the ER.
I eventually found that I had broken and dislocated my elbow and broke my little finger. the put the bone back in place, but because it was broken, it still hurt like the dickens. They put me in a splint, and Roni, who had rented a car and came to get me, took me home. And for those wondering, yes she was upset and also glad that it wasn't any worse.
The next day we went to see an ortapedic surgeon who said he would be able to operate the next day (Friday), which was a blessing because he usually only operates on Monday. So on Friday, we went to Mt. Sinai where he replaced the cap of my radial bone with a titanium cap, and put two pins in my little finger and I went home again with my entire arm in a splint that went from my shoulder to my hand. I had that splint on for two weeks.
The bad part of all of this (besides the broken bones and smashed up bike) was that there was a good chance I might not have been able to go to Israel, and the doctor wouldn't know for sure until a day or two before we were to leave.
Now for the good thing that happened during the day of the accident. We got a call from my oncologist who got the results back from the tumor marker test. After two rounds of chemo, my markers had started to go down. My CEA went from 8.2 to 5.9. Still slightly high, but the drop was significant.
A couple of weeks after the accident, I had the splint removed, and the doctor replaced it with some guaze and an ace bandage for the elbow. He also put a more permanent cast on my hand to keep my finger in place. And although he was slightly hesitant, he did give me the OK to go to Israel for our vacation. What a relief. So the next day we were off to Israel, with my arm in a sling, and a cast on my hand. A week later I was able to take the bandage off my elbow, and even started going without the cast so I could start moving the arm.
We had a great time in Israel, despite my having to take chemo during the first few days of the trip.
Shortly after our return, the hand cast came off, and I started physical therapy to get everything working again. I have been at physical therapy for about 4 weeks now, and have much more use of my arm than I did just a couple of weeks ago. I am expecting to have full use of my arm, but it might take another 3 or 4 weeks. My arm, wrist and fingers still hurt, but that is to be expected.
As for the bike, I have not seen it, but it was towed to a Harley Davidson dealership close to where the accident happened, and it is currently being repaired. Since I wasn't going that fast when the accident happened, I believe most of the damage was cosmetic in nature, and fortunately, the insurance it paying for the majority of the repairs. All I have to do is pay the deductible. I am hoping in another month or so, I will be able to ride it again.
Which brings us to the present.
Two weeks ago, I had another round of tumor markers taken, which was after my 4th round of chemo. We got more good news when the results came back and the CEA had dropped from 5.9 to 5.0. The normal range is 0 - 2.5, but 5 is not horrible, and much better than 8.2. Also the fact that it had dropped that much showed that the chemo was doing its job. My CA 19-9 also dropped from 82 to 79. That marker is still high, but again, the fact that it did not go up, but down was a good sign.
Yesterday I had a CT scan, and in the afternoon we got even more good news. While the scan showed that something was still there, the best part of the report is the line that said, "Comparison was made with a previous examination of December 14th, 2007. There has been no significant interval change." So, I'm not completely out of the woods, but at least it looks like things are under control, and I can take a break from chemo. We will be meeting with my oncologist next week to go over the scan in more detail, but he said he was happy with the results, and that is something that Roni and I are very thankful for.
So, in the last couple of months, we have had some bad things happen, and some good things happen. One thing we have learned is, that's all part of life.
We would like to continue to thank you all for your support and your prayers during this time in our lives. Your love, kindness and caring are all part of what keeps us going and gives me and Roni the courgae to keep fighting.
We are now looking foward to family reunion with my family which will start July 6th, in Wisconsin Dells, WI. My family will be driving from Oregon, while Roni and I will be renting a car and driving from NYC. I'll let you all know how that goes in my next post.
For now, even recovering from a broken elbow and finger, and from the effects of chemo, I feel very blessed to have a beautiful, wonderful wife and all of you in our lives.
Thank you all again.
Kevin
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Chemo - Part Deux
Last week I had a new round of tumor markers taken and the news wasn't good. Both markers continue to rise. My CEA went up from 6.6 to 8.2 (range is between 0 - 2.5) and the CA 19-9 went up from 76 to 82 (range is between 0 - 35).
