On Tuesday, 8/26/2014 I received the most wonderful news from my oncologist! Other than the evolving changes in the right sided lung nodule that was cyberknifed, I had no activity/findings on my PET & CT scans! I had a hard time believing this wonderful news, so I wanted confirmation. I waited until today when I saw the Radiation Oncologist at Stanford. He not only confirmed that I have no clinical evidence of disease (NED), but that the slight uptake on the PET scan at the cyberknife tumor site is consistent with scar tissue. It is no longer a tumor. I currently have no evidence of any tumors! Yah Hoo!!!
So, what does this mean? On Tuesday 8/26 I received my last round of Folfiri (Irinitican+5FU) with Avastin. I will change to maintenance chemo in two weeks. I will continue maintenance chemo due to the high risk for recurrence in stage IV colon cancer. Maintenance chemo will have me going in for a 30 minute infusions of Avastin every 3 weeks, plus twice a day pills (oral form of 5FU) called Xeloda for two weeks followed by a one week break of no chemo. Then start the 3 week cycle over again. I will continue with every 3 month scans for a while. This will be a huge change for me! The Xeloda comes with it's own set of side effects (primarily nausea/GI stuff, fatigue, mouth sores, and hand/foot syndrome), however this is so much better than my previous regime! I am happy to experience NO MORE 5+ hour infusions every two weeks, NO MORE chemo ball/pump for two days, NO MORE steroids keeping me up on infusion days, NO MORE Irinitican causing a drop in my white blood cell count, NO MORE painful Neupagen injections to boost my white count, and most importantly a recovery of some of my energy and immune system! :-))) I am excited & nervous for the change, but mostly thrilled to experience improved health & more control of my life!!!
I am so happy and feel so very blessed to receive the best news I have had since my diagnosis in April 2013. Thank you to my friends & family for all for your support thus far in my journey to health ❤️. I could not have reached this milestone without you!
Hugs, Jacki ❤️
Friday, August 29, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Busy Summer Plus Scans Today and Next Week
Wow! What a whirlwind couple of months it has been; medically & socially. If you've been following me on FB you know that I've been enjoying life to its fullest! My family had a lovely vacation in Ojai, CA (just south east of Santa Barbara). Then I spent 4 fun, interesting & delicious days in New Orleans with my sister, Deni. Then off to Seattle to get Kayla oriented to college life at University of Washington. Once back home, Craig & I were blessed with an opportunity to attend the Farewell to Candlestick concert with a Sir Paul McCartney with friends; simply fabulous! I hope you have all been having a great summer too!
Integrative Medicine:
What is Integrative Medicine? Integrative Medicine is a new approach to medical care that brings patient and practitioner together in a dynamic partnership dedicated to optimizing the patient's health and healing. It combines conventional Western medicine with alternative or complementary treatments, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, yoga, and stress reduction techniques -- all in the effort to treat the whole person. Proponents prefer the term "complementary" to emphasize that such treatments are used with mainstream medicine, not as replacements or alternatives. My integrative doc, Dr Julie Chen, is board certified in Internal Medicine and has special training in Integrative Medicine. She helps lots of patients manage chronic illnesses. As an interesting side note: I recently learned that she has appeared on the Dr. Oz show speaking about a new healthy weight loss supplement http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/newest-fastest-fat-busters.
Ear, Nose & Throat:
I started having intermittent voice changes, so went to see my ENT doctor. He took my history, listened to my voice, scoped my nose and throat, and concluded that my voice change was neuralgic due to chemo neuropathy and should resolve when I finish chemotherapy. Glad to know its not something more serious and just another annoyance brought on by chemotherapy.
What's next? Scan Time
Today, 8/21/14, I had an interval CT scan with contrast of my chest, abdomen and pelvis to see if I have any changes. On Monday, 8/24/14, I also go back up to Stanford for a PET/CT and special chest scan to evaluate the results/progress of my cyberknife nodule. So, I should have more info to report in the coming days. I feel well, so it is hard to imagine that I will have a "bad news" scan, but there is always that chance; that is why they call that feeling we get at scan time "Scan-xiety". So, please send your positive energy, preyers and love my way for a NED scan (No Evidence of Disease). That is my long term goal, and the sooner I get there the better!
