This past week has been a rough one. Nausea, which is the first thing we've been asked about, was not one of the side effects that my husband experienced. He had numerous other symptoms going on though. His main complaint was the pain in his knotty neck caused by this awful beast of a disease that invaded his body. We can't seem to find much to relieve his pain other than pain pills. He has tried ice packs, sleeping with pillows on the left side, right side, no pillows, sleeping in his recliner, and on and on and on. I finally brought out one of my all natural treatments, which gave him some relief. I put some Apple Cider Vinegar dilluted with a little water in a bowl and a small towel. I microwaved about 20 seconds then making sure towel wasn't too hot, wring out excess liquid (so it wouldn't run down his shirt) and put folded towel on his sore neck. I just held the towel on his neck until it cooled off, then dipped it in liquid again, wrung it out and repeated until either the water cooled off totally or my back started hurting from bending over. The warmth gave him some relief, but he wasn't crazy about the smell. (it dissipates eventually and smell goes away, or you can shower....that will take care of it!)
I did this a couple of times one day and the next day some of the swelling had gone down. So we can believe that it was the towel compress of ACV or the chemo is starting to kill the cancer knots in his neck. Who knows, but it doesn't hurt anything to do this.
ACV has always been a common item in my household. My daughters grew up taking it for all kinds of problems. It's an ancient folk remedy, touted to relieve just about any ailment you can think of. It can't be bad, it's made from apples and anyone that knows me very well has heard me one or twice spouting the old addage about an apple a day, keeping 'ol doc away. I have proven that numerous times over the last couple of years. When I was diagnosed with type II Diabetes, I started eating very healthy. One of my daily foods was a delicious Granny Smith apple, I'm not really crazy about the red or yellow sweet ones. After eating them everyday for awhile the good vitamins and nutrients built up in my system, and I never got sick with colds, flue, sinus problems etc... Before, I was always catching something from other people when they were sick.
My youngest daughter, when in school, always got sick and fluish around Valentines Day every year like clockwork for years and would miss at least one softball game and feel pretty horrible at other games around that time of year. Her senior year I made her eat an apple every day, she never got sick and never missed a game. I am a definite believer in apples and ACV.
L got his pump IV taken out and blood drawn on Tuesday. I asked him to bring me a copy of his lab report so I could compare it to the report prior to chemo. I know he was really happy about leaving that fanny pack pump behind!
He seemed to feel a lot better without it. The lab report that was run on him and he brought home was not exactly what I wanted.
It was not a CBC like I thought it was going to be, so I couldn't compare his WBC count to the last one.
CBC (Complete Blood Count) WBC (White Blood Count)
I also wanted this one :
White Blood Cell Count Differential (identifies different types of WBCs)
There are five different types of WBCs that the body uses to maintain a healthy state and to fight infections or other causes of injury.
They are :
neutrophils: Normally the most abundant type of white blood cell in healthy adults
lymphocytes: Leukocyte (white blood cell) that normally makes up about 25% of the total white blood cell count but can vary widely. Lymphocytes occur in two forms: B cells, which produce antibodies, and T cells, which recognize foreign substances and process them for removal.
basophils: Type of white blood cell (leukocyte), with coarse granules that stain blue when exposed to a basic dye. Basophils normally constitute 1% or less of the total white blood cell count but may increase or decrease in certain diseases.
eosinophils: Leukocyte (white blood cell) with granules that are stained by the dye, eosin. Eosinophils, normally about 1-3% of the total white blood cell count, are believed to function in allergic responses and in resisting some infections.
monocytes: Leukocyte (white blood cell) that functions in the ingestion of bacteria and other foreign particles. Monocytes make up 5-10% of the total white blood cell count.
They are present in the blood at relatively stable percentages.
These numbers may temporarily shift higher or lower depending on what is going on in the body. For instance, an infection can stimulate a higher concentration of neutrophils (a "shift to the left") to fight off bacterial infection.
Neutrophil is the WBC that I was most interested in seeing. If this test goes lower than the normal range it should be, then I will need to change L's diet. I would have to be more careful with fruits and raw vegetables and a lot stricter with the foods that he was eating.
Hopefully it will be run the next time he goes in to see dr.
On Wednesday he was still feeling a lot better and went toL work. L had an appointment at 3:00 to get a shot that will boost his WBCs. It has to be given no sooner than 24 hours after chemo. Neulasta is the name of the drug in the shot.
Neulasta is a prescription medicine called a white cell booster that helps reduce the risk of infection (initially marked by fever) in patients with some tumors receiving strong chemotherapy that decreases the number of infection-fighting white blood cells. A sufficient white blood cell count may enable your doctors to administer chemotherapy according to their treatment schedule.
With the help of a white cell booster, you can help maintain a sufficient white blood cell count. Most doctors agree that sticking to the planned chemotherapy schedule may be the first step to success. Studies have proven the effectiveness of Neulasta® in helping to protect chemotherapy patients against infection due to a low white blood cell count.
An improvement in your white blood cell counts will show that Neulasta is doing its job.
Neulasta helps provide protection with just 1 injection per cycle of Chemo Therapy. It is given 24 hours after chemotherapy is administered. Neulasta is for people with some tumors—solid tumors and lymphomas, for example.
I was really hoping that this shot would miraculously make him feel all better. I was wrong. One of the side effects of this drug is flue like symptoms. Thursday L stayed home feeling achy all over and pretty tired. I think the tiredness came from working the day before and is a normal chemo side effect. He had an upset stomach and diarrhea all day. He couldn't really get any rest because it was pretty much up and down to the bathroom the entire day. Kaopectate helped him a little, I guess what will really help is time.
Today, Friday, he has felt worse than any of the other days and is dealing with being lightheaded, fuzzy in the brain and now constipation. These damn drugs!!!!! I sure hope they are killing the hell out of the cancer cells!!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
First Treatment
The last couple of days with L's new port in his chest hasn't been very comfortable for him at all. I think the surgery caused his neck to swell even more, which makes the skin tighter on his neck and pretty darn painful. Bless his heart, he's been in pain non-stop for over three months now. He's been eating good, everything I cook for him, he eats. I have purchased several books on nutrition that I want to share with you all later, but right now, I'll get to the treatment.
L arrived at the Dr's office about 7:30am, his appt was for 8:00am. He always likes to get someplace extremely early.....not me! That's a waste of valuable time that could be spent at home, in my opinion.
Anyway, the office opened at 8:00 sharp and L checked in along with , maybe 5 other people. I got there about 5 min after 8:00 and he was sitting in the waiting room. He already wasn't feeling too well. His neck and those horrible beast knots are hurting him so much! One after the other, all 5 of the early patients were called back behind "THE DOOR". New people started arriving and checking in and then going back.