After my consultations, and CT scans, it still seems that the tumor is slow growing, but something is definitely there. After consulting with my oncologist, and using the advice from Dr. Loggie, I will be starting a new round of chemo.
The good thing is, I will be taking Xeloda, which is a an oral form of 5FU. I had taken this before and it wasn't too harsh on my system. The bad thing is, it's still chemo, and it still means the cancer is back. And in the words of Bart Simpson, "I didn't think it was physically possible, but that both blows and sucks."
All prayers for this next round are greatly appreciated.
Kevin
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
2nd Opinion
On Monday, Jan 7th, Roni and I drove down to Baltimore, MD to meet with Dr. Esquival for a second opinion. We were supposed to meet with Dr. Sugarbaker in the morning, then Dr. Esquivel in the afternoon, but it turned out our appointment with Dr. Sugarbaker was never confirmed, so we never did meet with him. It turns out that that was not such a bad thing. We have been hearing rumors that he is looking to start slowing down his practice and might retire. I heard that he is in his 60s. He has helped many people and I think he deserves to take it easy if he wants.
When we got there, I went in to get my vitals taken, while Dr. Esquivel had a look at my latest CT scan. He came in shortly after that to examine me, which was basically just poking and prodding my stomach. He then said something to the effect, "You have nothing to worry about", then said he would me us in another room to discuss what saw.
As for the scans, he asked if we had seen them, and said yes, and that Dr. Loggie had already showed us where the "recurrence" was. He said he wouldn't bother then, and we went into a small room to talk.
He started off by saying that he did not want to know what Dr. Loggie said until after he told us what he thought. He then said that currently, he did not think we had anything to worry about for now. He said that after looking at the scans for the past 9 months or so, he did not see any significant growth of tumor, but did say he was not sure why the tumor markers continued to rise, but did not seem too concerned about it.
Something interesting that he said, coincided with something that Dr. Loggie said. Even though my initial pathology report said I had signet ring cells, he did not think I did. He told us that when people are diagnosed with signet ring cells, they usually don't live past 12 months, and here I am, 4 years later. He also said that the second pathology report we had done, did not mention signet ring, something we weren't sure about until Roni came back and looked at the second pathology report and saw that in fact, it DIDN'T mention signet ring cells. Dr Esquivel said that what might have happened was that there might have been a few cells, which were recorded in the pathology report, but in fact were so few, they should not have been mentioned.
Another thing he wondered about was the 3 out of 10 positive lymph nodes from my first surgery. He said if they were really positive, and I did in fact had signet ring cells, I probably wouldn't be here today.
He also agree with Dr. Loggie in that he did not think surgery was necessary right now. He said that because of where the tumor was (spleen and on the back side of the liver), he did not see any immediate need to cut me open. I was glad to hear that.
So overall, it was an encouraging consultation. I am still concerned as to why the tumor markers keep going up, but both Drs Loggie and Esquival do not see any immediate need to do anything. They're not even suggesting chemo right now. I can live with that.
One thing that does have to be done, is a new pathology report from my original surgery. Both Dr. Loggie and Dr. Esquival want to look at the original tumor to find out exactly what is going on. If they confirm that I, in fact, did NOT have signet ring cells, then that will explain some things. We also need to figure out what is going on with the tumor markers.
Well, that's all for now. I'll be scheduling an appointment soon with my oncologist to discuss the consultations with Dr. Loggie and Dr. Esquivel. I'll post again after that to let you know what my oncologist thinks should be done next.
Till then, thank you all again for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.
Kevin
Now, on to what Dr. Esquivel had to say.
When we got there, I went in to get my vitals taken, while Dr. Esquivel had a look at my latest CT scan. He came in shortly after that to examine me, which was basically just poking and prodding my stomach. He then said something to the effect, "You have nothing to worry about", then said he would me us in another room to discuss what saw.
As for the scans, he asked if we had seen them, and said yes, and that Dr. Loggie had already showed us where the "recurrence" was. He said he wouldn't bother then, and we went into a small room to talk.
