Bruce's CT results.

Bruce's CT of the brain was normal. There is no explanation for the elevated CEA. It's now a wait & see. Bruce will have repeat blood work (including a CEA) on  March 26th & CT of chest, abdomen & pelvis on April 2nd. Time is passing quickly & we both feel pretty good. We had a great time in Key West with my sisters, Julee, Michele, Vicki & Cherie, as well as cousin Bob & brother-in-law Bob. We missed Denise & Jim but hopefully we will all be able to get together this summer. In a week Bruce & I along with Tye, Brannon, Anita, Robbie & Aiken will be vacationing in Williamsburg, Virginia. Robbie is hoping for snow to play in...for a day & then the rest of us are all hoping it will warm up. No matter what I'm sure we will all have a great time.

PET scan results

Bruce had his PET scan. He had two spots on it. One at about the scar in the esophagus from surgery & the other was in his colon area. He had an EGD today...scope of his esophagus, stomach & duodenum. Also ultrasound of the same area. It was normal as was the colonoscopy he had on Friday. So today was also a waiting game on his blood work. His anemia is improved but still didn't have his iron studies, comprehensive metabolic panel & most importantly his CEA (cancer antigen). Sent Dr. Percent a text about the EGD & colonoscopy & asked if he had results of CEA. He hadn't seen them as he only works 1/2 days on Mondays but did get them to us. Unfortunately Bruce's CEA is elevated. It was 7.4 which was elevated & is know 8.2. Dr. Percent said that the only place we haven't checked is Bruce's brain so tomorrow Bruce will be having a CT of the brain. We were planning on going to Key West on Saturday for a week's vacation with my sisters & my cousin Bob who was diagnosed with lung cancer.Hopefully we will still be able to go. Will definitely depend on what the CT shows & what Dr. Percent thinks we need to do next. If I feel like it I will update this blog tomorrow when we know the results of the CT. As always, have cried a bit & tonight I also had a couple of drinks. Now I'm going to bed.

Bruce's CEA results

Well, Bruce's follow-up didn't go as well as mine. His CEA which is a cancer antigen came back elevated. It was 7.2, normal is 0-6.1. It's not up much but was 3.3 when last checked so is concerning. The nurse practicioner that saw Bruce said 'we' would just recheck it in 1 month to see how it was trending. WE didn't like that approach so discussed it with Bob, our brother-in-law, who is also an oncologist in Des Moines, IA & he felt that Bruce should have a repeat PET scan & an upper endoscopy. We had already discussed Bruce getting a Colonoscopy with the nurse practicioner who is going to refer Bruce to Dr. Joseph who did Bruce's jejunum tube placement. We talked with Dr. Percent & after some discussion (including Dr. Percent talking with Bob) Bruce had a PET  scan done on Friday. Hopefully we will get the results tomorrow. As always waiting is very hard & as always its hard to know what is going through Bruce's head. I'm doing okay now...but that's after 2 mornings of crying while doing barn chores. It's hard not to when I get to talk to Bob who is so blunt about our survival percentages based on the stage of our cancers when they were diagnosed. I just hope we know where things stand before I fly to Iowa Wednesday for one week.

My CA 125 Came Back

          It was normal...yeah!!!  It's sad though, my doctor's office never called the results to me. Sure glad I could access the results on line. Something so important you would think his nurse would have
called. Who knows, maybe they knew I could access the results or expected me to call for the results.
Or...maybe Dr. Orr has lost another nurse. He's on his third one since I started seeing him.

           Went to work last week. It was very busy & I was exhausted by the time I did 5 night shifts and I flew home.  I think in the future I will not work more than 4 shifts. I am currently scheduled for 7 & I hope to get rid of the 3 shifts on the end but if not I will do them but never again. Well, getting ready for Christmas.  Our son Tye is home for the holiday so everyone will be here. Got lots to do to get ready. Will write again after Bruce's follow up.

3 Month Check-up

                       
       It's been 3 months since my last chemo.  Bruce & I have been doing quite well. I seem to have some neuropathy but it is very very minimal and I also have short term memory problems especially if I'm not getting enough sleep. It's frustrating at times for me & Bruce.  I finally asked him not to remind me that I already said the same thing at least once before.   I can't help but worry since I have a strong history of dementia as well in my family.  I also worry every time that I have a little dizziness which most likely is due to low blood pressure but I always wonder, I worry every time I get a pain in my abdomen, have loose stools, and worsening vision. I know these all are probably nothing but....it could be something...it's sooo frustrating.