Ok, now wait just a darn minute....LD won't say anything, so I got up and politely asked the nice ladies behind the desk, when did she think we would be called for our 8:00am appointment. She was very nice, I'm not being sarcastic (this time).
She apologized for our wait and said that they were waiting on Dr's orders for L's treatment.
I'm sorry....what????
You're waiting on Dr's orders for L's treatment for Today?..........as in, today....today??
This same appopintment that Dr. Jasani personally made himself last Friday when we were in here?
(I really didn't say all of that to her, but I sure was thinking it!)
The nice lady said she would see what was going on and let us know.
The clock keeps ticking away and the second wave of new people have arrived AND gone behind "THE DOOR". We were alone in the waiting room, once again.It's about 9:30 now, I have to leave to pick up my precious granddaughter and take her to gymnastics.
This is crazy!
I always heard that chemo patients never had to wait....long. I wanted to be in there for L when he started, leave for a little bit and then be back for the rest of the day.
Well, here comes the nice lady from behind the desk. She said the orders for treatment finally came and she was personally going to take them, to whoever needed to have them and it wouldn't be much longer now. I said my see ya laters and left.
L said that he finally got called back about 10:00, a nurse took him to his private room behind the curtain and got him situated. And he waits........
Now, treatment can't start yet because "they" need some kind of addendum to the first order for his port. The port was not put in where the first order said it was going to be, so the chemo people need an addendum.
I didn't think that MD Anderson was part of the government??? Oh wait!!!
Yes they are, kind of...only worse....it's the state. Anderson is a part of University of Texas. How could I forget??
I used to work for them....I was the Front Office Manager at Anderson Mayfair Hotel that used to be across from MD Anderson's main building (it's torn down now and a new hotel built). It's was where all of the out of town cancer patients stayed when they came for treatments. So many rules and so much paperwork!! If I wanted to buy pencils, for example, I had 10 different forms that had to be filled out, before I could purchase them. All of this addendum and orders nonsense is NOW, starting to make perfect sense.
Getting back to the port.
The first "order" stated that the port would be inserted into his chest on the right side about 3 inches down from his collar bone. I believe instead of 3 inches, it was 5 inches. So there you have it!! We must have an addendum for 2 whole inches!Dr. Jasani came in to see L, while everyone was waiting on, who knows who, to fill out that damnation of an addendum and asked if he wanted to change his treatment to Monday.
Now he asks??
No sir, I'm already here and in the chair. I will wait.
So, I think the actual treatment started about Noon. From about 11:00 to Noon, non medicated fluids were going in.
I got back about 11:45 right before the harsh drugs were administered. Nurse Carol was checking on the IV drip and L was watching tv.
The first drug today is Cisplatin.
Before the Cisplatin infusion, extra IV fluids are given, care is taken to ensure adequate hydration before, during and after Cisplatin, to protect the kidney's function. The next drug will be Docetaxel. And the drug that will be in the pump that he wears home for 4 days is Fluorouracil.
While we sit, watching tv or L sometimes napping, the nutritionist came in to talk. I was really looking forward to talking to her and getting some good advice.
I have to tell you, I was not happy with our conversation at all. She didn't tell me anything that I haven't already read in the last 3 weeks and then couldn't answer my questions about which foods were more beneficial to a person with on chemo.Very disapointing conversation....
I might be wrong, just gonna throw this out there...
It's my opinion and I'm just now realizing that these doctors and cancer facilities might not want to encourage patients to eat the proper fruits and vegetables that will help to kick this Oropharyngeal cancer's a$$.
I sorta baited Dr. Jasani the other day asking which vegetables were good for helping the liver out during chemo. He said none that he knew of. Wrong answer Doc!
For the record: I still believe that MD Anderson is the best cancer fighting facility in the country...possibly world.
But, I believe that proper nutrition is also needed to keep the body alive and well before, during and after cancer treatments, but especially during chemo. The drugs that are given during chemo cannot tell the difference in normal cells and cancer cells, so therefore destroys all cells.
I will talk about my research and findings about nutrtion at another time....I got off on a tangent and didn't mean to.
L's chemo lasted today until 4:00pm, that a long day for someone not feeling well!! They unhooked him from the big IV and hooked his pump up through his port and away he went, heading home.
L arrived at the Dr's office about 7:30am, his appt was for 8:00am. He always likes to get someplace extremely early.....not me! That's a waste of valuable time that could be spent at home, in my opinion.
Anyway, the office opened at 8:00 sharp and L checked in along with , maybe 5 other people. I got there about 5 min after 8:00 and he was sitting in the waiting room. He already wasn't feeling too well. His neck and those horrible beast knots are hurting him so much! One after the other, all 5 of the early patients were called back behind "THE DOOR". New people started arriving and checking in and then going back.
Ok, now wait just a darn minute....LD won't say anything, so I got up and politely asked the nice ladies behind the desk, when did she think we would be called for our 8:00am appointment. She was very nice, I'm not being sarcastic (this time).
She apologized for our wait and said that they were waiting on Dr's orders for L's treatment.
I'm sorry....what????
You're waiting on Dr's orders for L's treatment for Today?..........as in, today....today??
This same appopintment that Dr. Jasani personally made himself last Friday when we were in here?
(I really didn't say all of that to her, but I sure was thinking it!)
The nice lady said she would see what was going on and let us know.
The clock keeps ticking away and the second wave of new people have arrived AND gone behind "THE DOOR". We were alone in the waiting room, once again.It's about 9:30 now, I have to leave to pick up my precious granddaughter and take her to gymnastics.
This is crazy!
I always heard that chemo patients never had to wait....long. I wanted to be in there for L when he started, leave for a little bit and then be back for the rest of the day.
Well, here comes the nice lady from behind the desk. She said the orders for treatment finally came and she was personally going to take them, to whoever needed to have them and it wouldn't be much longer now. I said my see ya laters and left.
L said that he finally got called back about 10:00, a nurse took him to his private room behind the curtain and got him situated. And he waits........
Now, treatment can't start yet because "they" need some kind of addendum to the first order for his port. The port was not put in where the first order said it was going to be, so the chemo people need an addendum.
I didn't think that MD Anderson was part of the government??? Oh wait!!!
Yes they are, kind of...only worse....it's the state. Anderson is a part of University of Texas. How could I forget??
I used to work for them....I was the Front Office Manager at Anderson Mayfair Hotel that used to be across from MD Anderson's main building (it's torn down now and a new hotel built). It's was where all of the out of town cancer patients stayed when they came for treatments. So many rules and so much paperwork!! If I wanted to buy pencils, for example, I had 10 different forms that had to be filled out, before I could purchase them. All of this addendum and orders nonsense is NOW, starting to make perfect sense.
