Summer 2012!

It has been a great Summer and is going by way too fast! I had my first CT scan at the end of May and it was all clean! I will continue to have scans every 3 months for a couple years. My next one is at the beginning of September.

We went to Puerto Rico in July and had a blast! The girls get bigger by the day and are doing really great! 

Home and Great News

Sorry for the late post-- we got home to Austin on Monday and I am recovering well. Recovery is going much faster this time. The worst part is not being able to pick up the girls.
We got a call from my surgeons office on Tuesday with the pathology report. The tumor was 90 percent dead which shows a great response to chemo and all lymph nodes were free of cancer! I am officially cancer free! It is actually a strange feeling after all of these months dealing with it. We are so relieved and ready to put this chapter behind us. My first follow up scan is in 8 weeks. I wish it wasn't so soon!

Room Update

Stacie was moved to room P5-02 and she'll be here for the remainder of her stay.

here's the actual address:

MD Anderson Cancer Center

1515 holcombe blvd

patient room P5-02

houston, tx 77030

Surgery Success

we just spoke with Dr. Aloia (Stacie's surgeon) and he said the surgery went great. it took about 3 hours with most of the time being spent collecting tissue/lymph nodes for further examination. she had a lot of scar tissue from the previous surgery which made digging them out more difficult, but he also said it was expected. the lymph nodes were not enlarged or suspicious to the eye, but the biopsy results will let us know for sure (it will be ready in about 7 days).

as for the tumor itself, he said, "it was really small" and showed us a picture of it on his iphone. they got huge margins (thankfully we didn't have to worry about that issue this time around...) and saw no other signs of tumors or growth anywhere in the liver.

all in all, it sounds like a success. we'll be able to see her in the recovery room within the hour and then she'll be moved to an overnight recovery room for more monitoring. i'll continue posting if anything major comes up, and hopefully Stacie will feel good enough to post in the next few days.

thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers!

- eric

Feeling Great!

It has been 2 weeks since my last chemo infusion and I am feeling great-- almost back to normal. Eric and I leave on Sunday for MDAnderson. I have scans on Monday to ensure nothing has come up in the last couple weeks and then surgery is on Tuesday. I am sooo ready to get this over with! Eric will update the blog after surgery to let everyone know how it went. I'm praying everything will go as planned and this is the last hospital visit!

One More Treatment to Go!

I started my last cycle of chemo before surgery (and hopefully forever) yesterday and now have only one treatment left next Monday!
The plan is to have two weeks off between chemo and surgery on the 27th in Houston. My surgeon is going to take a bunch of lymph nodes and if they are all clear of disease I will be all done and on the monitoring path!!! This would be amazing and I pray for it everyday!

MDAnderson Second Opinion

We went to MDA this past week for a special liver scan and a second opinion on the path forward. My surgical oncologist there delivered the great news that it definitely had gotten smaller and has changed in character, which apparently is a good thing. MDA and my oncologist here agree that the best thing to do is two more cycles of chemo and then surgery to remove the lesion. I have decided to use a surgeon at MDA this time and surgery is scheduled for March 27th. I love my previous surgeon but he does big complicated surgeries (which i had the first time) and my new one specializes in cholangiocarcinoma.

I have had a pretty good week off. The chemo fatigue is compounding and I feel pretty tired a lot of the time. This week was the first time in months I have not taken pain meds for the back pain that we believe is caused from chemo. That alone is a reason to celebrate! The back pain has been the most difficult part of chemo for me.

It's Smaller!

Yay! It was a great appointment. The lesion has gone from 7mm x 1cm to 6.5mm in diameter- or 40 percent smaller! The plan is to do 3 more cycles of chemo before discussing surgical options. All we do know is that it has to come out, no matter the size!
I just looked at my off weeks from chemo and they include the Superbowl, Addison's baptism and our six year anniversary!! Yay!

The Results

After waiting a painful 36 hours, I got the call on Wednesday from Karyn, Dr. Chadha's nurse. When I answered the phone, her first words were "It's all great news and Dr. Chadha said to tell you "big smiley face."" I obviously wanted to know what his definition of "great" is but she said we would discuss everything at my appointment on Monday. We are so relieved that things are headed in the right direction. The past 9 weeks of chemo have been pretty tough so it feels great to know that I am responding well to it. I'll update more tomorrow from infusion after my appointment with Dr. Chadha :)

Happy New Year

With one week until my first scan since beginning chemo the scanxiety has really set in. For those not familiar with the term it is just like it sounds- anxiety building up to a CT scan. I am very hopeful that the lesions are either stable or getting smaller and praying hard that there are no more anywhere else. Not exactly how I wanted to start the new year, but it has to be done.