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| Hiking in Ojai |
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| Deni & I on Bourbon St. |
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| Kayla & I at UW. |
Medically, I've been having chemo every two weeks, tolerating it okay, and having some important consultations with specialists to address side effects and overall health. Here is a summary of those visits:
Gastroenterologist:
I had continued to have digestive issues, so I went to see my GI doc. He wanted to do an endoscopy (EDG) to take a look & biopsies to see if my reflux was part of the issue. All looked good on the EDG, so he then sent me for a test for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) , an issue that I am at risk for after having my right colon removed (including the iliocecal valve that separates the small intestine and colon). Apparently the small intestine has thousands of bacteria of a limited variety, in contrast to the colon has billions a more diverse variety. If the small intestine gets too much bacteria more similar to the large intestine it causes digestive issues http://www.m.webmd.boots.com/a-to-z-guides/small-intestinal-bacteria-sibo. My test for SIBO was positive. The treatment was simple; take a special (& expensive!) antibiotic to kill off the excess bacteria in the small intestine. I am pleased to report that it worked like magic. My gut has not been this happy and functional since before my surgery & the start of chemo. Yay! Recently, I have had a few of the symptoms of SIBO return, so I am going to restart the special antibiotics to get back that happy gut!
Gastroenterologist:
I had continued to have digestive issues, so I went to see my GI doc. He wanted to do an endoscopy (EDG) to take a look & biopsies to see if my reflux was part of the issue. All looked good on the EDG, so he then sent me for a test for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) , an issue that I am at risk for after having my right colon removed (including the iliocecal valve that separates the small intestine and colon). Apparently the small intestine has thousands of bacteria of a limited variety, in contrast to the colon has billions a more diverse variety. If the small intestine gets too much bacteria more similar to the large intestine it causes digestive issues http://www.m.webmd.boots.com/a-to-z-guides/small-intestinal-bacteria-sibo. My test for SIBO was positive. The treatment was simple; take a special (& expensive!) antibiotic to kill off the excess bacteria in the small intestine. I am pleased to report that it worked like magic. My gut has not been this happy and functional since before my surgery & the start of chemo. Yay! Recently, I have had a few of the symptoms of SIBO return, so I am going to restart the special antibiotics to get back that happy gut!
Integrative Medicine:
What is Integrative Medicine? Integrative Medicine is a new approach to medical care that brings patient and practitioner together in a dynamic partnership dedicated to optimizing the patient's health and healing. It combines conventional Western medicine with alternative or complementary treatments, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, yoga, and stress reduction techniques -- all in the effort to treat the whole person. Proponents prefer the term "complementary" to emphasize that such treatments are used with mainstream medicine, not as replacements or alternatives. My integrative doc, Dr Julie Chen, is board certified in Internal Medicine and has special training in Integrative Medicine. She helps lots of patients manage chronic illnesses. As an interesting side note: I recently learned that she has appeared on the Dr. Oz show speaking about a new healthy weight loss supplement http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/newest-fastest-fat-busters.
I visited Dr. Julie Chen in hopes to get some professional advise about my diet, including supplements, address allergies, fitness, and overall health that will help me better fight cancer. The first appointment was a whirlwind! She reviewed my complicated history, supplements, and she ordered a ton of lab tests including food sensitivities, vitamin levels, sugar levels, and many more (19 tubes of blood in all!). In addition to my already veggie filled diet, I am now off alcohol & sweets ;-(, as they cause too much inflammation that can triggers tumor growth. I am looking forward to my followup appointment in early September where I should learn the results of all of these tests.
Ear, Nose & Throat:
I started having intermittent voice changes, so went to see my ENT doctor. He took my history, listened to my voice, scoped my nose and throat, and concluded that my voice change was neuralgic due to chemo neuropathy and should resolve when I finish chemotherapy. Glad to know its not something more serious and just another annoyance brought on by chemotherapy.
What's next? Scan Time
Today, 8/21/14, I had an interval CT scan with contrast of my chest, abdomen and pelvis to see if I have any changes. On Monday, 8/24/14, I also go back up to Stanford for a PET/CT and special chest scan to evaluate the results/progress of my cyberknife nodule. So, I should have more info to report in the coming days. I feel well, so it is hard to imagine that I will have a "bad news" scan, but there is always that chance; that is why they call that feeling we get at scan time "Scan-xiety". So, please send your positive energy, preyers and love my way for a NED scan (No Evidence of Disease). That is my long term goal, and the sooner I get there the better!
I feel like a caterpillar; the cancer is my cocoon.
I will spread my wings fully when it is gone.
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