He started off by saying that he did not want to know what Dr. Loggie said until after he told us what he thought. He then said that currently, he did not think we had anything to worry about for now. He said that after looking at the scans for the past 9 months or so, he did not see any significant growth of tumor, but did say he was not sure why the tumor markers continued to rise, but did not seem too concerned about it.
Something interesting that he said, coincided with something that Dr. Loggie said. Even though my initial pathology report said I had signet ring cells, he did not think I did. He told us that when people are diagnosed with signet ring cells, they usually don't live past 12 months, and here I am, 4 years later. He also said that the second pathology report we had done, did not mention signet ring, something we weren't sure about until Roni came back and looked at the second pathology report and saw that in fact, it DIDN'T mention signet ring cells. Dr Esquivel said that what might have happened was that there might have been a few cells, which were recorded in the pathology report, but in fact were so few, they should not have been mentioned.
Another thing he wondered about was the 3 out of 10 positive lymph nodes from my first surgery. He said if they were really positive, and I did in fact had signet ring cells, I probably wouldn't be here today.
He also agree with Dr. Loggie in that he did not think surgery was necessary right now. He said that because of where the tumor was (spleen and on the back side of the liver), he did not see any immediate need to cut me open. I was glad to hear that.
So overall, it was an encouraging consultation. I am still concerned as to why the tumor markers keep going up, but both Drs Loggie and Esquival do not see any immediate need to do anything. They're not even suggesting chemo right now. I can live with that.
One thing that does have to be done, is a new pathology report from my original surgery. Both Dr. Loggie and Dr. Esquival want to look at the original tumor to find out exactly what is going on. If they confirm that I, in fact, did NOT have signet ring cells, then that will explain some things. We also need to figure out what is going on with the tumor markers.
Well, that's all for now. I'll be scheduling an appointment soon with my oncologist to discuss the consultations with Dr. Loggie and Dr. Esquivel. I'll post again after that to let you know what my oncologist thinks should be done next.
Till then, thank you all again for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.
Kevin
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Never Underestimate The Power of Denial
No, I'm not talking about the Aswan Dam. I'm talking about the ability to ignore things that can kill you. For me, that thing is cancer.
For the past few months, since we have learned that the cancer seems to have returned, I have vacillated between thinking the worse, and just ignoring the whole thing in hopes it would disappear. Both ways of dealing with this are wrong. But at least with Denial, you don't spend your time wondering "what if?"
So, where do things stand for now?
Roni and I have started down the road of meeting with PMP specialists. A couple of weeks ago, we met with Dr. Loggie in Omaha, NE. We really liked him and appreciate his philosophy of treating the patient and not just the disease. He also said that he is more concerned about giving me the best "Quality of Life" for as long as possible. He also said that includes not jumping into surgery right away as it seems that otherwise, I am doing very well. And apart from having this thing growing inside of me, which left untreated can kill me, I am doing fairly well. I feel fine and am fit. OK, I do need to get back to the gym, but I'm no worse off than many others that don't even have cancer.
In lieu of surgery, Dr. Loggie suggests we try the simplest things first. This means that right now I am starting with just a COX 2 inhibitor (Sulindac - similar to Celebrex). He said he has seen some success with that, albeit very little success. If that doesn't seem to help, we will most likely add Xeloda to the mix. Xeloda is an oral form of chemo, which I was on when all of this began. I tolerated it OK, and it is much easier to take than having an IV stuck in my hand and then having poison pumped into my body.
As for surgery? Barring a miracle (which we continue to pray for), surgery is inevitable. We're just not sure when.
And next week, we are heading to Washington DC to meet with Dr. Sugarbaker to get his opinion, then on to Baltimore to meet with Dr. Esquival to get his take on things. Dr. Esquival trained under Dr. Sugarbaker, and actually assisted him with my surgeries. I know this for a fact because we got a bill from him. :-)
That will give us the opinion of three PMP specialists, and we will then decide who we want to go with.