2011 was the best and worst of times for me. Addison was best thing that happened to us this year and this unwanted journey was obviously the worst. I look forward to a great 2012 and beating this cancer. This year my New Years's Resolutions are very different from years back, funny how a few months changes things.

NYR:
1. Enjoy each day and live in the present
2. Beat cancer
3. Take a great beach vaca

Cycle Three Begins

We had a great Christmas filled with family, friends and lots of food! My visit on Tuesday with Dr. Chadha was the first one without getting reminded that I need to gain more weight. I have 5 pounds to go to get back to pre-surgery, so I am getting there! Unfortunately, I also have to get back to my no sugar diet which I totally ignored over Christmas :)

We have had a bit of a change of plans with my treatment. I am going to cancel my CT at MDAnderson and have it done with Dr. Chadha here. It is really stressful going to MDAnderson so we are just going to consult with them after we get the results. Currently my CT is scheduled for 1/9/11. I will start a fourth round of chemo while we are working with my team to discuss the resection of the two small tumors.

I am at chemo today starting my third round. I am always really sad to come on this day because I felt so good the last week. I just try to remind myself that I am getting one step closer to the end of this nightmare.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday!

Week Off!

It is my week off from chemo and I am really looking forward to it! Even though I am still working this week it feels like I am on vacation. While I can't complain too much since a lot others have it worse, it will be nice to have a week without all the side effects. I still have a few side effects on my week off but it is much less.

We are headed to San Antonio on Friday for Christmas. Hayden is very excited to go to Grandma's house!

Hope everyone is getting all of their last minute Christmas shopping done!

Second Week of Round Two

Sitting in chemo for the day and I have some good news! All blood work was great AND my tumor marker has come down within 10 points of normal! No promises until we actually have a scan, but the downward trend of the CA19-9 marker is indicative of a positive response to chemo. My carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level is now within normal range. It should be below three and it was .7. Yay!!!

I've decided to start planning my 30th birthday party in June. Can't decide between St. Lucia or St. Croix any thoughts are much appreciated :) We haven't had a proper vaca since I found out we were expecting Hayden the week we got back from Australia in 2008!

Round Two

I started my second round of chemo today. I was a little bummed because I was just starting to feel back to normal. The Internet was off and on so unfortunately I did not get to catch up on my shows. On a good note, I sat next to a really nice women, who I found out is a coworker of friend. She also found out she had cancer shortly after her baby was born. It was strange to find out how much we had in common and it was great chatting with her for the day.

Chemo is going pretty well. The nausea is generally controlled with meds, but the fatigue I just have to sleep off. The only hiccup I have had is a low white blood cell count which was fixed with a shot. Today all my blood work was good! Since it is going relatively well, we are going to do three rounds of chemo before my next scan.

I did successfully ask my oncologist a question he had never been asked. His nurse claimed she had heard it all until I asked if I could continue my laser hair removal while undergoing chemo. They got a good laugh and said I could "laser away!" I am thankful that it doesn't appear that I am going to lose my hair on the current chemo meds.

I can feel my unwelcome visitor shrinking by the day!

For the Ladies

As I mentioned yesterday, I sat next to a lady, Jody, during my session. She was going through her last treatment for a second time with breast cancer. She was only 34 when she was originally diagnosed. Thank god she beat it again, but it was her story I wanted to share with all you ladies.

It was 6 years after her first time with cancer and she was still getting mammograms many times a year. She had Triple Negative breast cancer, so from what she was telling me, making it to the five year mark was a blessing but they will follow it very close for the rest of her life. This year she felt a bump during a self examination and called her doctor immediately. She had not one but TWO mammos that missed it. I was completely shocked to hear this. How on earth can you feel it, but it not show up on the mammos? Finally under her direct guidance they were able to locate it and perform surgery and chemo. My take home message for all you ladies is to take self exams VERY seriously and be your own advocate. If something feels funny to you, don't stop until you have received an answer you are comfortable with.