Getting back to the port.
The first "order" stated that the port would be inserted into his chest on the right side about 3 inches down from his collar bone. I believe instead of 3 inches, it was 5 inches. So there you have it!! We must have an addendum for 2 whole inches!Dr. Jasani came in to see L, while everyone was waiting on, who knows who, to fill out that damnation of an addendum and asked if he wanted to change his treatment to Monday.
Now he asks??
No sir, I'm already here and in the chair. I will wait.
So, I think the actual treatment started about Noon. From about 11:00 to Noon, non medicated fluids were going in.
I got back about 11:45 right before the harsh drugs were administered. Nurse Carol was checking on the IV drip and L was watching tv.
Before the Cisplatin infusion, extra IV fluids are given, care is taken to ensure adequate hydration before, during and after Cisplatin, to protect the kidney's function. The next drug will be Docetaxel. And the drug that will be in the pump that he wears home for 4 days is Fluorouracil.
I have to tell you, I was not happy with our conversation at all. She didn't tell me anything that I haven't already read in the last 3 weeks and then couldn't answer my questions about which foods were more beneficial to a person with on chemo.Very disapointing conversation....
I might be wrong, just gonna throw this out there...
It's my opinion and I'm just now realizing that these doctors and cancer facilities might not want to encourage patients to eat the proper fruits and vegetables that will help to kick this Oropharyngeal cancer's a$$.
I sorta baited Dr. Jasani the other day asking which vegetables were good for helping the liver out during chemo. He said none that he knew of. Wrong answer Doc!
For the record: I still believe that MD Anderson is the best cancer fighting facility in the country...possibly world.
But, I believe that proper nutrition is also needed to keep the body alive and well before, during and after cancer treatments, but especially during chemo. The drugs that are given during chemo cannot tell the difference in normal cells and cancer cells, so therefore destroys all cells.
I will talk about my research and findings about nutrtion at another time....I got off on a tangent and didn't mean to.
L's chemo lasted today until 4:00pm, that a long day for someone not feeling well!! They unhooked him from the big IV and hooked his pump up through his port and away he went, heading home.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Port
My husband's surgery to insert his port was set for 9:00 am, Tuesday March 20th. The drive in was pretty treacherous with heavy rain, wind and high water. It was one of those days one would prefer to stay home & watch the storm from inside your cozy, warm.....SAFE house. But we aren't at home, so we make the best of a unpleasant situation.
We arrived at Methodist West, you guessed it, 45 minutes early. I've never been to this hospital before, much less paid attention to it, but now that I have, I think the landscaping and outside of hospital is gorgeous, I'm betting the inside will be too. I think it's pretty new, maybe was built about 15 months ago.
We walked in the front entrance, into a beautiful atrium style lobby, with a large water fountain, trees, statues and a piano playing. Right off of the lobby is a small, welcoming chapel......a perfect, quiet place to pray, meditate, or just sit.
Which is what I did while LD was checking in/registering. I sat and prayed.....I need to do that more often.
L finished checking in, then we went down to the waiting area for radiology. Not sure whyI we were sent to radiology just that the surgery was in their Operating Room. We were called back about 8:45 by a really nice nurse name Maria. Hubs was the only patient in the pre-op room, quite a bit different from MD Anderson the other day. Trust me....I am not complaining at all, it was quite nice and very quiet!! It's not like it is early, I'm guessing it's because it's a new hospital. No signs that said I couldn't use my cell phone either. Gotta love that!
Maria got busy getting L prepared. He won't be put under this time, just a light sleep. The surgical doctor's assistant, Adam Gonzales, came in to meet us and shortly the surgeon, Dr Jerry Polasek came in. Holy cow!!! I think that both of these guys are out of their 1st period class this morning with a hall pass. I don't think they could possibly be older than Jr. High students! Geez....these doctors are getting younger all the time! Hope they know there stuff!
Well it's time for L to go, Dr. Polasek told me he would come talk to me after the surgery was finished. Maria took me around the corner into the next hallway to a waiting room. She asked if I would like anything to drink or snack on and said that if I got cold, I could grab a blanket out of the warmer. Snacks, drinks, warm blanket, how awesome is this place?? I watched a little tv and almost fell asleep in the comfy chair.
About an hour later, Dr. Polasek came to the waiting room to let me know how the surgery went. He said they got the port in easily, everything went well, they just had to wake my husband up every once in awhile because he was snoring. That is definitely him!!! Lol.....Oh thank goodness!!! No problems at all! The other doctor and nurses would be taking L to recovery very soon, then Maria would come get me.
In recovery we will have to go through the same routine as last time except not the breathing exercises since he wasn't on anesthesia or oxygen. He ate lunch (have you ever heard of lunch being served in post op? Not me!) and was ready to go by 1:00pm.
Outside had turned out to be a beautiful day. I got the truck, while Maria wheeled LD to the front door for me to pick up.....and away we go!!
We arrived at Methodist West, you guessed it, 45 minutes early. I've never been to this hospital before, much less paid attention to it, but now that I have, I think the landscaping and outside of hospital is gorgeous, I'm betting the inside will be too. I think it's pretty new, maybe was built about 15 months ago.
We walked in the front entrance, into a beautiful atrium style lobby, with a large water fountain, trees, statues and a piano playing. Right off of the lobby is a small, welcoming chapel......a perfect, quiet place to pray, meditate, or just sit.
Which is what I did while LD was checking in/registering. I sat and prayed.....I need to do that more often.
L finished checking in, then we went down to the waiting area for radiology. Not sure whyI we were sent to radiology just that the surgery was in their Operating Room. We were called back about 8:45 by a really nice nurse name Maria. Hubs was the only patient in the pre-op room, quite a bit different from MD Anderson the other day. Trust me....I am not complaining at all, it was quite nice and very quiet!! It's not like it is early, I'm guessing it's because it's a new hospital. No signs that said I couldn't use my cell phone either. Gotta love that!
Maria got busy getting L prepared. He won't be put under this time, just a light sleep. The surgical doctor's assistant, Adam Gonzales, came in to meet us and shortly the surgeon, Dr Jerry Polasek came in. Holy cow!!! I think that both of these guys are out of their 1st period class this morning with a hall pass. I don't think they could possibly be older than Jr. High students! Geez....these doctors are getting younger all the time! Hope they know there stuff!
Well it's time for L to go, Dr. Polasek told me he would come talk to me after the surgery was finished. Maria took me around the corner into the next hallway to a waiting room. She asked if I would like anything to drink or snack on and said that if I got cold, I could grab a blanket out of the warmer. Snacks, drinks, warm blanket, how awesome is this place?? I watched a little tv and almost fell asleep in the comfy chair.
