Wow I've really been slacking. I haven't really been in a blogging-type mood the last month or so. But first things first, here is an update about my Dad. The last time I posted his update was back in August, right after his surgery. I will start from there.
August 12:
Dear Family and Friends. We are home!! They let us leave yesterday in the afternoon. He is still very sore but is not running any fever. We are hoping and praying that this is going to work. We know that the way things happened it was an answer to many prayers on our behalf. We will see the oncologist here on Wednesday and will go back to Huntsman on Friday for another assessment. The surgeon said they have never done anything quite like this before. Please continue with the prayers. Love, Jolene
August 22:
Dear family and friends. We went to SLC on Friday and they said he is ready to start his chemo. He was really weak last week but had a really good day all day Friday. Yesterday we had some things to do in town on our rental house and he was just too weak in the morning and then perked up a little later and we got quite a bit done. He seems to just go up and down. When I asked the Dr she said it is normal for him to go up and down. His body has been through a lot in the last four months with infection and antibiotics etc. And now we are going to knock him down again with chemo. He is back to sleep this morning and I am trying to get him ready for church. Maybe only a couple of meetings today. Okay, maybe only one. He still has not run any fever but we are both so nervous that he is going to. History makes us this way. So far everything is looking up. We appreciate the cards and love and concern and thank our Father daily for you. Continue on with your prayers on our behalf. We love you all. Jolene
August 26:
Chuck was scheduled to start chemo Tuesday. We arrived to see Dr. Biss (new one because they are covering for the one on sabbatical) and he said he did not want to start the chemo because his creatinine was to high, 1.76. It was the same blood work he had done a week before and the Dr at Huntsman said she thought he was ready. Dr Biss wanted to only do xeloda (oral chemo) for 2 weeks and then check him again in 3 weeks. It would have taken probably a couple of days to get the Xeloda and get it okayed by our prescription insurance because it is very expensive. Chuck was very disappointed because we did so much to try to start as early as possible and then he wanted to change the plan because of his creatinine. We asked the Dr if it could have dropped enough in a week to be okay now and he said no. He then said to have the blood work done so we would have a baseline for the 3 weeks. We waited for the result and his creatinine was 1.26. 1.3 is normal. Really cool right? It was definitely an answer to many prayers. He stayed all day and got his infusion and then he gets a "push" of this 5FU that is equivalent to the Xeloda and has to wear a ball of medicine for 46 hours to get the rest of it. Well, we looked at it Tuesday night and it didn't look any smaller. He went into the Hosp on Wed morning and they said it was fine. I looked last night and it still didn't look any smaller. He went back to the Hospital this morning and it wasn't fine. They said his port may be bad so they did some drip and checked it and finally said the ball was bad. We expected they would start it again but the oncologist said he didn't need to and that it would be fine. I just think that if it can go wrong with him it sure does seem to. We are checking with Huntsman to see if they think it is okay. Other than that, he is feeling pretty good and hasn't had any nausea etc yet but then again he hasn't had all the chemo either. I know that many things that have happened have really been miracles. I complain about everything going wrong but there is so much that has gone right too. Continue to pray. We know it helps. Love to you all. Jolene
September 8:
Dear family and friends, Boy, if I don't send out an e-mail I get cranky calls and e-mails. So..... he had his second round of chemo yesterday. We saw the Dr first and he had his blood work done. He is still holding his own but the creatinine is a little high and his hematocrit is a little low but neither too much to change the chemo. He has some neuropathy in his feet which started long after the last chemo and before this round so is not typical and the Dr is watching it. Then he told us he as never in his career had a ball fail on an infusion. He has had lots of pumps fail but not the ball like Chuck's did last time. Then the Dr said he does not do anything typical. Boy that is for sure!!When he went in for his chemo he got out his little scale to weigh the ball and make sure it was working this time. They probably think he is really strange but if it makes him feel better to know it is working then it is fine.(Besides, we know he is.)
