I can always tell when I'm overdue for a blog post....
My People start calling, texting, and generally reaching out requesting more details. I have such a wonderful supportive team of people in my life, & I appreciate all of you so much! So, here goes....
Surgical Post-Op Report:
Today is 2 weeks and 3 days post-op from removal of the TWO, left upper & left lower lobe, lung tumors & the day of my surgical post-operative appointment. For the most part it was all good news :-)! Dr. Burt told me that the final pathology report showed clear margins (clean of cancer cells) for both removed tumors! WOO HOO!!! He reviewed my chest x-ray and looked at my surgical wounds, and reported that all was healing as expected.
I have some annoying residual post-op pain & numbness in my left rib area that refers forward from where the chest tube was inserted. This kind of nerve pain is called "neuropathy". It may be temporary while I am healing, but for some it can persist. I hope not for me, as it is really uncomfortable at times & I hate taking pain meds. He started me on a pain medication specifically for nerve pain called Gabapentin or Neurontin. I hope it doesn't make me too sleepy, as I understand it can have this affect :-(. I need to be functional!
Otherwise, I am regaining strength & energy each day. I have been out walking and beginning to increase my distance and elevation. I do get short of breath a bit, but it sure feels good to expand my lungs and exert my self! Cooper is enjoying it too!
So, what's next....
The
other appointment I had today was a 4 hour radiology cyberknife preparatory appointment. They made a mold of the back side of the upper half of my body & marked my skin to ensure that I will be in the exact same position for each radiation treatment. Then they prepared to do a PET Scan. For this scan they had me not eat for 8 hours, then deliver sugar tracking medium, had me wait in a quiet dark room & rest (zzzzzz......), then put me in my upper body mold (made earlier) for positioning & run the scan to detect the areas of faster sugar uptake (tumors metabolize sugar more quickly than normal healthy cells). Without letting me move, they then deliver IV contrast & do a CT Scan of my chest on exhale & one final chest scan without contrast on inhale. All three of these scans will be overlayed on each other to create the radiation delivery parameters to obliterate the remaining right upper lobe tumor. That all took about 4 hours this morning. Then…, I finally was allowed to eat! I am now prepared to have the cyberknife (a.k.a. SBRT) treatment on 4 consecutive days; May 20th, 21st, 22nd, & 23rd. The tumor destruction & scar remodeling takes several months to complete following the radiation treatment, so they will monitor my scans every 3 months for the next year+ to ensure there is no further tumor growth in the area. With any luck, this will be
it for that tumor!
Plan for restarting chemo:
Craig & I met with my oncologist just prior to surgery to discuss my long-term chemo plans. I will restart every 2 week chemo on June 2nd for about 3 months. The plan is to give me what I was previously on, Folfuri (Arinatecan & 5FU), as it was working to stall tumor growth, plus add the drug Avastin. Avastin is a targeted therapy that targets the blood supply that sustains & allows tumor growth. Avastin has been proven very effective and has very few side effects.
After three months of the above plan, if all scans & labs look ok, I will stop getting Arinatecan, start an oral daily version of 5FU (pills taken at home), and go in to the infusion center every 3 weeks for Avastin only. This will continue with monitoring & guidance though regular scan results &/or until I am declared in remission.
More Scans & Procedures Pending:
With all the attention on my lung scans, we are behind in checking my abdomen & pelvis. So, next week I will squeeze in a CT scan with contrast of my abdomen and pelvis to ensure no tumors have cropped up in those regions.
May 1st marked the one year anniversary of my colonoscopy that unveiled my cancer diagnosis. So, I am due for a repeat colonoscopy. With all the other treatments going on, I will fit this in around
mid-June.
Keeping up with my treatments, procedures, & scans has been a full time job of late. It has been challenging to keep up with my daily green smoothie commitment, exercise routine, meditation/yoga/relaxation, not to mention, the rest of life with three kids and a dog plus preparing Kayla for prom and graduation! I am still on track, but it's quite a challenge with all that has been going on. I am hoping things will slow down into a quieter routine for the summer, because right now I'm pooped!
I'm off to bed; today was a very long day!!!
I will close with a video that expresses my feelings about cancer at the moment.
Thanks, Rasheeda, for sharing this with me.
