"The Waiting is the Hardest Part"

"The waiting is the hardest part"... ya, ya, ya, you're preaching to the choir Tom Petty!!!

Still no results on the PET (and yes, I've left messages w/ my Drs office).  I can't tell you how frustrated, annoyed, pissed, scared, anxious and a mess I've been the last few days.  In the past while waiting on results, I've felt these emotions to a certain degree, but this time around it's different.  This time it's worse!!  We're just SO terribly close to where we need to be... one manageable lesion on my liver!  That's not too much to ask, is it?!?  I was telling someone earlier that I'm getting to the point where I don't want to know.  I don't want to deal with the possibility of having to change treatments because my chemo cocktail is no longer working.  I've got these side effects down... I don't want to deal with any new ones!  And really, there's nothing I can do at this point, but wait for the results.  In the meantime, I'll continue to work on finding the on/off switch to my brain... these sleepless nights are doing a number to the bags under my eyes!  I think I've aged 10 years in the last few days!  ;)

As usual, I'll keep you posted when I hear something...

Not so STAT

What a let down!  My PET scan was suppose to be this afternoon, but I received a call from Tx Oncology telling me that the PET machine was down and we needed to reschedule.  I can't believe I abstained from carbs yesterday and fasted for the majority of today FOR NOTHING!  Grrrrrrrrrr!  Oh well, at least I was warned before drinking the barium AND at least I wasn't in the machine when it went down.  Now THAT would NOT have been cool!

PET scan is scheduled for next Thursday.  Time to load up on carbs before next week!!  ;)

Up with Necrosis, Down with Cancer

Well, unfortunately the results from the CT scan aren't telling us much.  Or let me rephrase that, they're not telling us as much as we'd like to know.  This is the deal... comparing this last weeks CT scan results and my last PET scan results is like comparing apples to oranges.  The CT scan does not reflect how active the areas on my liver are.  A lesion on my liver may appear bigger than the last CT scan I had (which was back in January), but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Stick with me here... The bigger lesion may actually be showing tissue necrosis (death of cells).  Obviously that would be BAD ASS!  At this point there is absolutely no reason to believe that the lesions have increased in a "bad way" (meaning the cancer has spread).  But to be absolutely sure, Dr. H wants a PET scan STAT!  Normally insurance wouldn't approve a PET this soon, but Dr. H put up a good fight.  My PET is scheduled for this Thursday.  

UP WITH NECROSIS!  DOWN WITH CANCER!

Salud!

After a nice loooooong 3 day work week, what do you want more than anything to relax and take the edge off ?!?  How about a nice chilled Barium martini?!?  Okay, not my first beverage of choice, but I've started prepping for my CT scan tomorrow morning.  I'll keep you posted when I find out the results.  Until then, SALUD!!! 

No News is Good News

Okay, so "no news is good news" isn't always the case, but this time it is!  I've been having too much fun over the last couple of weeks and have been neglecting my blog.  So let me catch you up to speed...

Because we got such amazing results from this last PET scan, we're going to stick with the chemo cocktail I'm on for another couple of months.  If we can get down to 1 manageable lesion, then Dr. H said they can go in there and cut, snip, freeze, or whatever it is they can do to "get rid" of the cancer cells/lesion.  Woohoo!!  From there we'll discuss possible surgeries... Surgeries haven't been an option for me up until this point because we needed to get everything under control w/ my liver.   From there I'll be on a maintenance program which can be anything from taking oral drugs, infusions or possibly a combination of both... but at least it won't be as aggressive or as intense as it is right now.  Not only will this help w/ the bone mets, but hopefully prevent the cancer from spreading back to my liver or anywhere else in my body for that matter.

I'll keep you posted if anything changes or if I come across anything interesting, funny or anything I just have to or want to share!

Btw, I'm feeling great!  After recovering from my infections and getting great news from my PET, I've been enjoying the hell out of the last couple of weeks!  ;)

Ass Kickin' in Progress

Yesterday I met with Nurse Prac Lisa to discuss the results of my PET.  Normally I would be meeting with Dr. H to discuss results like this, but for some reason the world did not stop for the results of my PET scan.  From what I understand Dr. H is enjoying time with her family on Spring Break.  Okay, okay, I'll let it slide this time.  Who knew it wasn't ALL about me?!?  ;)

So here we go, I have details about the results.  From the report itself, this is concerning my liver:

"Currently there are one or possibly two adjacent metastases within the dome of the right hepatic lobe as well as another subtle lesion within the right hepatic lobe inferiorly.  Previously there were at least 20 metabolically active hepatic metastases."

Hello?!?  20 down to 2, possibly 3 lesions?!?  WOW!  I couldn't be happier! 

As for the bone metastases, unfortunately the Neulasta injection I've been getting to boost my WBC, obscures visualization in the scan so we are unable to compare the bone mets to the results from my last scan.  Nurse Prac Lisa did not seem to be too concerned about this and quite frankly, neither am I.  My chemo cocktail includes an infusion called Zometa, which is specifically given for treating the bones, keeping the bone mets under control.  In past scans we have seen improvement in the bone mets while I've been on Zometa, so I have high hopes it's still doing it's thing!  And in the grand scheme of things, our main priority here is the liver (because it's a functioning organ) and getting the liver mets under control... which we are!!  Woohooo!! 

Btw, you won't believe what my CA 27-29 tumor marker is down to... on Feb 29th it was at 92 and on Mar 14th it's down to 81.2!!

Yep, I'd say there's an ass kickin' going on!

The Results Are In

Can you believe it... A cold front will move into the Austin area later today, bringing thunderstorms from late afternoon through early Friday morning.  What?!  Oh, oh, oh, you're wanting to know the results from my PET scan.  Well, there's nothing wrong w/ a little weather update...

 

So I don't know all the details (I will find out more next week when I meet w/ the Nurse Prac), but we do know that there is overall improvement concerning the liver metastasis.  Can I get a hell yes!!  I'm SO excited!  I just knew we were going to get good news!  Thanks to everyone who has been thinking of and praying for me.  Your support means the world to me!  After battling infection after infection... after infection... I needed this good news.  The nurse I talked to on the phone said Dr. H couldn't be more pleased w/ the results.  The chemo cocktail I'm on is looking like a winner.  Yay!!