One good thing about the trip to DC is that we are heading down there on Saturday, Jan 5th and we will spend Sunday, Jan 6th doing some sightseeing and just enjoying the city. My appointments are on Monday, so we will head home Monday afternoon after my last consult. So, sometime after that, I'll post again letting you all know what happened.
Until then, thank you all for your prayers and support. Even though they are not needed as urgently as last time, they are still greatly appreciated.
Kevin
Monday, November 05, 2007
Update Long Overdue
I noticed I haven't posted since Sept 11, less than two months ago. For those wondering how everything went, I'm afraid the news is not so good.
My tumor markers continued to climb, and the CT scan confirmed what we feared, the tumor seems to be back and growing. Fortunately, it seems to be growing slowly, which gives us time to decide the best plan of action.
We heard back from Dr. Sugarbaker (the doctor who operated on in Feb and July 04) and he is suggesting we just wait and see what happens, and to continue with the normal routine of tumor marker tests and CT scans. I don't feel very comfortable with just waiting though. In the meantime, we are contacting some other PMP specialists to get some more opinions. The trick is, we have to travel to see these other doctors. Two are in Baltimore, and unfortunately see patients on different days. The other specialist is in Omaha, NE. We haven't made any appointments yet, but when we do, I'll post again with more info.
And now some good news. Last month we got our new lease for our apartment, and they wanted to raise the rent almost 17%. That was way too much, especially for the small 1 bedroom apartment we have. After looking around, we have discovered that we can no longer really afford to live in Manhattan, so we found a new apartment in Riverdale (which is part of The Bronx). Although we are moving out of "the City", we will still officially be in New York as The Bronx is one of the boroughs of NYC. The rest of the good news, our new apartment is much bigger than our current apt. We will have two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Besides closets in both bedrooms, there are three other closets (1 linen closet and two other large closets). This means we will have much more space and will finally be able to put everything away, and all of this will cost us about $200 less than what we are paying right now. And the bonus is, we'll have a balcony. That is one thing I am really looking forward to.
So right now, we are in packing and moving mode. Once we get settled in the new place, we will have to get in "meeting with doctors" mode. Something I'm not especially looking forward to.
Needless to say, both Roni and I were disappointed to hear the news about the recurrence, especially as I had been doing so well, and had made it to the 4 year mark of being diagnosed. But we have gone through this before and know what to expect, which is one reason I'm not looking forward to it. :-) I don't relish the thought of more chemo and another surgery at all. But I've done it before, and will do it again if need be.
We have been praying for a miracle, and we cherish all of your prayers as well. Sorry again for not posting sooner, but aside from moving, I've been trying to ignore anything to do with cancer. As we say, never underestimate the power of denial. :-)
Kevin
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
One More Week...
... till my next tumor marker test.
Some people have been asking how I have been doing, so I thought I would put up a quick post to let you all know.
I'm doing pretty good, all things considered. Feeling fine, and trying not to worry about something I don't know of for sure. Although I haven't been in about a week, I have been going back to the gym. I haven't gone riding in a few days because the bike is at the dealer's for its 5000 mile service. I hope to pick it up tomorrow and will probably have 400 more miles on it by the end of the weekend. So apart from the fact that I MIGHT have recurrence, I'm doing pretty well.
I have my tumor marker test next Monday, then will schedule my next CT scan shortly after that. Once I get those results, I'll let post again. Until then, I'm going to try and not to worry about things. Of course, sometimes that is easier said than done. :-)
Kevin
Some people have been asking how I have been doing, so I thought I would put up a quick post to let you all know.
I'm doing pretty good, all things considered. Feeling fine, and trying not to worry about something I don't know of for sure. Although I haven't been in about a week, I have been going back to the gym. I haven't gone riding in a few days because the bike is at the dealer's for its 5000 mile service. I hope to pick it up tomorrow and will probably have 400 more miles on it by the end of the weekend. So apart from the fact that I MIGHT have recurrence, I'm doing pretty well.
I have my tumor marker test next Monday, then will schedule my next CT scan shortly after that. Once I get those results, I'll let post again. Until then, I'm going to try and not to worry about things. Of course, sometimes that is easier said than done. :-)
Kevin
Monday, August 06, 2007
Possible Recurrence...