Chemo Day One Wrap Up

I was at the Infusion Center from 8:30-3:15 and it actually went by really fast. The Infusion Center is another office in my oncologists building that is staffed by oncology nurses and nurse practitioners. Eric was there until 9:30 and my sister came from 11-3:15. Another younger lady was right next to me who was really sweet. She was battling a recurrence of breast cancer (6 years after the first time!) She had a young son the first go-round and it is always nice to chat with people that had similar situations. Especially ones that beat cancer twice and are doing great(it was her final treatment :)) No crazy stories...it was pretty uneventful and strangely a pretty nice day.

One thing we do have to do is watch is germs. My chemo, like many others, brings down your white cell count so the fam and I will be using Purell like it is going out of style :)

I feel pretty good tonight, just tired. Hopefully tomorrow is just as good!

BTW-- loving the port. Only one stick and you're done!

Beginning of Chemo Day 1

By request, I am updating from my chair for the day :) I just got settled and have a thrilling seven hours ahead of me. The schedule for the day is as follows:

1 hour nausea meds (getting pre-mediciated because my Dr. promised I would not be nauseous!)
2 hours fluid (prevents harm to kidneys)
1.5 hours Cisplatin (chemo #1)
30 min Gemzar (chemo #2)
2 hours fluid (clears out the kidneys after treatment.)

Before you come to chemo you have to put medication over your port to numb it (so you don't feel them access it) and cover it with a piece of saran wrap (so it doesn't get on your clothes.) Last night we ran out so I went to HEB to get more. This morning when I opened the saran wrap it was bright red for Christmas! So I am now known as the festive patient :)

In the waiting room this morning, I noticed three different people with McDonalds. I found it odd for all these patients to be eating that crap while trying to fight this disease. However, once I got back in the infusion room I found myself craving Mc Dees- something I haven't done in years. Sadly enough, I joined the group and Eric brought me an Egg McMuffin. It was delicious!

I scored the best seat in the infusion room today! Pretty good start to the day!

Almost forgot...

I almost forgot the funniest/strangest part of my day. So the chemo takes 6-8 hours each time. That's right, hours. It is two drugs: one takes 30 minutes and the other is a pain in the butt and takes forever. Anyway, so my Dr. tells me to bring a friend, books, movies, iPad, or whatever but nothing "risqué." WHAT!!! Seriously, I can't believe they have had an issue with individuals bringing porn to their cancer treatment appointments. I don't know whether to laugh or puke at the thought of this...probably a little of both.

Chemo for the Holidays

It has been a while since I updated, but a lot has gone on. My oncologist in Austin reviewed the MD Anderson scan, he believed that it could be biopsed and got me in last Thursday to have it done. The interventional radiologist went back and forth on whether he could do it or not because it was so small and hard to find. Once he found it, he was able to get the biopsy done. Unfortunately, I found out Friday morning it was in fact cancer. It is not called a reoccurrence since it was probably there the whole time. In fact, we are lucky it was so small and not found before because I would have not been a candidate for surgery if they knew it was there.

The good news is that I finally have a path forward! This Wednesday I am having surgery to put in the port that the chemo will be given through. Next Monday I will start chemo. It will be two cycles (a cycle is once a week for two weeks and then a week off.) I will then have a scan to see if the tumor is responding and getting smaller.

I went back to work last week, which has been a great distraction from all the doctors appointments! Hayden had an awesome time trick-or-treating and has not stopped talking about all her candy. Addison missed out because it was past her bedtime. She did make it to the block party and was the cutest cow there. This morning Addison started crawling! I'm glad most of my energy has returned since we will soon be chasing her all over :)

Treatment Update

We have visited many oncologists over the last couple weeks. Every one of them has a different opinion on how to move forward. It ranges from nothing to a chemo/radiation combo. At MD Anderson they redid my scans and found 2 small lesions on my liver. Unfortunately, they can not tell if it is nothing or a reoccurrence of the disease. My surgeon is waiting for the films and he is going to weigh in. Regardless, they are too small to biopsy so we have to wait and see what the next scan shows (2 months from now). I am trying not to worry too much about it and focusing on all the upcoming holiday fun. That is easier said than done but I am getting better at it :)