I think he is feeling consistently better than he was because the infection is down. The drains are a pain but it is working and he is not in the pain he was. His mother and sister came this weekend to see him. He enjoyed their visit. We are just moving along and hoping that everything from now on will go smoothly. Continue to keep us in your prayers. We really need it. We thank our Father for you and your love and prayers daily. Love to you all, Jolene
September 21:
Dear Family and friends: Chuck was supposed to have his chemo today but it is postponed for a week because his platelets are too low. He was not having a good day anyway. Just feeling weak and his feet hurting more. The Dr also told him he was not curable. He was surprised that anyone had told him that he was at his stage of cancer. He then told us about his patients that there is no more cancer in the liver and none in the colon but he says it will always come back. So I wonder is 5 years cured or 10 years cured? I think it is just semantics. We can have a hundred Dr's tell us that he is completely curable and 100 tell us that he is not but it is all in our Father's hands. Complete faith is sure hard to have sometimes. His port is not working today too so he is still at the hospital trying to get it unstuck. He is then going to work for while. He was feeling pretty discouraged but seems to be doing better now. The Dr is sure he will be well enough next week to do the chemo. I will keep you informed. Continue to keep us in your prayers. Love to you all. Jolene
September 28:
Dear Family and friends: Chuck is having his chemo today. His platelets were up and all other blood work looked good. Last week the Dr did a CEA test again. That is a blood test to see how active the cancer is. The end of August it was in the 50's which didn't surprise us since we knew there was a new lesion in the liver and one that had grown and one that stayed the same. This test after 2 treatments was 12 which means that the chemo that he is taking is working well. This will be treatment #3 and when he has had 6 we will go back to Huntsman for a PET scan and see how he is doing so that will be sometime after Nov. 6th as long as he can keep taking treatments on time. He did have a little problem today. His blood sugar was high, 166, but he did drink a big glass of orange juice just before we left for the Hospital. I think we will just monitor it for a while and see what happens. The Dr is also concerned about his feet being so tender (a side effect from chemo). We just keep on trucking and try to keep our faith strong. We have had so many answers to prayers and appreciate all of your prayers and concern and always ask that you be blessed because of them. We love you all. Don't give up on us. Love, Jolene
October 12:
Dear Family & Friends: Chuck is having his chemo today. He has issues again with his port. They couldn't draw blood again this morning. The Dr. wants him to see a surgeon to see what needs to be done. He may have to have a new one put in. The Dr says some patients have theirs for years without a problem and some people have to keep them flushed. He shouldn't have a problem because he has his flushed every two weeks, but we can't be normal. So, you as our army of faith need to keep on praying!!. On the answers to all of your prayers, his blood count is good, hematocrit normal, platelets good and no high blood sugar this morning, as far as I know, unless they told him something new. He generally is feeling well, mostly pain in his feet from neuropathy, and pain in the drain (as I call it). He says it hurts his feet to walk and stand too much and hurts to sit too long, so the only solution is to lay down. He doesn't do that too well. He is used to just getting things done. He, of course, feels weak and more miserable the first week after chemo and then feels a little better the week he is off. This chemo he will be half way through, treatment #4. After he is done with #6 then we go back to Huntsman and see the Surgeon and have another PT scan and maybe make a plan. I am not sure but we will be able to see how the chemo is working. Continue on, our army of faith. We still need it. We love you and appreciate all of you and thank our Father daily for your love and concern. Sometimes you bring us to tears of appreciation with your thoughtfulness. Love to you all. Jolene
October 19:
Dear Family and Friends. Always something new happening. He has been having some pain in his stomach. It isn't nausea just pain. It is probably from the chemo but when he called the Dr. office about a refill he told him that since he is such a "complex" guy (meaning difficult) that he wants to have a CT scan done to make sure there is nothing else going on. He has this done on Thursday. Then, Huntsman called and we thought we were supposed to have an appointment with them some time in Nov. and they said they didn't want to see him until he has had all of his treatments. They said it would be up to the Dr. here if he has 8 or 12 treatments. Now they want to see him the day before thanksgiving to do another PT scan. It is never a smooth ride. Not that any of this is a smooth ride. He is still tolerating his chemo pretty well. Some days he does well and others he is just so weak he can hardly walk up the stairs to the house. It seems to come in waves. Anyway, just wanted to let you know what was going on. Thanks so much for your love and concern. We love you all. Love, Jolene
October 24:
Dear friends and family. Just a quick update. Chuck got a call from the oncologist. The CT scan on his stomach looked good. No problems he could see. It is just probably the chemo. He said his liver looked good and his numbers were good so things are going well. I am not sure what numbers he is referring to but I am assuming his cancer markers in his blood. Huntsman called and wants him to have a PT scan the day before thanksgiving. What a bad time to be gone for the day. We have to leave on Tuesday and he has a PT scan at 7:30 am and then an appointment with the surgeon and the oncologist at 2:00 and 3:30. So there goes the day. He had kind of a rough night last night. Not sure why but did not feel well or sleep well at all. Slept a lot this morning and felt better this afternoon. He has his Chemo on Tues again. We hope he can continue. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. We thank our Father daily for you. Love, Jolene
October 26:
Dear Family and Friends: Chuck is in having his chemo this morning. His platelets were borderline but he was well enough to continue. He has been having trouble talking (just making his mouth move). It is not a common complaint of chemo (not that he has done anything common yet) but it can be a side affect of the oxaliplatin he is taking. It is one of the few chemo drugs that can get to the brain. He is now scheduled for an MRI of his head to see if there is anything (even a brain) there. He does not believe it is cancer but if it is, it probably would not be related to this cancer. If there are lesions in the brain from this chemo they will have to try another kind. He seems to be doing well other than that. We continue to move forward with hope and faith. Thanks for all of your prayers and concern. We love you all. Jolene
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Update Update
Posted by Nick and Karalynn 2 comments
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