About an hour later, Dr. Polasek came to the waiting room to let me know how the surgery went. He said they got the port in easily, everything went well, they just had to wake my husband up every once in awhile because he was snoring. That is definitely him!!! Lol.....Oh thank goodness!!! No problems at all! The other doctor and nurses would be taking L to recovery very soon, then Maria would come get me.
In recovery we will have to go through the same routine as last time except not the breathing exercises since he wasn't on anesthesia or oxygen. He ate lunch (have you ever heard of lunch being served in post op? Not me!) and was ready to go by 1:00pm.
Outside had turned out to be a beautiful day. I got the truck, while Maria wheeled LD to the front door for me to pick up.....and away we go!!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Discussing Chemo Drugs with The Doctor
We met with the General Oncologist the next day to finally discuss L's treatment. Dr. Jasani is a part of Dr. Zafereo's medical team. They all met this morning to discuss my husband's case. He will have the port put in next Tuesday, the 20th at Methodist West Hospital in Katy. Then next Friday, the 23rd of March he will start his chemotherapy. This is exactly one month from the day he was told that he had cancer. The day our lives changed forever.
We all decided that it would be best to go after this cancer, aggressively.....to use the most extreme medicines, Full Dose TPF. The first two drugs listed are the meds that will be given at the time of treatment at MD Anderson, one after another. The third drug will be administered by a pump worn home for four days after the initial chemo treatment.
1. Cisplatin: belongs to the group of medicines known as alkylating agents.
Cisplatin interferes with the growth of cancer cells, which are eventually destroyed. Since the growth of normal body cells may also be affected by cisplatin, other effects will also occur.
How Cisplatin Is Given:
• Cisplatin is administered through a vein (intravenously or IV) as an infusion.
• There is no pill form of Cisplatin.
• Cisplatin is an irritant. An irritant is a chemical that can cause inflammation of the vein through which it is given.
If Cisplatin escapes from the vein it can cause tissue damage. The nurse or doctor who gives Cisplatin must be carefully trained.
• Before and/or after the Cisplatin infusion, extra IV fluids are given, care is taken to ensure adequate hydration before, during and after Cisplatin, to protect your kidney function.
• Cisplatin also has been used as an infusion into the abdominal cavity (contains the abdominal organs).
2. Docetaxel: belongs to a class of chemotherapy drugs called plant alkaloids. Plant alkaloids are made from plants. The taxanes are made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree (taxus). The taxanes are also known as antimicrotubule agents. The plant alkaloids are cell-cycle specific. This means they attack the cells during various phases of division.
Antimicrotubule agents (such as docetaxel), inhibit the microtubule structures within the cell. Microtubules are part of the cell's apparatus for dividing and replicating itself. Inhibition of these structures ultimately results in cell death.
Chemotherapy is most effective at killing cells that are rapidly dividing. Unfortunately, chemotherapy does not know the difference between the cancerous cells and the normal cells. The "normal" cells will grow back and be healthy but in the meantime, side effects occur. The "normal" cells most commonly affected by chemotherapy are the blood cells, the cells in the mouth, stomach and bowel, and the hair follicles; resulting in low blood counts, mouth sores, nausea, diarrhea, and/or hair loss. Different drugs may affect different parts of the body.
3. Fluorouracil: belongs to the category of chemotherapy called antimetabolites. These are very similar to normal substances within the cell. When the cells incorporate these substances into the cellular metabolism, they are unable to divide. Antimetabolites are cell-cycle specific. They attack cells at very specific phases in the cycle. Antimetabolites are classified according to the substances with which they interfere. The ability of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells depends on its ability to halt cell division. Usually, the drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cell how to copy itself in division. If the cells are unable to divide, they die. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink. They also induce cell suicide (self-death or apoptosis).
Nadir: Meaning low point, nadir is the point in time between chemotherapy cycles in which you experience low blood counts.
Onset: 7-10 days
Nadir: 9-14 days
Recovery: 21-28 days
We all decided that it would be best to go after this cancer, aggressively.....to use the most extreme medicines, Full Dose TPF. The first two drugs listed are the meds that will be given at the time of treatment at MD Anderson, one after another. The third drug will be administered by a pump worn home for four days after the initial chemo treatment.
1. Cisplatin: belongs to the group of medicines known as alkylating agents.
Cisplatin interferes with the growth of cancer cells, which are eventually destroyed. Since the growth of normal body cells may also be affected by cisplatin, other effects will also occur.
How Cisplatin Is Given:
• Cisplatin is administered through a vein (intravenously or IV) as an infusion.
• There is no pill form of Cisplatin.
• Cisplatin is an irritant. An irritant is a chemical that can cause inflammation of the vein through which it is given.
If Cisplatin escapes from the vein it can cause tissue damage. The nurse or doctor who gives Cisplatin must be carefully trained.
• Before and/or after the Cisplatin infusion, extra IV fluids are given, care is taken to ensure adequate hydration before, during and after Cisplatin, to protect your kidney function.
• Cisplatin also has been used as an infusion into the abdominal cavity (contains the abdominal organs).
2. Docetaxel: belongs to a class of chemotherapy drugs called plant alkaloids. Plant alkaloids are made from plants. The taxanes are made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree (taxus). The taxanes are also known as antimicrotubule agents. The plant alkaloids are cell-cycle specific. This means they attack the cells during various phases of division.
Antimicrotubule agents (such as docetaxel), inhibit the microtubule structures within the cell. Microtubules are part of the cell's apparatus for dividing and replicating itself. Inhibition of these structures ultimately results in cell death.
Chemotherapy is most effective at killing cells that are rapidly dividing. Unfortunately, chemotherapy does not know the difference between the cancerous cells and the normal cells. The "normal" cells will grow back and be healthy but in the meantime, side effects occur. The "normal" cells most commonly affected by chemotherapy are the blood cells, the cells in the mouth, stomach and bowel, and the hair follicles; resulting in low blood counts, mouth sores, nausea, diarrhea, and/or hair loss. Different drugs may affect different parts of the body.
3. Fluorouracil: belongs to the category of chemotherapy called antimetabolites. These are very similar to normal substances within the cell. When the cells incorporate these substances into the cellular metabolism, they are unable to divide. Antimetabolites are cell-cycle specific. They attack cells at very specific phases in the cycle. Antimetabolites are classified according to the substances with which they interfere. The ability of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells depends on its ability to halt cell division. Usually, the drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cell how to copy itself in division. If the cells are unable to divide, they die. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink. They also induce cell suicide (self-death or apoptosis).
Nadir: Meaning low point, nadir is the point in time between chemotherapy cycles in which you experience low blood counts.
