New Hat

My sister Frances made me a new hat and I believe it has brought only good with it. We went for my chemo treatment today and Dr Rooney actually met us in the waiting room to tell us the good news. (Of course by doing this he took away Ilsa's thunder!).

The results of both the CT Scan and MRI are identical. There is no need for a trip to Boston, there is no need for radiation treatment. We are going to continue with the same treatment, three weeks on, one week off. The confusion came from two different people reading and presenting the same information in two different ways. The Dr's actually had a meeting about me today regarding the results and completed the meeting in enough time to give me the update when I walked in for my appointment.

Now, if we could only do something about all this snow!

Relatively good news

Went for my blood draw today and it was uneventful because they used my port. I've posted a picture of the damage done yesterday by the IV nurse who insisted she was really good and wouldn't hurt me.

I also followed up on the Cyber knife and they told me there was no difference between the MRI and CT Scan results. Now they are trying to determine if there is a need for the test at all.

MRI

Went for the MRI yesterday. I should have expected it, it was a horrible experience. I have a port which was inserted back in March so I wouldn't have to have IV needles every time I have chemo or a CT scan or an MRI or a blood draw. The port must be accessed by a qualified nurse. When we got there yesterday I told them I have a port that needs to be accessed. They said no problem they have three nurses available. One was with a patient and couldn't leave until someone from transport came, one was performing a biopsy and they were waiting for the third to call back. A regular IV nurse came by and INSISTED she could do the IV in less than two minutes and said 'I am really good'. I said I have a port. She said yes but I have everything I need to do an IV needle and the best part is you won't need me to come back to take the port needle out. I said I have a port. She actually argued with me to the point where I finally conceded and told her if you hurt me I will punch you in the face. Today, I have a black and blue to mark the spot. Lucky for her I did NOT punch her in the face.

I have a pain patch that I wear. It is good for three days at a time. It has to come off before the MRI because it will melt. The technician forgot to take it off. I told him after the first scan, he could not find the patch anywhere. I checked inside my clothes when we got home. Luckily we had one patch left which I put on right away and then refilled the prescription.

I am still waiting for the results which they said should be available in a day or two.

The last six days have been pretty bad....I've spent a lot of time laying down. Not necessarily sleeping, just resting and occasionally dozing. I am hoping to start feeling better before my next treatment which is Friday, seriously, I need a break.

MRI and Cyberknife

Went for my chemo treatment today and Ilsa came to see me. She had an update for me. The brain doctor has requested an MRI to confirm there is only one lesion on the brain. If yes, we will do the Cyberknife treatment. It is one treatment that specifically targets the tumor. It is done at Beth Israel hospital. I already have the MRI appointment for Monday at 4:30 and am now waiting on the appointment at Beth Israel.

The beginning of the end

Got the CT can results of my brain. The tumor is back and slightly larger than it was last September when they scanned it after the radiation treatments.

The Doctors are meeting tomorrow to see what can be done, radiation or cyberknife. Radiation seems unlikey, we were once told you cannot radiate more than once on the brain. The radiation I had was on the whole brain. Cyberknife is centralized to the tumor and would need to be done in Boston. I do not know what happens if I am not a candidate for either of those two treatments.

Kicking my prayers into overtime.

Apology

I have struggled with this update for several days. I have written it in my head numerous times. Here's the thing, last Thursday we received bad news and I updated my blog based on emotion....I did not give myself ample time to digest the information. I sincerely apologize to anyone I have caused unnecessary panic or fear or any other emotion.

On Friday Jim and I went back to the Dr's office to have my first round of the new chemo treatment. Ilsa, the nurse practitioner who gave us the bad news the day before was sitting in front of me before I actually sat down. She wanted to go over what happened the day before along with the side affects of the new treatment. The side affects are mostly the same from one chemo to another be they have to be reviewed every time.

After that we started discussing the results of the CT scan again. She said we have options, it is just a spot on my liver which she demonstrated as being very small with her fingers. She told me 'this is not a death sentence' which is what I called it immediately after she gave us the update on Thursday. She told me I will be here to see my granddaughter born and wear the new dress we bought her and hold her lots of times. Jenn is due Feb 1 or may be induced on Jan 25. This is not to say that I will die right after that time frame but trust me, I let my emotions get the better of me and had myself convinced that was EXACTLY what it meant.

Neither Ilsa or Dr Rooney will discuss 'time'. They have both told me every time I've asked (five times now) we just don't know. The fact that we have options tells me they are not giving up and I shouldn't either. I don't think of myself as giving up, I was overwhelmed with the news on Thursday, read my blog from Tuesday, everything sounded good so the update was completely unexpected.

Just so everyone knows, I am having a brain scan done tomorrow at 3:15. Simply because the last time I had one was September.

So, I would like to again apologize for how I posted and how it may have come across as you read it. Anyone who has ever worked with me knows how fond I am of this statement 'Presentation is key.'

My presentation this time stunk, I am very sorry.



Jamie

CT Scan results not good news

The tumor in my lungs has increased.
The mass in my abdomen has increased.

The cancer has spread to my liver.

The Dr said we still have options and we will start a new medicine tomorrow.

Please pray for me that I am able to be here when Jennifer has her baby, she is scheduled to be induced on Jan 25. 19 days.

CT Scan no news is good news

Today is one week since my CT scan and I have heard nothing about the results so I called the office. The nurse told me they don't typically call if there is 'nothing outstanding' so, no news really is good news. She said she would put a note in my chart asking Dr Rooney to review the results and let me know either way. He may have reviewed them already....she didn't say he didn't just that she would ask him to review them and let the nurses know what to tell me.

My upcoming chemo schedule:

Thursday January 6 1:00
Thursday January 13 1:40
Thursday January 20 $1:30