One day after my last post, I had my CT scan. That same day I shipped the films off to Dr. Sugarbaker to get his take on things.
According to the report made by the radiologist that read the films, there was only one spot of concern. The spot was on the small bowel and mesentery (the tissue that connects the small bowel to the back wall of the abdomen). This was a little disconcerting, but I wanted to hear back from Dr. Sugarbaker before I started worrying about anything.
A few days after the scan, I got a call from Dr. Sugarbaker's office, and the news wasn't good. According to Dr. Sugarbaker, he saw three spots that could be recurrence. One spot is on the stomach, one on the spleen and one on the omental bursa. Dr. Sugarbaker suggests surgery, which would result in me losing my stomach and spleen, and that would be the easy part. Supposedly the hardest part would be getting the spot on the omental bursa, which would require going through the diaphragm, and being careful not to nick the aorta.
The strange thing is, he didn't even metion anything about the small bowel and mesentery, so I guess he didn't believe that was anything to worry about.
Needless to say, this was certainly NOT the news we were hoping for. Being told that I have a recurrence, and the thought of going through yet another surgery was pretty devastating. I just started going through everything that I would have to do again like drink the go-lytely (the really yummy stuff that cleans out your bowels for surgery, and by "yummy", I really mean yucky), go through the surgery, deal with the NG tube (have I ever mentioned how much I hate the NG tube?), go through recovery in the hospital for 2 - 3 weeks, then probably that much time again at home, get the stitches removed, and of course, learning to eat without a stomach.
So, what to do. Last week Roni and I met with my oncologist to discuss my options. The options are 1) wait a couple of months and have another CT scan, 2) try chemo or 3) go for the surgery. We have decided for now to wait the two months and then have another round of tests (tumor markers and CT scan). The main reason for this is so Dr. Sugarbaker will have another set up films to compare with the last ones, and if something is there, then we can determine what to do from there. But we are praying that the spots that are there now, will either be stable, or even better, they will completely disappear. We believe G-d can, and does do miracles, and we pray that He will do one for us.
Personally, I'm doing OK. Just trying not to dwell on "what could be" and just live the best I can. I've been riding the Harley, and even going to the gym about 3 times a week. Sometimes the fears creep in, and I have to be careful not to go down that road, thinking of the worst situations. This is not always easy to do, but I just remind myself that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so I am thankful everyday for all that I have, I live in a great city, have a good job, I ride a Harly, and most importantly, I have a great and beautiful wife.
According to the report made by the radiologist that read the films, there was only one spot of concern. The spot was on the small bowel and mesentery (the tissue that connects the small bowel to the back wall of the abdomen). This was a little disconcerting, but I wanted to hear back from Dr. Sugarbaker before I started worrying about anything.
A few days after the scan, I got a call from Dr. Sugarbaker's office, and the news wasn't good. According to Dr. Sugarbaker, he saw three spots that could be recurrence. One spot is on the stomach, one on the spleen and one on the omental bursa. Dr. Sugarbaker suggests surgery, which would result in me losing my stomach and spleen, and that would be the easy part. Supposedly the hardest part would be getting the spot on the omental bursa, which would require going through the diaphragm, and being careful not to nick the aorta.
The strange thing is, he didn't even metion anything about the small bowel and mesentery, so I guess he didn't believe that was anything to worry about.
Needless to say, this was certainly NOT the news we were hoping for. Being told that I have a recurrence, and the thought of going through yet another surgery was pretty devastating. I just started going through everything that I would have to do again like drink the go-lytely (the really yummy stuff that cleans out your bowels for surgery, and by "yummy", I really mean yucky), go through the surgery, deal with the NG tube (have I ever mentioned how much I hate the NG tube?), go through recovery in the hospital for 2 - 3 weeks, then probably that much time again at home, get the stitches removed, and of course, learning to eat without a stomach.