Onset: 7-10 days
Nadir: 9-14 days
Recovery: 21-28 days
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Laryngoscopy
Our trip to MD Anderson for hubs Laryngoscopy, went well.
We arrived at the hospital in true Brown fashion........45 minutes earlier than we were suppose to be.
Fortunately the surgical team was ready for us to come in to the pre op room. What a happening place today! Rows of beds curtained off on both sides of a long area about 8ft wide for walking with equipment here & there. Doctors, nurses, assistants, orderlies and patients were everywhere, but it all seemed very organized. It looked like the rows of beds and walkway made a U shape with about 20 beds on each side of the U. L's bed was #6, hope that's a lucky number!! Then we saw signs everywhere that read "No Cell Phones" or "Turn off All Cell Phones". Ugh!! That's a bummer, what am I going to do to make the time go by faster? There are no magazines or books, nada. Oh well......
We did have a wonderful team of Doctors and nurses that streamed in to see us. Dr. Zafereo will be doing the scoping, with Dr. Felt assisting, 4 or 5 nurses and 3 anesthesiologists (one of which was a student). All very young and bubbly, oh how nice it would be to have that much energy again!
Preparing for the surgery, everything was going smoothly until the anethisiologist Dr. Carlson (a real cutie) checked the lab reports that had been taken the day before. It showed L's potassium (K) at a high level- 6.5. Normal levels are 3.6 to 5.2. After questioning L about his past K screenings (never high like that!), Dr. C figured that it could be Hemolysis. Sounds pretty scary and serious!! Yikes!!!
Although It's not at all......Love learning new things, I just wish I didn't have to learn about cancer.
Hemolysis explained
Evidently when blood is taken and the plunger is pulled back quickly the red blood cells are broken and is called hemolysis. The concentration of potassium inside red blood cells is much higher than in the serum and so an elevated potassium is usually found in biochemistry tests of hemolysed blood.
Anesthesia folks can't have his potassium levels too high to begin with, because the meds they give during surgery will make K levels go higher, so Dr. Carlson ordered a blood test.......aaannnndddd we wait. An hour later, no one has shown up to get his blood. Guess the lab right across the hall was too far for techs to come from. Jennifer, the student anesthesiologist, wanted to draw the blood, AND was actually excited about it. She took it over to the lab herself and waited for it. Lol. Cute girl!! It wasn't too much longer that the Lab work came back, normal, so away he goes to the OR.
I head to the surgical out-patient waiting room, which is on 2nd floor overlooking an area of beautiful water walls. I hear a piano playing wonderfully soft music somewhere below. The sitting area had cushiony chairs, free Wi-fi and a really nice volunteer sitting at a desk with a computer, phone and a list of patients in surgery. I was to check in with the volunteer to let her know who I was with. The area wasn't sloppy or crowded, but a place of peace, comfort and beauty, to wait for loved ones in surgery....My sis had come by to wait with me for a bit, before her next appointment. Had everything been running on time, she could have stayed with me the whole time, but shortly she had to leave. Please don't get me wrong about the delays, yes they are a pain in the a$$ and I'm complaining a little, BUT, we are in the best hospital that we could possibly be, with very competent doctors and nurses......that makes the waiting worth it. Plus, we were 45 min early to start!!
L's surgery lasted about an hour. Dr. Feldt came to the waiting room to give me an update. I was right in the middle of eating, putting a waffle fry in my mouth when he walked up. Nicely done....I kinda apologized for eating crap food while my husband was in surgery for a biopsy, Dr. F laughed and said not to worry, he had just eaten some candy his self and said I was eating "comfort food". YES!! That's exactly what I was eating!! Now I don't feel so bad.
Surgery went well, they were able to see the marble size tumor on the base of his tongue and get a sample of it.
They also looked at his voice box, found it clear then went farther down his esophagus and found it clear as well. Here it is.......the name of the cancer he has, Oropharyngeal cancer.........pronounced Ora-fa-rin-g-ul or you can just call it tongue cancer.
Hubs has gone to recovery and I would be able to go back where he was in a little while. A volunteer would come get me as soon as he was waking up from his anesthesia.
It was about another 15 or 20 minute wait before an older gentleman came to get me. We went into the same area where we were earlier, just on another side of the U shape. This time the bed # is 26. Hope for luck again! It was a lot quieter on this side, I'm guessing that every patient over here is post op.
For every 3 patients there was a nurse. Quite different from all the other hospitals that I've seen, where you have one nurse for about 20 patients. Anderson is a wonderful place to be, when your life is on the line.
L had just woke up, was a little groggy and very thirsty!! I was able to talk his nurse into letting him have some ice water. They are always concerned that anything on the stomach, so soon after anesthesia, will make him nauseous. He was fine drinking the water. His blood pressure and heart rate were getting back to normal, but he was still on oxygen. We wouldn't be able to go home until he was off of oxygen and his levels were above 93%. It took a little over 2 hours for oxygen to be normal without help. L had to use this breathing device after the surgery for the breathing exercises that will hopefully keep the patient from getting pneumonia. Basically you inhale and then exhale into the tube, keeping inhaling steady to hold this floating object in between these two markers. The cylindrical body shows you the volume measurement of your inhaled air. This exercise had to be done three different times today, each time consist of 10-15 inhaling/exhaling repetitions. After his third time, his oxygen levels stayed at a good percentage and we were ready to go!!
We arrived at the hospital in true Brown fashion........45 minutes earlier than we were suppose to be.
Fortunately the surgical team was ready for us to come in to the pre op room. What a happening place today! Rows of beds curtained off on both sides of a long area about 8ft wide for walking with equipment here & there. Doctors, nurses, assistants, orderlies and patients were everywhere, but it all seemed very organized. It looked like the rows of beds and walkway made a U shape with about 20 beds on each side of the U. L's bed was #6, hope that's a lucky number!! Then we saw signs everywhere that read "No Cell Phones" or "Turn off All Cell Phones". Ugh!! That's a bummer, what am I going to do to make the time go by faster? There are no magazines or books, nada. Oh well......
We did have a wonderful team of Doctors and nurses that streamed in to see us. Dr. Zafereo will be doing the scoping, with Dr. Felt assisting, 4 or 5 nurses and 3 anesthesiologists (one of which was a student). All very young and bubbly, oh how nice it would be to have that much energy again!
Preparing for the surgery, everything was going smoothly until the anethisiologist Dr. Carlson (a real cutie) checked the lab reports that had been taken the day before. It showed L's potassium (K) at a high level- 6.5. Normal levels are 3.6 to 5.2. After questioning L about his past K screenings (never high like that!), Dr. C figured that it could be Hemolysis. Sounds pretty scary and serious!! Yikes!!!
