MRI Results and Temador treatment

I had my bi-weekly Avastain treatment and a visit with the Oncologist to discuss the MRI results. The report was a bit vague this time, it did not give any dimensions. The only thing the report indicated was a slight increase in size. The Oncologist reminded me that even with an MRI it still not an exact science when you are dealing with small changes in size. I had gotten used to the tumor shrinking by a measurable amount. The short answer, now that given the long narrative is that they error on the side of growth when they can not tell due to such a slight change.

I start the Temador on Friday, I give myself a day in between the Avastain and the Temador. I learned that lesson early on in my treatments. You have to give your body time to recoup. The Temador is a five day treatment which is taken in pill form and I do at home. We get up at 6:00AM and I take the anti-nausea pill, go back to bed then get at 7:00AM and take the 300mg's of Temador go back to bed then up for the day 8:00AM and have a light breakfast and the rest of my medications. With this treatment I do not leave the house, I get so run down from the Temador and tired from all the anti-nausea medication that I sleep most of the time.

Busy Weekend

I started out on Friday by volunteering at Food Outreach for a few hours. I am doing data entry that the staff does not like to do because it is so repetitive, but the Accountant in me loves the repetition. Then that evening Kenny and went to O'Charlies for Maggie, Kenny's brother-in-laws sister, there were 2o plus people in attendance. Including Maggie's grand daughter Marie and Charlie's grand son Paul, we went to Florida a couple of years ago with Kenny's family and we had a fantastic trip. Saturday we went out to dinner at Nonna's in Belleville with Mark and Tony, two of my old friends from Belleville. We had a really enjoyable visit and luckily the restaurant was not busy so we got to visit for a while. Sunday I spent cleaning out junk drawers, it amazing the amount junk we have accumulated over the years! Monday I went to the monthly lunch with some of my friends from ERAC. I always enjoy these lunches it keeps in touch with my friends/former co-workers who I miss getting to see on a daily basis. This month it was some of my friends from payroll and some of the people from my old department. It always a treat after lunch to stop and visit the accounting department. Thank you Christine for continuing these lunches they mean a lot to me and thank you for the apple pie, it was delicious as usual!!!! From there we went to my ENT appointment my Oncologist was concerned that I was having so many Sinus infections. The ENT luckily found only minor problems that should be manageable with changes in my allergy medications. Since I am taking Chemotherapy the ENT wants the Oncologist to suggest what medications I can take. I have an appointment tomorrow with the Oncologist to get the results of my last MRI, I will do quick post tomorrow night to let everyone know the results.

Treatment and MRI

I had my Avastain Treatment yesterday, it went very well. This is done at Siteman since it is an infusion. We started at noon with Blood work, then I went down to the MRI lab. I wound up in my favorite machine, the one with the scratch marks on the inside! I will get the results in two weeks when I see the doctor. We don't anticipate any growth so we decided the results could wait. From there it was to the 7Th floor for treatment. The actual infusion time is 30 minutes, but the Pharmacy does not prepare the drugs until you check in. So it winds up being about 60-90 minutes. So we ended the day at little after 5:00.

Birthdays

We had three birthdays at the end January, beginning of February. My Nephew Brian on January 28Th, he was 31. He is in the Navy stationed at Denver, CO so we were unable to see him on his birthday. My Mothers birthday was January 29Th, I will be nice and not say exactly how old she is, but it is above 80. Her and Dad still live in the house by themselves and she is still driving and bowling three days a week. We took her and Dad to Long Horn for dinner, we were joined by Doris, my sister-in-law, Amy my niece and her four kids. My Brother and Dan, Amy's husband were unable to make it. Last but not least was Kenny's Father on February 1st at 70. Kenny's family celebrated at Outback. I was unable to attend because of the Temador treatments, but Kenny at least brought a piece of cake.

Doctor Visit and Treatments

I saw the Oncologist Wednesday and he was surprised to see the improvement I had since the beginning of the month. It is amazing what Steroids can do! He scheduled my next MRI in four weeks and if the way I have been feeling is any indication, I believe the results will be positive!

After I saw the Doctor and had my Avastin infusion treatment which I tolerate very well, just a little drop in energy level. On Friday I started the five days of Temador which I do at home, pills not an infusion. With my energy level up I am tolerating it better than in the previous couple of months.

Birthday

I want to go back in time to the end November for this post. My 50Th Birthday was one of the highlights of my year. I want to start by saying Thank You!!!! to Betsy for agreeing to host the party, since it turned out to house full of people. It was really nice to see friends and family, especially the ones that came from out town. I had a wonderful time visiting with everyone and getting caught up. It never ceases to amaze me when get that many people together it really is a matter of six degrees of separation.


I also wanted to express my personal thanks to all that made a donation to Food Outreach, Inc. in honor of my birthday. It is a charity that is near and dear to heart my since they are a food pantry for people living with HIV/Aids and Cancer. The grand total of the donations was $650.00!!!! On behalf of Food Outreach, Inc. and me Thank You, that was incredible!!!!

My first attempt at blogging!

Well I finally decided to give this a try. Since I have difficulty speaking, I know I do not call and sending out multiple E-Mails does not work. Using the blog will allow me to keep everyone up to speed on my condition.

I had a rough time from mid-December through mid-January, but I am feeling better now. The Doctor had been gradually getting me off the Steroids and I was completely off of them before Christmas. By New Years Day it was obvious that had been a mistake. The swelling around the Tumor had came back. Luckily the MRI that was run on 1/2/09 did not show any growth in the Tumor. With the Steroids I have gotten back to normal, at least as normal as ever was:) Then we had to cancel our trip to Phoenix due to me getting the Stomach Flu. It was ultimate super model diet, 10 pounds in 2 days! We are trying to reschedule the trip during Kenny's Spring Break.