Hey everyone. I’m really behind right now on posts and a lot has been going on recently. So first off I got a new CT scan the other day and it showed growth pretty much everywhere. I don’t think the growth is massive, and clearly the interferon is slowing down the tumor but it’s not stopping it so we absolutely must find something else to do or something to add to the current meds. Fortunately I basically expected as much was happening so we have been looking into other options a bit, we’re still not sure what we will decide on however. Most of the growth by the way seems to be in my chest under the rib cage and some nodes in my belly. The nodes in my neck shrink and grow but largely remain consistent.
So a bit more pressing is the condition of my heart. I went in for a checkup echo a few weeks back and the big old hole they put in my pericardium has sealed up. This is not a good thing. The cancer may have played a role in it sealing back up but it also might have been natural healing that is to blame, either way there is fluid building up again. I’m scheduled for surgery on Tuesday to open up a new window. This one will go through my rib cage for access and will drain the fluid into the sac around my lungs. It’s a bigger surgery than last time but it also shouldn’t heal nearly as easily. I have to admit though I am very worried that minor cells in the fluid will implant in my lungs and cause lung tumors. That idea really freaks me out. The doctors say it shouldn’t happen but still…
So besides that I’ve been in a good amount of pain and sleeping a lot. My interferon has been causing stomach pain and occasionally I feel the cancer growing in my back, belly, and neck. The cancer pain I can mostly control with narcotics. I also just recently figured out that the stomach pain can be largely helped by NSAID pain meds since it seems to be inflammation based. Unfortunately I learned this a very short while ago and barely got to use it because I now have to stay off blood thinners for pre-surgery prep. The stomach issues are really quite bad. Medical pot couldn’t even help me choke down my thanksgiving dinner. It’s not so much nausea as pain and failure to digest material. I barely ate anything for several weeks and I have lost a ton of weight. I also vomited at the drop of a hat for a few days; which we think might have been due to a tiny stomach cold since Lizzy and Katie didn’t do so hot either. I no longer have a butt and all my pants fall off, that’s how thin I’m getting. I’m looking forward to being post-op so I can take aspirin again. I also will be getting TPN (IV nutrition) while I’m in the hospital and maybe for a while afterwards just to bolster my reserves a little. I really don’t expect to eat much in the hospital.
One other piece of somewhat good news is that I will be getting new tissue samples from this upcoming surgery including trying to get a piece of the lymph node under my ribs as well as pericardium wall and fluid samples. We want to see if the tumor has changed in any significant way or if it differs at all from the nodes elsewhere in my body. Knowing that may help us pin down some kind of treatment that may work.
Well that’s about it. I haven’t been up to much. Lots of TV and sleep really. The holidays should involve more family time and stuff however. I’ll try to post as soon as I can after surgery, or I’ll ask Katie to do it for me.