Although It's not at all......Love learning new things, I just wish I didn't have to learn about cancer.
Hemolysis explained
Evidently when blood is taken and the plunger is pulled back quickly the red blood cells are broken and is called hemolysis. The concentration of potassium inside red blood cells is much higher than in the serum and so an elevated potassium is usually found in biochemistry tests of hemolysed blood.
Anesthesia folks can't have his potassium levels too high to begin with, because the meds they give during surgery will make K levels go higher, so Dr. Carlson ordered a blood test.......aaannnndddd we wait. An hour later, no one has shown up to get his blood. Guess the lab right across the hall was too far for techs to come from. Jennifer, the student anesthesiologist, wanted to draw the blood, AND was actually excited about it. She took it over to the lab herself and waited for it. Lol. Cute girl!! It wasn't too much longer that the Lab work came back, normal, so away he goes to the OR.
I head to the surgical out-patient waiting room, which is on 2nd floor overlooking an area of beautiful water walls. I hear a piano playing wonderfully soft music somewhere below. The sitting area had cushiony chairs, free Wi-fi and a really nice volunteer sitting at a desk with a computer, phone and a list of patients in surgery. I was to check in with the volunteer to let her know who I was with. The area wasn't sloppy or crowded, but a place of peace, comfort and beauty, to wait for loved ones in surgery....My sis had come by to wait with me for a bit, before her next appointment. Had everything been running on time, she could have stayed with me the whole time, but shortly she had to leave. Please don't get me wrong about the delays, yes they are a pain in the a$$ and I'm complaining a little, BUT, we are in the best hospital that we could possibly be, with very competent doctors and nurses......that makes the waiting worth it. Plus, we were 45 min early to start!!
L's surgery lasted about an hour. Dr. Feldt came to the waiting room to give me an update. I was right in the middle of eating, putting a waffle fry in my mouth when he walked up. Nicely done....I kinda apologized for eating crap food while my husband was in surgery for a biopsy, Dr. F laughed and said not to worry, he had just eaten some candy his self and said I was eating "comfort food". YES!! That's exactly what I was eating!! Now I don't feel so bad.
Surgery went well, they were able to see the marble size tumor on the base of his tongue and get a sample of it.
They also looked at his voice box, found it clear then went farther down his esophagus and found it clear as well. Here it is.......the name of the cancer he has, Oropharyngeal cancer.........pronounced Ora-fa-rin-g-ul or you can just call it tongue cancer.
Hubs has gone to recovery and I would be able to go back where he was in a little while. A volunteer would come get me as soon as he was waking up from his anesthesia.
It was about another 15 or 20 minute wait before an older gentleman came to get me. We went into the same area where we were earlier, just on another side of the U shape. This time the bed # is 26. Hope for luck again! It was a lot quieter on this side, I'm guessing that every patient over here is post op.
For every 3 patients there was a nurse. Quite different from all the other hospitals that I've seen, where you have one nurse for about 20 patients. Anderson is a wonderful place to be, when your life is on the line.
L had just woke up, was a little groggy and very thirsty!! I was able to talk his nurse into letting him have some ice water. They are always concerned that anything on the stomach, so soon after anesthesia, will make him nauseous. He was fine drinking the water. His blood pressure and heart rate were getting back to normal, but he was still on oxygen. We wouldn't be able to go home until he was off of oxygen and his levels were above 93%. It took a little over 2 hours for oxygen to be normal without help. L had to use this breathing device after the surgery for the breathing exercises that will hopefully keep the patient from getting pneumonia. Basically you inhale and then exhale into the tube, keeping inhaling steady to hold this floating object in between these two markers. The cylindrical body shows you the volume measurement of your inhaled air. This exercise had to be done three different times today, each time consist of 10-15 inhaling/exhaling repetitions. After his third time, his oxygen levels stayed at a good percentage and we were ready to go!!
Monday, March 12, 2012
The Good Doctor
So, our really bad news day was on Friday, March 2. We saw the new Dr on Monday, March 12. His name is Dr Mark Zafereo, Department of Head and Neck Surgery at MD Anderson cancer Center. Very impressive young Doctor.
He came in to the examining room where we were waiting, said his hellos, shook hands, and told us that the tumor was on the base of LD's tongue. How the heck did he know that without examination and looking at the CT or PET scan? The not so friendly and negative Dr.N said it was on his voice box and had they tried to remove the tumor it probably would have taken part of his vocal cords which can't be duplicated and replaced. My husband would have had an electrolarynx, which is a handheld, battery-operated device the patient places on the throat to produce vibration and make speech. I know he wouldn't have wanted that, we joked about it a little and I told him that if he got mad and tried to yell, I'd take the batteries out and we wouldn't be able to hear him at all!
Back to Dr. Z, (amazing man with an amazing resume,) he put a scope through L's nose to look at tumor, VB, and Esophagus. I was excited that I got to watch on the screen while he was doing it!! Sure enough, tumor was at the base of the tongue, VB is clear as well as the Esophagus.
Dr. Zafereo's plan:
1. L will talk with his "team" Radiologist, Dr. Chronowski on Tuesday, 13th.
2. Anesthesia Assessment, which includes an EKG* and Echocardiogram**, & Stress Test***. Blood work and repeat CT Scan of Neck and also of Chest this time is scheduled for Wednesday, 14th.
3. a Laryngoscopy****--biopsy Scheduled for Thursday, 15th.
4. speak with his "team" General Oncologist, Dr. Jassani on Friday, 16th
5. Insertion of a port***** put in on Tuesday, 20th.
6. Start treatment....chemo or radiation, whichever the Head and Neck Surgical Team decided on scheduled for Friday, March 23rd.
In case you didn't know or remember, here is an explanation of some of the terms:
*Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) is a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart. An EKG translates the heart's electrical activity into line tracings on paper. The spikes and dips in the line tracings are called waves.
**Echocardiogram is a test that uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the heart. The picture is much more detailed than a plain x-ray image and involves no radiation exposure.
An echocardiogram allows doctors to see the heart beating, and to see the heart valves and other structures of the heart.
***Stress Test leads (wires) to an ECG machine attached to your chest, and a blood pressure cuff is placed on your arm. A clothespin-like sensor may be placed on your finger to measure the amount of oxygen in your blood. After a baseline ECG is obtained, you will be asked to begin performing a low level of exercise, either by walking on a treadmill, or pedaling a stationary bicycle. The exercise is "graded" - that is, every three minutes, the level of exercise is increased. At each "stage" of exercise, your pulse, blood pressure and ECG are recorded, along with any symptoms you may be experiencing.
