Showing posts with label Brent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brent. Show all posts

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Big Decisions Ahead

Brent is doing very well. He had his fourth treatment from February 20-24. On the 20th, he had an MRI to see the change in the tumor. His doc said that the tumor has shrank quite a bit; probably from the size of a small orange to a key lime. The one area of concern is that the cancer affected part of the tibia and part of the fibula, and the tissue where the tumor was is now dead. The nerve/foot drop is also a problem. So there are only 2 options for Brent’s surgery.

A.) A total knee replacement including taking out part of the tibia and fibula with a skin graph from his upper thigh, and a nerve graph from his other leg for the foot drop.

B.) Above-the-knee amputation.

I think that the amputation is the most logical choice and probably the choice Brent will go with. With the amputation, the chance of the cancer coming back in the same area is 5% compared to the knee replacement which is 15%. This is a HUGE difference when it comes to cancer. Also, with the knee replacement he will have scars all around his knee, then on his thigh where they do the skin graph, and also where they take the one nerve out and then another where they put it in. As for the foot drop, the nerve graph only has a 10% chance of working, so Brent would be more functional with a prosthetic. We went to the prosthetic company and looked at what they have to offer. It was funny because Brent actually thought it was cool looking at the different types of knees and legs. Of course his engineering side came out and he wanted to know everything about them. I think we are going to talk to the surgeon one last time to make sure we have all the facts straight.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Third Times a Charm!

Treatment #3: January 30-February 3
I LOVE Brent’s doctor!! Since round 2 was so horrible, he lowered the doses for the chemo meds. It has made a HUGE difference. We had little scare a week after his treatment when the doctor called and said he thought Brent’s counts were too low and that he might need another blood transfusion. So we headed back to the hospital to have more blood drawn to see where his counts were. Luckily, it turned out that they had gone up so we got to go home without a blood transfusion. Brent has had so much more energy; he even took me to Cheesecake Factory on the Thursday before Valentine’s Day… DELICIOUS!! Our lives felt a bit normal for a whole evening. Laura and Erik came into town for Valentine’s weekend. We love having them here and wish we could see them more. We all goofed off shooting BB guns Saturday and then had a “romantic” Valentine’s dinner at Sweet Mesquite. The week before Brent went in for his 4th treatment, he was able to go to work for a few hours each day and was doing really well.



Laura and Erik got a new puppy. His name is Hurley and he is ADORABLE! Natalie and Robby loved playing with him.



Saturday, March 7, 2009

Terrible Two

Brent’s second round started on Jan 9th. This round didn’t go as well as the last one. One problem was that we didn’t get to the hospital until around 2, so by the time they got Brent admitted and the meds were mixed it was around 10:00 at night. Another problem was that since Brent has so many different fluids being pumping into him, he has to go to the bathroom A LOT; so he decided that this round he wasn’t going to drink as much water. BIG MISTAKE!! The number one rule while going through chemo is to drink, drink, drink because it helps flush out all the meds, and he can start feeling well sooner. By Sunday, Brent was completely wiped out.


the beginning


the end

Tuesday he was released and got to come home, and we were greeted by this wonderful sign our friends' cute kids made. We love you guys!! Thank you to Robby, LuLu (Natalie), Mark, Elia,and Lauren (and Jess!!).



That night Brent started getting nauseated. He threw up once in the middle of the night and again when we woke up the next morning (Wednesday). We headed to the hospital for his Neulasta shot and when we got to the hospital, he threw up again. The nurses called the doctor and 10 minutes later, Brent was readmitted. They decided they would keep him for a few hours to give him Zofran and Decadron for the nausea, and fluids since he wasn’t keeping anything down. He was released the same day and was feeling much better when we got home. Everything after that was going pretty well until the next Sunday (January 18th) when Brent got a fever. We called the dr. and were told to give him Tylenol to keep the fever down until the office was open in the morning. Monday we headed up to the Medical Center and Brent was admitted once again. Brent’s counts were extremely low. His white blood count was 0.18; normal is between 5-10. I don’t remember what his reds and platelets were, but they were really low too. The doctors tested him for all kinds of infection, but didn’t find any. This means that most likely his fever was just because his white counts were so low. They also gave him blood and platelet transfusions!






Platelets

Brent felt so much better after all was done, and we had a nice last week before he went in for the next treatment.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Merry Christmas and A Happy New YOU!

Despite all that is going on, we had a great Christmas. Brent had enough energy to get out of bed and open presents with everyone.

I stole these pics of Christmas from Whit's facebook.


Brent got this really cool book from Nick called Weird Texas. It has all kinds of Texas urban legends.


Erik and Laura


Nick

Christmas evening we played the Wii Fit board a bit and Brent was able to play for a bit with us.




He even got the highest score!!

.................................................................................................

On the morning of New Year's Eve, Brent realized he was continuously losing quite a bit of hair, and decided this was the day for a NEW Brent. Aunt Kelly was coming in town this day so we had her take some family pictures of us before Brent lost his hair. That night, instead of partying like it was 1999, we said goodbye to the old Brent and welcomed the New Brent and the New Year.