       I was to see Dr. Orr but he was called out-of-town emergently & so I saw his PA, Denyse Mahoney. She was very thorough. I should have had my blood drawn prior to my appointment but Dr. Orr seems to be going through nurses (on his 3rd since I first saw him) & it never got ordered even though I called several times & even stopped in to ask about ordering it.  Yesterday I got  my CA 125 (cancer antigen for ovarian cancer) drawn. Hopefully when that comes back the results will be normal & then I can stop worrying quite so much...but I doubt it. I will probably continue to worry some until I either relapse or 2 years have passed. Well, not much else to say about me...it could be a week before I get my results...hopefully not.

      As I said above, Bruce is doing quite well.  He sleeps in a nice reclining lawn chair in our bedroom until I come to bed or it's midnight then he moves to his recliner in the family room & sleeps there til I get up & go out to the barn then he gets up & moves to our bed for a short time. He has a wedge pillow that he uses there but will probably never be able to sleep in bed all night. He also has some problem with "dumping syndrome" but he's figuring out what he can & cannot eat or when he can & cannot drink fluids.

      His next follow-up is January 6th. If he's worrying he doesn't show it & he doesn't seem to have any problems related to chemo or radiation. His hair has grown in nicely & is a little darker than it was. My hair is also coming along...thickness & length wise but certainly has a mind of it's own.

      I guess I should also mention that I went back to work. It was good to be there & I don't think I had any memory problems while there...but got plenty of rest and it was for only 1 shift. Will not work again until January & then will be working at least 4 nights & possibly 7. Well, will write more when I get my CA 125 results.

A busy week but all good news

I did finally get my CA 125. It was normal. I don't need to see Dr. Orr again until December.  This has been a busy week. We saw our lawyer & have our living wills & durable power of attorneys done & almost have our last will & testaments done as well as our trust. We didn't like some of the wording in the trust so we will have to go back one more time. Bruce saw his oncologist, Dr. Percent & doesn't have to follow up until January. He also saw Dr. Goldin, his surgeon, and has been told no heavy lifting (nothing greater than 10 lbs) for 6 weeks & no further follow up unless he has a problem. I also finally got the results of my genetic testing to see if I had a genetic mutation that may mean I am more susceptible to ovarian, endometrial, colorectal, breast,  gastric, pancreatic, melanoma, or prostate cancer. My test results revealed no genetic mutations.  I do have routine follow up with my primary doctor, Dr. Ravid, at the end of this month.

I don't think I will probably be blogging anything more until December unless there is change in our health. I should add that I finally got the horses all shampooed & shaved. I think they are feeling much better. I did one a day except for the Valee, she got done the same day as Bob as she didn't need much of a shave...she mainly needed a shampoo & her whiskers shaved. We are also all caught up on mowing & now we just need to get the house dusted & floors scrubbed...life is almost back to normal.

Bruce is home.

Well, Bruce didn't get home as quickly as we thought. Dr. Goldin was being cautious. Thursday he started clear liquids & Friday he was started on a mechanical soft diet. A dietician also came & gave us information on what he can eat & what he shouldn't eat. Now today  he finally got to come home. It was very confusing...what the dietician told Bruce he should be eating & what he received by the hospital to eat were to different things. She told him not to eat tomatoes in any form & what did he get for supper Friday..chicken parmesan with tomato sauce over pasta. His first meal that day at noon was a hamburger. Today for lunch he had an open face hot turkey sandwich with tomato soup. Every meal went down without a problem.

Bruce's surgery is called an Ivor-Lewis Esophagectomy. You should google it & see what was actually done to Bruce. It is quite the surgery. Afterwards, he had chest xrays done & it was very difficult to tell what was going on in his chest. Also before he could eat Dr. Goldin had an upper GI done. That is where they use a special xray machine called a C-arm & it allowed us (me with the techs & radiologist) to see live xray views while Bruce was swallowing gastrografin (a liquid that shows up on xray film or in computer xray imaging). It was quite difficult to figure out what was going on but at least we could see that the fluid went done without any problems...no leaks. Bruce was then allowed to start on a clear liquid diet & then the mechanical soft diet.

This morning Dr. Goldin said Bruce could go home & he is to follow up in 1- 1 1/2 weeks. So we found out that he could leave around 9 AM & we didn't get out until 2:30 PM...but we are now home. Bruce tried sleeping in our bed but is now out in the family room with me. He is trying to sleep in his recliner. This is where I am going to stop for tonight so he can sleep except I have one more frustration to mention.

Last time I wrote I mentioned that my CA-125 wasn't done. Well, it still isn't done. I got a letter from my doctor in the mail. Apparently the lab didn't run it(I had a tech that I had never had before & she apparently didn't understand the orders & now I have to schedule an appointment & go in to have my blood drawn again so they can do the test.