And We Wait... In the Meantime, We're Krewesin' for a Brewsin'

I am finally feeling better after my radiofrequency ablation (rfa).  As soon as I broke free from my antibiotics and pain pills last week, I surprisingly felt like a new person!  It's amazing how difficult it was to jump back into reality... the littlest things were just exhausting.  I made myself get out of the house as much as I could without overdoing it (believe me, I've heard the lecture and now preach it) and this week I'm feeling great! 

Not only am I feeling great, but my lab work is great and my tumor marker is coming back down.  After the procedure, my lab numbers were all over the place which is typical and expected after having something like that done to your body.  But anyway, last week my tumor marker went down from 131 to 111... not quite as low as we were earlier this year, but not surprising after the procedure.  Of course don't get me started again with my love/hate relationship with this tumor marker!  At least we're heading in the right direction!  And as for my lab work, the nurse not only said all my numbers were looking good, but that my liver was happy.  And who doesn't like a happy liver?! 

So I'm continuing on with my chemo cocktail and then on Monday, July 9th, I'm scheduled to have another PET scan.  The results from this scan will help us determine what our next step is.  We could do another rfa procedure to burn off what was left behind.  We could do a chemo embolization which I had described in a previous post where they actually inject chemo into the tumor site.  OR it is possible that they got everything the first time and I won't need another procedure.  How cool would that be?!  Yep, that's what I'm rooting for!  ;)  From there we would begin to transfer into the maintenance phase.  Oooooh, that sounds good! 

So you might be asking, what does one do with a happy liver?!?  My answer... celebrate with a few good friends and libations!

Yes, I know it sounds a little crazy that I would consider having a drink after what my liver has gone through, not just with this procedure, but over this entire last year.  This is something that I've discussed with my doctor on numerous occasions and the fact is, there is nothing wrong with my liver (remember, it's happy).  It's what's on my liver that we're fighting.  So when the time comes for a celebratory drink... I'm there!

So this weekend, 12 of us participated in a pub crawl, Austin's Crawl For Cancer™!

Here's a little background info taken from their website:

Our purpose and mission: 

Crawl for Cancer is a fundraising organization driven to plan and host events that support lifesaving research and those affected by cancer while having a little fun doing it!  Though not a charity, we are a for-profit company that donates 100% of our profits to the charities we serve.

What is Crawl For Cancer? 

Crawl for Cancer is an event where hundreds of volunteers, businesses and participants come together to help raise money to fight cancer.  Participants go to 5 bars and/or restaurants in a pre-planned order to partake in social networking and ice-cold, frothy beverages.  No actual crawling is required.  :)  What is required is to have a good time, be respectful and understand that all teams are here to help raise money for a great cause.

Oddly enough, it wasn't too difficult to convince a few of my "Casey's Cancer Kickin' Krewe" members to participate in this with me.

And now, I present to you our 2012 Crawl for Cancer team... "Krewesin' for a Brewsin'"

I had a blast... and all for a good cause!  ;)

And so we have some waiting to do before the next PET scan and the results... but that's no surprise!  As frustrating as it is, I'm actually getting pretty good at it!  

The Aftermath: Die Tumor Die

I mentioned in my "Operation: Die Tumor Die" blog post that I would be in and out of the hospital the same day of the procedure (put under local anesthesia) and I would be back to my daily routine after a few days of rest.  Well, that just sounds too easy.  And we should know by now that I don't like making things easy on anyone!  


So with this radiofrequency ablation (RFA), Dr. K and his partner, Dr. Vasan, were targeting 2 lesions that remained on my liver that the chemo was unable to reach.  One of these lesions happened to be in close proximity to my small intestine and the other one up against my lung.  Because of this, they were concerned that the heat from the ablation would heat up or cause harm to the small intestine and/or lung.  My "easy peasy procedure" wasn't sounding so easy peasy after all.  So to avoid complications with any other organ in my body, they put fluid into my abdominal cavity to be able to move things around, out of harms way.  By doing this, they were able to completely burn off 1 of the lesions on my liver and about 85% of the other lesion.  After being put under general anesthesia (breathing tube and all), the procedure took about 4 hours and I was required to stay in the hospital overnight to be monitored.  Thankfully they weren't serving fava beans and chianti!

I've been resting up the last few days and I'm slowly but surely feeling better each day.  I actually tried to cut back on my pain meds yesterday, but I quickly realized that was a BIG mistake.  I need to keep reminding myself that the procedure wasn't as easy peasy as I was expecting, never mind the golf ball size burns on my liver and the jostling around of my organs.  But hey, this has added a few more freckle sized scars to my right side.  Maybe when this is all said and done I'll have a tattoo artist connect the dots and see what we come up with.

So yes, this was a successful surgery.  Dr. K and Dr. V were very pleased with the amount of the lesions they were able to burn (considering their locations and their sizes).  But where does that leave us now?!  We still have 15% of one of the lesions still remaining.  I'm meeting w/ Dr. H this week (who has been consulting w/ Dr. K & Dr. V) to discuss the next step.  Anyone heard of chemoembolization?  This is where they inject a concentrated amount of chemo directly into the tumor.  Until then, I'll continue on with the chemo cocktail I've been on (every Wednesday for 3 weeks, then off a week).

I can't say this enough, but thanks again for your prayers, thoughts and good vibes throughout all of this.  We are just SO close to where we need to be!