Nick did a test to see how much hair would come out if he barely tugged at it.


Here we go!


BEFORE


AFTER

And it begins…

So I know I am a bit behind on posts but here is some info about the first round of chemo.

Round 1 started on Friday, December 19, 2008. The night before, we had Ken Barrow and Paul give Brent a blessing. Ken gave one of the best blessings I have ever heard. I loved it. On Friday, we arrived at the hospital around 3:30 p.m. and were placed in room 826. Brent's vitals were taken and we realized he had a fever of 101, so the doctor started him on Levaquin, an antibiotic. Since Brent had been in so much pain, he was also started on morphine which made him very groggy. After a few hours of waiting around, the chemo meds officially started around 10:00 p.m. It will typically take 3-5 hours after we have arrived for the chemo to be started, because his blood has to be taken to check his counts and also because they need time to make the meds once we get there.


Brent's lines coming out of his port.


Some scary stuff!


All the bags Brent was hooked up to.

On Saturday, Brent was a bit tired for most of the day. I think this was mainly due to the morphine, BUT… after all these months, the pain finally went away. The doctor says this was either because the tumor was shrinking and not pressing on the nerve anymore, or because the nerve is damaged enough to not feel pain anymore. Either way, no more morphine or pain! This day Brent noticed a case of Drop Foot, probably also due to the nerve damage. He can’t lift his foot at all, it just hangs there. He was fitted for a brace that helps with this. The doctors are unsure if he will ever regain the ability to lift his foot. When he goes in for his surgery to remove the tumor, his doctor might also decide to do nerve reconstruction in which they would take part of a different nerve and piece it into the nerve in his leg, and hopefully it will regain function again.

Sunday and Monday Brent started to look like a cancer patient. Very weak, pale in color, eyes slightly darker, speech is uncharacteristically slow and soft. Tuesday we got to bring him home. He seems to be getting sicker. Stays in bed except to go to the bathroom and then when he does, he would work to sit up, then rest, then work to stand up, then rest (with aid of crutches), then make his way to the toilet, then the same on the way back.

Wednesday he had to go back to get a shot. The shot is called Neulasta and it is given to boast his white blood cells. Brent got really sick when they gave him the shot, but it was probably because he was nervous about getting it, and also because he was already so whipped out from the chemo.

Days 6-7 - Very weak, but not getting sicker.
Days 8-12 - Gradually regaining some strength. Can walk with crutches short distances (40-50 yards), but is exhausted afterwards.
Day 13 - Hair has been slowly starting to fall out, so he buzzed it short.
Days 13-16 - Continuing to strengthen. Can walk without crutches short distances, but when tired he uses the crutches.
Days 17-20 - Able to go to work for a few hours a day, but is real tired at end of day. Uses crutches to conserve energy.

According to his doctors, he is progressing as expected. After all is said
and done, they expect a full recovery from the cancer.

Thank you to Paul for keeping track of all the progress Brent made over the days.

These were a few thoughts from Paul (Brent’s dad):

“We are all coping with this as best we can. We have occasional bad days, but remain optimistic. I think I am gaining an understanding of what others in my position have been through, and are going through. At times it feels like I'm living in a different dimension watching the rest of the world go by. Everything feels different, even though it looks the same. It's like when there's a partial eclipse of the sun, everything is just... eerie. And I'm not even the cancer patient, just a parent of one. My heart goes out to all who witness the suffering of a child.

Well, life goes on, and we're going along with it. We will learn to adapt, and everything will be fine. Thank you so much for your love, prayers and support; it really does help ease the burden of dealing with this.”

Thank you to all our wonderful friends and family who were able to come by and visit Brent. Mandy and Nick flew for the holidays on the 19th and came by over the weekend along with Whitney. Big Nick, Jennika, Brody, Chris and Desiree came by Sunday, but sadly Brent didn't remember much from that day. Ken Barrow and Rex Robinson also stopped by that day. Larry Alemany came by Monday. Also, thank you to Bill and Lynn Moore for sending us gorgeous flowers. Thank you to any others that I didn't mention. It's hard to remember anything from a month ago.


Our beautiful flowers from the Moores!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Some info for inquiring minds

Brent’s oncologist is Dr. Garth Beinart. He is a great doctor who worked at MD Anderson before coming to Methodist. Brent’s orthopedic surgeons who found the tumor and who will be doing his surgery after the first 6 rounds of chemo are Dr. Rex Marco and Dr. Jerry Buchert. Jerry is Dr. Marco’s PA whom we love. He was the one who broke the news to us, and he was very professional yet personal about it. Dr. Marco specializes in tumors and is supposedly one of the best. He trained at MD Anderson also. We are very grateful for all our wonderful doctors who are helping Brent through this. We talked to many friends and doctors before making a final decision on Brent’s doctors and we are very happy with the choices we have made.