****Laryngoscopy--biopsy: A special flexible scope will be inserted through the mouth and into throat. Through an eyepiece on the scope, the doctor will examine the larynx. The doctor may then collect specimens (biopsy), remove growths, or retrieve a foreign object trapped in the throat. This method is often done in the operating room under general anesthesia.
*****Port (sometimes called portacaths or subcutaneous ports)
is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin with a tube inserted into a vein.....They use this port instead of sticking a vein each time to deliver chemotherapy to cancer patients who must undergo treatment frequently. Blood can also be drawn by using this port.
He came in to the examining room where we were waiting, said his hellos, shook hands, and told us that the tumor was on the base of LD's tongue. How the heck did he know that without examination and looking at the CT or PET scan? The not so friendly and negative Dr.N said it was on his voice box and had they tried to remove the tumor it probably would have taken part of his vocal cords which can't be duplicated and replaced. My husband would have had an electrolarynx, which is a handheld, battery-operated device the patient places on the throat to produce vibration and make speech. I know he wouldn't have wanted that, we joked about it a little and I told him that if he got mad and tried to yell, I'd take the batteries out and we wouldn't be able to hear him at all!
Back to Dr. Z, (amazing man with an amazing resume,) he put a scope through L's nose to look at tumor, VB, and Esophagus. I was excited that I got to watch on the screen while he was doing it!! Sure enough, tumor was at the base of the tongue, VB is clear as well as the Esophagus.
Dr. Zafereo's plan:
1. L will talk with his "team" Radiologist, Dr. Chronowski on Tuesday, 13th.
2. Anesthesia Assessment, which includes an EKG* and Echocardiogram**, & Stress Test***. Blood work and repeat CT Scan of Neck and also of Chest this time is scheduled for Wednesday, 14th.
3. a Laryngoscopy****--biopsy Scheduled for Thursday, 15th.
4. speak with his "team" General Oncologist, Dr. Jassani on Friday, 16th
5. Insertion of a port***** put in on Tuesday, 20th.
6. Start treatment....chemo or radiation, whichever the Head and Neck Surgical Team decided on scheduled for Friday, March 23rd.
In case you didn't know or remember, here is an explanation of some of the terms:
*Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) is a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart. An EKG translates the heart's electrical activity into line tracings on paper. The spikes and dips in the line tracings are called waves.
**Echocardiogram is a test that uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the heart. The picture is much more detailed than a plain x-ray image and involves no radiation exposure.
An echocardiogram allows doctors to see the heart beating, and to see the heart valves and other structures of the heart.
***Stress Test leads (wires) to an ECG machine attached to your chest, and a blood pressure cuff is placed on your arm. A clothespin-like sensor may be placed on your finger to measure the amount of oxygen in your blood. After a baseline ECG is obtained, you will be asked to begin performing a low level of exercise, either by walking on a treadmill, or pedaling a stationary bicycle. The exercise is "graded" - that is, every three minutes, the level of exercise is increased. At each "stage" of exercise, your pulse, blood pressure and ECG are recorded, along with any symptoms you may be experiencing.
****Laryngoscopy--biopsy: A special flexible scope will be inserted through the mouth and into throat. Through an eyepiece on the scope, the doctor will examine the larynx. The doctor may then collect specimens (biopsy), remove growths, or retrieve a foreign object trapped in the throat. This method is often done in the operating room under general anesthesia.
*****Port (sometimes called portacaths or subcutaneous ports)
is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin with a tube inserted into a vein.....They use this port instead of sticking a vein each time to deliver chemotherapy to cancer patients who must undergo treatment frequently. Blood can also be drawn by using this port.
Friday, March 02, 2012
I Have Never Felt This Way
As I left the doctor's building, I drove past flower beds with beautiful petunias in them. I am an avid flower/plant person and always love to look at beautiful flowers as well as plant them in beds all over my yard.
Today as I looked at purple petunias, my thought was "I hate flowers". I really did feel hatred towards those innocent flowers. I was shocked!! WOW! Where did that come from? I drove past my favorite fast food restaurant, Wendy's. I have loved this place since the first time I stepped foot in one in 1976. My thoughts....I hate Wendy's food!
I HATE cancer!!
I started driving to my daughter's work to give her the news about dad in person. On the way, I had to pull off of the road because I was crying so hard I couldn't see to drive. I have never had feelings like this, ever! Anyone ever felt this much hatred for everything? Not people, just things....things I usual love or have a great fondness for.
After I left my daughter, I thought maybe I would go to one of my "happy places". JoAnns and Hobby Lobby. I always get so happy when I walk in one of these stores......I don't even have to spend money.
Well I didn't make it to happiness, another thought popped into my head I stopped by Barnes & Noble to buy some books on Juicing, Building your immunity and a cookbook, Living With cancer. I am going to research and learn everything I can about good nutrition to kick cancer! I felt so sick walking through that book store, my heart, stomach, mind still felt like someone had kicked me from head to toe....I feel so horribly bad for my husband. If I could change places with him, I would.
I was walking back across the parking lot to my car and a guy in a truck didn't seem to want to stop for a couple of us walking. Normally I get mad and say something inappropriate, but this time.....nothing. Guess I was sorta in a daze. Driving away I thought that if he had hit me with his truck, it wouldn't hurt as bad as I was hurting for my husband and family right then.
WOW......I seriously had to get out of that frame of mind!! And I would, it just took a day or two, which by the way were somewhat of a blur until we saw Dr. from MD Anderson.
Today as I looked at purple petunias, my thought was "I hate flowers". I really did feel hatred towards those innocent flowers. I was shocked!! WOW! Where did that come from? I drove past my favorite fast food restaurant, Wendy's. I have loved this place since the first time I stepped foot in one in 1976. My thoughts....I hate Wendy's food!
I HATE cancer!!
I started driving to my daughter's work to give her the news about dad in person. On the way, I had to pull off of the road because I was crying so hard I couldn't see to drive. I have never had feelings like this, ever! Anyone ever felt this much hatred for everything? Not people, just things....things I usual love or have a great fondness for.
After I left my daughter, I thought maybe I would go to one of my "happy places". JoAnns and Hobby Lobby. I always get so happy when I walk in one of these stores......I don't even have to spend money.
I was walking back across the parking lot to my car and a guy in a truck didn't seem to want to stop for a couple of us walking. Normally I get mad and say something inappropriate, but this time.....nothing. Guess I was sorta in a daze. Driving away I thought that if he had hit me with his truck, it wouldn't hurt as bad as I was hurting for my husband and family right then.
WOW......I seriously had to get out of that frame of mind!! And I would, it just took a day or two, which by the way were somewhat of a blur until we saw Dr. from MD Anderson.
