Chris and I saw his oncologist today and got the results of the CT scan from Monday. The good news is that there is no progression of his cancer and maybe a tiny bit of regression! We were worried that it was progressing because he has been feeling more discomfort in his stomach area and back, which were the initial signs of the cancer. They don't know why he is feeling more discomfort now and why his cancer markers have been going up but the doctor thinks it may have had to do with the old stent that was replaced on Friday in his bile duct. The sludge that accumulates can cause a blockage, even with a stent, especially the longer they are left in and we had left the original one in almost a month longer than they normally stay in.
We are staying with the current treatment plan another 9 weeks and will have another CT scan at that time. This is day 1 of his seventh cycle of chemo so he has had six complete cycles, for a total of 12 chemo treatments so far! He has been a champ through this whole process and continues to do well. We are working on getting him to eat a bit more as he is losing his taste buds and is not wanting to eat as much but he should not lose more weight if he can help it. Oh, the irony of life. :)
Chris here...I thought that I would add something since my awesome wife has been blogging for me. I want to thank everyone for their prayers and good thoughts. God is so awesome and he hears everything that you send his way! Please keep up the good work for me! It means so much to me and my family!!
Cheers!
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Catching Up
I know Chris will be updating his blog soon but I wanted to catch everyone up on where we are at with treatments, etc. Last Friday, Chris went in for endoscopic surgery again to replace the stent in his bile duct. The first time he had this done was the day before Thanksgiving, and this was very similar but luckily he didn't have to stay the night in the hospital this time. This time they put two stents in, side by side, so that they will drain more efficiently...picture a figure 8 inside a circle...the drainage can go through each of the circles as well as on each side where the indents are. He should be able to go 6 months this time before needing a replacement stent, which is great.
He was in and out of the hospital in 5 hours on Friday, though the actual procedure took about half an hour and he was grumpy to be there that long for such a short procedure. It really had a lot to do with the fact he had to fast from the night before, he couldn't even drink water on Friday, so he was hungry and thirsty until about 6pm. He was very grateful to not have to spend the night as he doesn't sleep very well in the hospital with the nurses checking on him all night long (not to pick on the nurses as they are great!) and the bed is always moving - they do that now so you aren't as likely to get bed sores when you are an inpatient for an extended time. Unfortunately he didn't sleep well that night at home either. He described it as his insides felt like someone had been poking around in them, which of course the surgeon had done when placing the stents.
On Saturday, Chris took on more than he should have and paid the consequences Saturday night and Sunday but he seemed to be feeling better by this evening after staying down all day today. Tomorrow, on Monday, he goes in for his next CT scan after work. We are praying that we'll get good news on Wednesday when we see our oncologist and hear the results of the CT scan. If the cancer is not advancing or is shrinking, he will continue on the chemo regiment he is on now. If it has started growing again, we will need to change to a new chemo and that is a big unknown for us. While it is discouraging to be on chemo continuously and I know it is getting harder on Chris, the chemo treatment that he is getting now allows him to maintain a good quality of life and continue to work, travel, play, etc. with family and friends.
We do want to thank everyone for the healthy meals that you've brought us as well as your positive thoughts and prayers as it is all making a difference! The doctor has said that he has never seen anyone go through the chemo Chris has been going through for the last 4 1/2 months as well as and with as few side effects as he has had. And though both Taigen and I have gotten the crud that has been going around, Chris has not...Thank you God!
Please keep up your prayers and positive thoughts and we will let you know what we hear on Wednesday. Take care and love to all of you and your families!
Wendy
He was in and out of the hospital in 5 hours on Friday, though the actual procedure took about half an hour and he was grumpy to be there that long for such a short procedure. It really had a lot to do with the fact he had to fast from the night before, he couldn't even drink water on Friday, so he was hungry and thirsty until about 6pm. He was very grateful to not have to spend the night as he doesn't sleep very well in the hospital with the nurses checking on him all night long (not to pick on the nurses as they are great!) and the bed is always moving - they do that now so you aren't as likely to get bed sores when you are an inpatient for an extended time. Unfortunately he didn't sleep well that night at home either. He described it as his insides felt like someone had been poking around in them, which of course the surgeon had done when placing the stents.
On Saturday, Chris took on more than he should have and paid the consequences Saturday night and Sunday but he seemed to be feeling better by this evening after staying down all day today. Tomorrow, on Monday, he goes in for his next CT scan after work. We are praying that we'll get good news on Wednesday when we see our oncologist and hear the results of the CT scan. If the cancer is not advancing or is shrinking, he will continue on the chemo regiment he is on now. If it has started growing again, we will need to change to a new chemo and that is a big unknown for us. While it is discouraging to be on chemo continuously and I know it is getting harder on Chris, the chemo treatment that he is getting now allows him to maintain a good quality of life and continue to work, travel, play, etc. with family and friends.
We do want to thank everyone for the healthy meals that you've brought us as well as your positive thoughts and prayers as it is all making a difference! The doctor has said that he has never seen anyone go through the chemo Chris has been going through for the last 4 1/2 months as well as and with as few side effects as he has had. And though both Taigen and I have gotten the crud that has been going around, Chris has not...Thank you God!
Please keep up your prayers and positive thoughts and we will let you know what we hear on Wednesday. Take care and love to all of you and your families!
Wendy
Monday, March 10, 2014
What? A new blog post?
Believe it or not, yes. I finally got to it and here I am. Than you so much for your continued prayers and well wishes. I know that these are doing as much as the Chemo is in fighting this caner. Please keep on keeping on.
As everyone can expect, this journey is one of many ups and downs. I just want everyone to know that I have been having a hard time with food. Not that I don't have awesome and delicious food, thanks to many of you who bring me the best food one can ask for. Not that I don't have an appetite, which I still do. I have been having a hard time with how limited my diet has become. As you may well know, I have cut sugar, dairy, gluten, fats, processed foods and most oils out of my diet. I know, what do I eat. Mainly very healthy food that has been helping me fight the cancer and many side effects of the chemo. I know that I have joked before about being the healthiest that I have ever been while being the sickest. The trouble comes when I notice just how much food that is all around me at any given moment. I miss the days when I could just randomly choose what I wanted for dinner instead of strategically planning and researching the options. I wish that I could go back to the ease of grabbing a bag of chips when I wanted a snack with out seeing what kind of oil they use. Just today, I was in the store hungry and wanted to get a snack. I picked up some peanuts and read that they add sugar to them. Why do they add sugar to peanuts?!?!
I know that my health is much more important than snaking on some chips, but it gets tiring.
Oh well, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.
Cheers,
Chris
As everyone can expect, this journey is one of many ups and downs. I just want everyone to know that I have been having a hard time with food. Not that I don't have awesome and delicious food, thanks to many of you who bring me the best food one can ask for. Not that I don't have an appetite, which I still do. I have been having a hard time with how limited my diet has become. As you may well know, I have cut sugar, dairy, gluten, fats, processed foods and most oils out of my diet. I know, what do I eat. Mainly very healthy food that has been helping me fight the cancer and many side effects of the chemo. I know that I have joked before about being the healthiest that I have ever been while being the sickest. The trouble comes when I notice just how much food that is all around me at any given moment. I miss the days when I could just randomly choose what I wanted for dinner instead of strategically planning and researching the options. I wish that I could go back to the ease of grabbing a bag of chips when I wanted a snack with out seeing what kind of oil they use. Just today, I was in the store hungry and wanted to get a snack. I picked up some peanuts and read that they add sugar to them. Why do they add sugar to peanuts?!?!
I know that my health is much more important than snaking on some chips, but it gets tiring.
Oh well, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.
Cheers,
Chris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)