The typical protocol for Ewing’s Sarcoma is called VAI. This stands for the 3 different chemotherapy drugs that are used: Vincristine, Doxorubicin(also known as Adriamycin) and Ifosfamide (also known as Ifex). The Vincristine is only given on Day 1 and only takes about 15-30 minutes to run. Vincristine is light sensitive and has no color. The Adriamycin runs constantly for 3 days straight. Adriamycin is light sensitive also, and is red in color. This medicine causes urine to become orange and can have long term effects on the heart. There is a lifetime max that a patient can receive of this drug because of the heart damage it can cause. Adriamycin can also burn the skin. Ifex is given once a day for 4 days. It runs for 2-3 hours each time. Ifex is not light sensitive and is colorless. This is the most potent drug that Brent is receiving. A medication called Mesna is given in addition to these drugs but is not a chemotherapy drug. Mesna is used to protect the bladder and kidneys from the effects of the Ifex. Brent will be at the hospital for 3-4 days each time. He will have 6 treatments then surgery and then 6 more treatments. The treatments will be 3 weeks apart, just enough time for him to start feeling well before he gets hit with the drugs again.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

A third nipple!

I am definitely past due on updates, so there will be a few long posts over the next couple days.

After we found out that Brent had cancer, we went through a few more days of testing, body scans, and consultations. On Thursday the 18th, he had a Power Port put in. The port is implanted into his chest and a catheter is feed into a major artery in the heart. The doctors do this because they don't want to constantly be poking him with needles and also because some chemo meds are so strong that if they went into a vein in his arm, it would deteriorate the vein. Feeding the meds through the artery helps dilute them before they hit the rest of the body.

This is what the power port looks like:



To access the port, they use a thick needle that is inserted into the center of the port. At the end of the needle, there are feed lines that all the chemo medicines and fluids are hooked up to.





This is basically what it looks like in the end when it is accessed.



When it's not accessed, it looks like a third nipple.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Drum Roll Please.....

Well the results are in. Looks like Brent has Ewing's Sarcoma. Ewing's is a type of bone cancer that is typically found in male Caucasian teenagers. This bone tumor usually grows in the pelvis, ribs, femur, fibula, and/or tibia. It is highly invasive and metastases are common, especially in the lungs and skeleton; which is interesting to learn because when the doctors looked at Brent's CT scan they found a small spot in his lung. It hasn't been tested yet so we don't know if that spot is also malignant. The tumor is in the fibula, and also around the outside of the bone. It is about the size of a clementine. His orthopaedic surgeon told us that treatment would involve 4-6 months of chemo, then surgery to remove the mass after it has shrunk down, and then 4-6 more months of chemo. He will lose his hair and be sick quite a bit, so we aren't looking forward to that. We are going to meet with a few different oncologists next week to see what they say, and when he will start the chemo. We are grateful for all the love and support, and ask that you continue to keep him in your prayers as we start on this journey.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Don't drink the water!!

This is our first post!! We have officially given in to the blog world. Please remember that it is a work in progress and I haven't learned how to do everything yet.

Apparently there must be something in our water. I think we have been dubbed the world's youngest couple with cancer. Our first cancer encounter was back in July when I received a call at 7:00 in the morning and was told to come to the dr's office and bring my husband. When they tell you to bring your husband, it's probably something serious. Turns out I had skin cancer, and needed surgery from it. Everything worked out fine and I was left with a pretty big scar. When I went back in November, they found 2 more cancerous moles that need to be surgically removed. So in January I will have 2 seperate surgeries to take care of that. Now on to Brent, who is the main concern. Eight months ago, his leg started bothering him when he would go running or play any sports. Just recently the pain has escalated. He can't sleep most nights and lately has not been able to sit for long periods of time. In the last few weeks his leg has gotten really swollen.

Photobucket
It's the leg on the left, and it's swollen on the outside under the knee. One good thing is that his right leg now looks muscular.

So he went to a sports medicine doctor and did physical therapy, with no relief. After that, we thought it was a nerve problem so he went to the nuerologist. To make things short, we finally found some great doctors who did an MRI and found a good size mass in his leg and some abnormalities in his bone. From looking at the MRI, the doctors believe it is cancerous. At the moment, we are waiting on an opening for a biopsy. They also did a CT scan and found another spot in his lung but that one doesn't look cancerous. There is a chance that when they do the biopsy, it may come back as benign, but we are trying to be prepared for anything and everything. Either way, the mass must come out and his nerve will probably be worthless after all this. The drs say he won't be able to do much physical activity after all is said and done.. which if you know Brent, is heart breaking since he loves exercising and playing sports *not that you could tell by his LARGE muscles :) * We are trying to stay optimistic at the moment and hope for the best. I am not writing this to get anyone's pity or sympathy, Brent would just like everyone to know in hopes that you would pray for him. We are so grateful for the love and support from all of our friends and family. We love you all!! I will try to keep the blog updated with anything we find out.

PS...we are all fasting for him on Sunday if anyone wants to add him to their list.