I began this blog last Sunday, but never finished it. But –
before I go into my thoughts of last week – I’ll give a quick snapshot of last
Friday’s adventures.
On Friday, I was scheduled to go to Stanford for them to try
putting fiducials into the tumor on my bladder to mark it for radiation. This
was going to be no easy task. The tumor was very small, hard to get to and
surrounded by bowel. But – we were going
to make a run at putting them in because if we were successful, then I’d be
able to proceed with radiation.
There were some hiccups on Friday (I had a UTI) that made us
stop and debate whether we should move forward. Having an infection in my
system could cause a complication if it were to spread. We decided that we
would move forward with the initial scan to see whether he thought that the
procedure could even be done successfully. We figured that if he couldn’t do it
based on the placement of the tumor, that the discussion regarding the
fiducials and the UTI were irrelevant.
So – we moved forward with the scan and the surgeon felt
that it was worth trying to place the fiducials. After a significant amount of
consults with other surgeons, my surgeon decided that the additional risk of
the UTI was not enough to stop us from performing the procedure. And so – we moved
forward.
I am thrilled to let you know that IT WORKED! The fiducials
are in!
On Friday night, I did have a scare in the middle of the
night when I thought that I had a pulmonary embolism or that the infection
moved into my chest. I couldn't breathe and I was in extreme pain. After about
an hour, I realized that it was just heartburn/acid reflux from the nachos and
popcorn that Pat and I had for dinner at the movies earlier that night. (Traffic
was so bad in the Bay Area coming back from Stanford that Pat and I stopped off
in Oakland to catch a movie and didn't have time to grab a decent meal.) The
heartburn/acid reflux seems to have subsided and I'm back to my regular self. (Note to self – nachos and popcorn are NOT a
good idea for dinner.)
The plan going forward is to start radiation in about a
week. The plan is to do 10 days in a row (except weekends). We’re doing it
slowly with less radiation for each session for a couple of different reasons:
1) so that the tumor doesn’t shrink down too quickly. If the tumor decreases in
size too fast, there could be a hole in my bladder that would enable urine to
flow into my peritoneum. Thus, they want it to shrink slowly to allow scar
tissue to build up as the tumor shrinks. 2) The tumor is surrounded by bowel.
They don’t want to blast too high of a dose of radiation through that area that
may injure the bowel. Therefore, it looks like I’ll be on the road a lot at the
end of January….
As for the drugs – it looks like Dr. Fisher wants to wait
for some new trials to open up. He loves PDL-1 for me, but is uncertain if I’ll
meet the requirements for going back on it. In the meantime, apparently, PDL-1
in mice has shown that it is in the system months after it has been given. I’m
just going to hope that it’s still in my system – helping my body to fight the
tumors. Hopefully, the radiation will give my body a little boost, too!
The following was what I began to write last week on the 7th
anniversary of finding out that I had cancer….
7 Years
Seven years ago today, I woke up in Des Moines to discover
that I had colon cancer. What a long
road it has been. I’ve had so many surgeries (4 in the last few weeks), so much
chemo, so much radiation…
Today also marks the day that Gloria Borges, a young vibrant
colon cancer patient passed away. This is the third person that I am connected
to that passed away from cancer this week. Gloria was so strong, so alive, so
motivated. She was a 29 year old associate at a law firm when she discovered
that she had cancer. It was dire when she found out about it but she was
determined not only to live, but to thrive. Over the past 3 years she became a
powerful force in raising awareness and funds for colon cancer research. She started the WunderGlo Foundation and was
a force of nature. I’ve been watching her journey and was so sure that she was
going to make it.
I’m devastated. Some days I wonder how long I can outrun
this disease. Why does cancer continue to claim lives of vibrant, amazing
souls? Earlier this week, I went to a
funeral for yet another friend who died of cancer. And, another young cancer
warrior, Andrea Sloan, whose battle I’ve been following closely, also succumbed
to cancer this week.
I have realized that almost every single person that I know
that has Stage 4 cancer is no longer with us. I pray that I am at the beginning
of people living long lives – even if they have this diagnosis.
I will continue to do everything possible to survive. But
some days, I’m just so tired.
Later this week, I’ll be going in to Stanford for them to
mark a tumor to prep my body for more radiation. Although it is a tough
procedure, I feel confident that the amazing surgeons at Stanford will pull
this off.
Today, I’m going to focus on what’s good in my life. We got
a new dog – a rescue Maltese/Yorkie. He has brought so much joy to our home. I
think I’m going to go and play with him now…
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