The Rest of a Really Bad Day
We are out in the chemo area waiting for the nurses to talk to us. Dr N tells us to sit in the chairs and wait. That is, sit in the chemo chairs right next to the chemo patients getting their treatments. I don't know about you all, but it kinda made me feel really uncomfortable and creeped me out. Don't get me wrong, I mean no offense to the patients, after all my husband will be doing the same thing soon. It's kinda like sitting in a wheel chair or walking with crutches when you don't have anything wrong with you. To me, I'm superstitious and that is bad luck. Now sitting out where the patients are and talking to nurses about our brand new health problems is uncomfortable because I think that should be a private thing and their treatment should be a private thing. And......mostly because I'm about to lose my composure.
All righty, one nurse starts talking to my hubs about rules and treatment, tears were already streaming down my face. I don't remember what she said that made me totally lose it, but I broke down, right there. I tried to hide my face away from them, then she said "are you allright?" The second nurse walked up to me and asked the same thing. Whenever someone asks that and I'm sad or kinda tearing up, I can never hold it back. That question just makes matters worse!! So here we go, my first melt down in public....2nd nurse grabs my arm and hauls me off to a back office. First she asked what was wrong. I'm sorry, what? Seriously you don't know?? I just found out that my sweetheart has a serious, life threatening disease invading his body and that it can't be cured. I don't know about you Ms Nurse, that alone is enough to break anybody down. She talked, telling me how important it is to be strong for my husband. Never, ever let him see me crying again. Gosh ma'm I didn't exactly do it on purpose, nor could I stop myself. I promise that I will never let him see me do that again!! I've sorta been holding it in for awhile.
Goodbye Oncologist Consultants........We are out of here. We are going to get in MD Anderson for the best treatment and doctors.
All righty, one nurse starts talking to my hubs about rules and treatment, tears were already streaming down my face. I don't remember what she said that made me totally lose it, but I broke down, right there. I tried to hide my face away from them, then she said "are you allright?" The second nurse walked up to me and asked the same thing. Whenever someone asks that and I'm sad or kinda tearing up, I can never hold it back. That question just makes matters worse!! So here we go, my first melt down in public....2nd nurse grabs my arm and hauls me off to a back office. First she asked what was wrong. I'm sorry, what? Seriously you don't know?? I just found out that my sweetheart has a serious, life threatening disease invading his body and that it can't be cured. I don't know about you Ms Nurse, that alone is enough to break anybody down. She talked, telling me how important it is to be strong for my husband. Never, ever let him see me crying again. Gosh ma'm I didn't exactly do it on purpose, nor could I stop myself. I promise that I will never let him see me do that again!! I've sorta been holding it in for awhile.
Goodbye Oncologist Consultants........We are out of here. We are going to get in MD Anderson for the best treatment and doctors.
The PET Scan
Last night I couldn't eat a thing, my stomach was churning. I went to bed early so I wouldn't think about the appointment and know that my stomach was upset. I was asleep by 6:00pm. I can't imagine what LD was feeling like.
Here we go......L and I meet at Dr.N's office for the appointment. The time went by about as fast as a turtle in a race. Finally we go in...... Dr. no personality and no compassion pulls the images of the PET Scan out and starts explaining. I'm thinking "come on, get to the point. I got it the first time you explained it!!" He was talking so slow and bland, if it wasn't such a serious subject, I swear we could have taken a nap. Finally he gets to the bad news.
The cancer started in the throat, Dr.N says the tumor is on the voice box. Now he starts talking fast......here's the conversation:
Dr: "The cancer cells then spread to the lymph nodes on the right side of the neck, the mass that we can see sticking out under the skin. Next, there is a spot on the right shoulder,"
Dr. asks if LD has arthritis.
LD: I could have......maybe..... possibly, why do you ask?
Dr: "Uhm ok, On we go to the next spots, left hip shows two, maybe three. Now we look at the spine, two spots there and an iffy one on the liver." (Good news he says proudly,)
"I don't see any on the lungs!"
Me thinking: (Oh, that makes us feel tons better.)
Dr: "Any questions?"
Me: what is the treatment?
Dr: "Chemo.....but we we will never get it all, it's not curable. We'll get you out to talk to the nurses in a minute and set you up for treatment. We'll need to put a port in you, next week or the week after, then after that sometime, we will start the chemo."
I am dumbfounded!! My eyes start filling up with tears and the Dr smiles at me then swats me on the leg with his folder and starts to get up to leave.
Me: Wait!! Excuse me doc. I have a few more questions. What stage is it?
Dr: "Ummmm four, stage four, anything else?"
Me: Could the spots on his hips be inflammation? I ask because three weeks ago he hurt his hip pretty badly jumping down from...(dr. interrupting me)
Dr: "NO, it's cancer, I have read thousands of these reports and know what I am reading. It's cancer. Now are there any more questions? I need to get you out to the nurses"
Me: No, I have nothing else for you, Dr.N, do you L?
Here we go......L and I meet at Dr.N's office for the appointment. The time went by about as fast as a turtle in a race. Finally we go in...... Dr. no personality and no compassion pulls the images of the PET Scan out and starts explaining. I'm thinking "come on, get to the point. I got it the first time you explained it!!" He was talking so slow and bland, if it wasn't such a serious subject, I swear we could have taken a nap. Finally he gets to the bad news.
The cancer started in the throat, Dr.N says the tumor is on the voice box. Now he starts talking fast......here's the conversation:
Dr: "The cancer cells then spread to the lymph nodes on the right side of the neck, the mass that we can see sticking out under the skin. Next, there is a spot on the right shoulder,"
Dr. asks if LD has arthritis.
LD: I could have......maybe..... possibly, why do you ask?
Dr: "Uhm ok, On we go to the next spots, left hip shows two, maybe three. Now we look at the spine, two spots there and an iffy one on the liver." (Good news he says proudly,)
"I don't see any on the lungs!"
Me thinking: (Oh, that makes us feel tons better.)
Dr: "Any questions?"
Me: what is the treatment?
Dr: "Chemo.....but we we will never get it all, it's not curable. We'll get you out to talk to the nurses in a minute and set you up for treatment. We'll need to put a port in you, next week or the week after, then after that sometime, we will start the chemo."
I am dumbfounded!! My eyes start filling up with tears and the Dr smiles at me then swats me on the leg with his folder and starts to get up to leave.
Me: Wait!! Excuse me doc. I have a few more questions. What stage is it?
Dr: "Ummmm four, stage four, anything else?"
Me: Could the spots on his hips be inflammation? I ask because three weeks ago he hurt his hip pretty badly jumping down from...(dr. interrupting me)
Dr: "NO, it's cancer, I have read thousands of these reports and know what I am reading. It's cancer. Now are there any more questions? I need to get you out to the nurses"
Me: No, I have nothing else for you, Dr.N, do you L?
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