So, what to do. Last week Roni and I met with my oncologist to discuss my options. The options are 1) wait a couple of months and have another CT scan, 2) try chemo or 3) go for the surgery. We have decided for now to wait the two months and then have another round of tests (tumor markers and CT scan). The main reason for this is so Dr. Sugarbaker will have another set up films to compare with the last ones, and if something is there, then we can determine what to do from there. But we are praying that the spots that are there now, will either be stable, or even better, they will completely disappear. We believe G-d can, and does do miracles, and we pray that He will do one for us.
Personally, I'm doing OK. Just trying not to dwell on "what could be" and just live the best I can. I've been riding the Harley, and even going to the gym about 3 times a week. Sometimes the fears creep in, and I have to be careful not to go down that road, thinking of the worst situations. This is not always easy to do, but I just remind myself that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so I am thankful everyday for all that I have, I live in a great city, have a good job, I ride a Harly, and most importantly, I have a great and beautiful wife.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Good News & Bad News
On Friday the 13th, I went in for my blood tumor marker test, and on Monday, I got the results.
First the bad news. My tumor markers went up again. My CEA went up to 5 (with the range being 0 - 2.5) and my CA 19-9 went up to 52 (range is 0 - 37). Now, that in itself is not an indication that the tumor as returned, but the fact that the markers have continually risen over the past year could fall nicely into the bad things category.
The next step is a CT scan, which is scheduled for tomorrow (Monday). We're praying that the scan will show nothing, and the fact that the markers went up is just a fluke. I'll post again after I get the results.
Now, the good news. As you may remember from previous posts, my triglycerides were extremely high. About 6 months ago, they were up to 1140 (they should be below 150). After being on 1 gram of Niaspan for three months, the went down to 668. My doc had my up the prescription of Niaspan to 2 grams per day, and with this last test, they went down again to 406. My overall cholesterol also went down to 146 (down from 200 six months ago).
So, how am I doing with the high tumor markers? I must admit when I first got the results, I started to get scared. All the fears of recurrence started flooding my mind. Will I need more chemo? Will I need another surgery? Will I end up with a permanent ostomy? One of the things about having cancer is that little nagging voice in the back of your brain, trying to convince you the worse is going to happen.
Even though nothing has changed, and I don't have any results of the CT scan yet, I am doing better. Emotionally, I'm a bit nervous about the scan and the tumor markers, but I also reminded myself that no one knows what will happen to them. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we need to live life and enjoy it. I'm thankful for my wife, my friends and family and the fact that right now, I have one more day.
Of course we are praying that everything works out fine. G-d has been very good to us, and we can do nothing more than to put this situation into His hands, and pray that He will continue to give us the strength we need to get past this hurddle.
And it doesn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyway, all of your prayers and support are welcomed and cherished.
Kevin
First the bad news. My tumor markers went up again. My CEA went up to 5 (with the range being 0 - 2.5) and my CA 19-9 went up to 52 (range is 0 - 37). Now, that in itself is not an indication that the tumor as returned, but the fact that the markers have continually risen over the past year could fall nicely into the bad things category.
The next step is a CT scan, which is scheduled for tomorrow (Monday). We're praying that the scan will show nothing, and the fact that the markers went up is just a fluke. I'll post again after I get the results.
Now, the good news. As you may remember from previous posts, my triglycerides were extremely high. About 6 months ago, they were up to 1140 (they should be below 150). After being on 1 gram of Niaspan for three months, the went down to 668. My doc had my up the prescription of Niaspan to 2 grams per day, and with this last test, they went down again to 406. My overall cholesterol also went down to 146 (down from 200 six months ago).
So, how am I doing with the high tumor markers? I must admit when I first got the results, I started to get scared. All the fears of recurrence started flooding my mind. Will I need more chemo? Will I need another surgery? Will I end up with a permanent ostomy? One of the things about having cancer is that little nagging voice in the back of your brain, trying to convince you the worse is going to happen.
Even though nothing has changed, and I don't have any results of the CT scan yet, I am doing better. Emotionally, I'm a bit nervous about the scan and the tumor markers, but I also reminded myself that no one knows what will happen to them. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we need to live life and enjoy it. I'm thankful for my wife, my friends and family and the fact that right now, I have one more day.
Of course we are praying that everything works out fine. G-d has been very good to us, and we can do nothing more than to put this situation into His hands, and pray that He will continue to give us the strength we need to get past this hurddle.
And it doesn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyway, all of your prayers and support are welcomed and cherished.
Kevin
Thursday, April 19, 2007
3.9, 158, 668
To most people, those numbers mean nothing, but for me, they were good news.
Two days ago I went in for my tumor marker blood test. One thing the doc was more concerned about was my high triclycerides and cholesterol. With the last test, my cholesterol was 200 and my triclycerides were 1140. For those keeping score at home, triclycerides should be 150 or less, so yeah, it was VERY high. I started taking some medication and fish oil tablets and this time my cholesterol was 158 and my triclycerides dropped to 668. Still high, but it dropped a lot. I checked with my primary care physician and he suggested upping the dosage of the Niaspan I have been taking. I just refilled it, so I will wait a month before taking a higher dosage. With that, hopefully everything will be within limits. I'd hate to beat cancer just to have heart problems. Besides, I promised Roni that I wouldn't die of a heart attack. :-)
As for the 3.9 number, that was my CEA marker. The normal range should be 0- 2.5, so it is high, but last time it was 3.7 and a rise of 0.2 after 3 months is negligible, so I'm not worried about it.
For those wondering about the bike, it's great. I love riding and being able to get back on the road has been good therapy. This weekend is supposed to be nice (high 60s and sunny), so Roni and I are planning on riding to Drexel Hill in PA to visit some friends from our PMP support group. Another good thing about the bike is being able to visit other PMPBB members in the area.
Well, that's about all for tonight. Thank you all again for your prayers and thoughts.
Kevin
Two days ago I went in for my tumor marker blood test. One thing the doc was more concerned about was my high triclycerides and cholesterol. With the last test, my cholesterol was 200 and my triclycerides were 1140. For those keeping score at home, triclycerides should be 150 or less, so yeah, it was VERY high. I started taking some medication and fish oil tablets and this time my cholesterol was 158 and my triclycerides dropped to 668. Still high, but it dropped a lot. I checked with my primary care physician and he suggested upping the dosage of the Niaspan I have been taking. I just refilled it, so I will wait a month before taking a higher dosage. With that, hopefully everything will be within limits. I'd hate to beat cancer just to have heart problems. Besides, I promised Roni that I wouldn't die of a heart attack. :-)
As for the 3.9 number, that was my CEA marker. The normal range should be 0- 2.5, so it is high, but last time it was 3.7 and a rise of 0.2 after 3 months is negligible, so I'm not worried about it.
For those wondering about the bike, it's great. I love riding and being able to get back on the road has been good therapy. This weekend is supposed to be nice (high 60s and sunny), so Roni and I are planning on riding to Drexel Hill in PA to visit some friends from our PMP support group. Another good thing about the bike is being able to visit other PMPBB members in the area.
Well, that's about all for tonight. Thank you all again for your prayers and thoughts.
Kevin
Sunday, April 01, 2007
At the dealer
On Friday afternoon (I was supposed to pick it up Friday morning), I picked up the new bike from the dealer. It was a beautiful day, although a bit cool. I ended up riding about 115 miles through some scenic New York country side.
I also stopped by and met a couple whose husband is a cancer patient. We had a good chat adn it was good to see him doing well, even though he has been having some problems.
From there, I headed home. I crossed a bridge coming down the Taconic State Parkway and glanced over to the right to see a beautiful sunset and thought to myself, it doesn't get much better than this.
It was great to on a bike again. I'll post some more pics later.
Kevin
I also stopped by and met a couple whose husband is a cancer patient. We had a good chat adn it was good to see him doing well, even though he has been having some problems.
From there, I headed home. I crossed a bridge coming down the Taconic State Parkway and glanced over to the right to see a beautiful sunset and thought to myself, it doesn't get much better than this.
It was great to on a bike again. I'll post some more pics later.
Kevin
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