Just a brief update: Thursday morning, the day after our consultation with the radiologist, the cancer center called and asked whether I'd like to begin radiation immediately. So Thursday afternoon I had the first session; Friday I had the second. I get the weekend off; then I'll have five more next week and three more on the M-W of the following week. The treatments go quickly. I settle in, machines whirr and mechanical arms move, and then two times I hear the distinctive buzz of the radiation. I did notice that this time the actual radiation lasts longer than it did the previous times on my upper spine. I made a rather dismissive comment on their failure to ask me whether I wanted the x's that mark the spots to be radiated tattooed on my body, and, to my surprise, they said that almost 50% of the patients go with tattoos, especially people who will have many treatments. One of the technicians particularly singled out those with prostate cancer who may undergo nearly 40 sessions. I refrained from asking where the tattoos actually went in those cases.
Meanwhile, good news from the vet: the tumor on Kimber's neck was a benign fatty one. She'll have her stitches (on her abdomen) and staples (on her neck) removed on Friday, and then she should be back to normal.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Thursday, April 21, 2016
4-20
Yesterday was our consultation with Dr. Greene, our radiologist at Stormont-Vail cancer center here in Topeka. There was some confusion about the time--one time given over the phone, another on MyChart--but we got right in. Dr. Greene showed us the scan, which showed a larger than I had expected tumor on vertebra L[umbar]-5. There were also small spots on two adjacent vertebrae. We agreed that I should start round four of ten radiation treatments. (Two had taken place in 2011 on my femur and on my scapula; another was a few months ago on a spot higher on the spine.) The decision didn't seem to be a very difficult one since in the past I have tolerated radiation rather well, I've been suffering from strong lower-back pains, and the past treatments have been effective. I'll start on either Friday or Monday. The most likely side effect, since this part of the spinal column is just behind the intestines, is digestive problems.
The consult was followed by a simulation where they scan the area and put long-lasting marks on my torso to indicate exactly where the radiation will go. They've stopped asking whether I want these x's to be tattooed.
On the day before (Tuesday), Kimber had gone under the knife. She has had a large fatty tumor under her abdomen, one we had been "waiting and watching" to see what developed. But recently it seemed to have gotten considerably larger. When we took her in for an exam, the vet noticed another growth on her right muzzle/neck. She's always had extra fur there, belying my attempts to make her almost entirely a German shepherd. Because we see her every day, we hadn't really noticed that this growth too was enlarged. The vet spotted it immediately and was more worried about that, fearing it might be lymphocytic cancer. So Tuesday both growths were removed. The one under her belly was even bigger than it appeared, weighing in at two pounds, but certainly just fatty. The one on her neck was more complicated to remove, entangled as it was with nerves and muscles. The vet is almost sure that it too is just a fatty tumor, but it's been sent off to the veterinary school at K-State to be biopsied.
Kimber was completely out of it Tuesday evening. Getting her into the car was the first major ordeal. Once home, she had no idea where she was or who we were, but instead of collapsing into sleep, she spent the next four hours pacing. She'd walk into a corner and then be unable to figure out how to get out. Although we were worried about her and tried to get her to lie down, she was also driving us nuts with four hours of her nails clicking against hardwood. She finally collapsed. She's better now, and rather pleased that in order to get her to swallow her pills, we've begun feeding her canned dog food.
Poor Mohamed now has two sickies to take care of. But he's hanging tough.
The consult was followed by a simulation where they scan the area and put long-lasting marks on my torso to indicate exactly where the radiation will go. They've stopped asking whether I want these x's to be tattooed.
On the day before (Tuesday), Kimber had gone under the knife. She has had a large fatty tumor under her abdomen, one we had been "waiting and watching" to see what developed. But recently it seemed to have gotten considerably larger. When we took her in for an exam, the vet noticed another growth on her right muzzle/neck. She's always had extra fur there, belying my attempts to make her almost entirely a German shepherd. Because we see her every day, we hadn't really noticed that this growth too was enlarged. The vet spotted it immediately and was more worried about that, fearing it might be lymphocytic cancer. So Tuesday both growths were removed. The one under her belly was even bigger than it appeared, weighing in at two pounds, but certainly just fatty. The one on her neck was more complicated to remove, entangled as it was with nerves and muscles. The vet is almost sure that it too is just a fatty tumor, but it's been sent off to the veterinary school at K-State to be biopsied.
Kimber was completely out of it Tuesday evening. Getting her into the car was the first major ordeal. Once home, she had no idea where she was or who we were, but instead of collapsing into sleep, she spent the next four hours pacing. She'd walk into a corner and then be unable to figure out how to get out. Although we were worried about her and tried to get her to lie down, she was also driving us nuts with four hours of her nails clicking against hardwood. She finally collapsed. She's better now, and rather pleased that in order to get her to swallow her pills, we've begun feeding her canned dog food.
Poor Mohamed now has two sickies to take care of. But he's hanging tough.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Update
Dr. Green, the radiologist, who, we were told, would be out of town for the next two weeks, will be gone for only one. We have scheduled an appointment with him for April 20 to discuss whether to proceed with radiation on the lower spinal tumor. It's a relief both that Dr. Green's office took the initiative to get back to us so quickly and that we won't have to wait for so long to discuss our options.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
4/7/16
It was back to the cancer center here in Topeka today to get the results of the CT scan I had two weeks ago. While I was checking in here, the lab called me for the blood draw. Although the phlebotomist juggled and almost dropped the filled vials, all that went smoothly.
Next, after a wait, it was time for the consultation with Dr. Hashmi. The analyst from KU Med, where the results had been sent but had not yet been posted, called immediately. I could overhear just a few words, "has progressed" being the most common--not the words I wanted to hear, though I didn't have any context. Dr. Hashmi relayed the results: the primary tumor in the left kidney has not grown at all; there is a tumor near the kidney, however, that has grown, though not dramatically; but there is also a tumor on the spine (not the same one as before, but L[umbar]-4, which has increased from 40mm to 48mm. This is on the lower spine, and I have been having lower back pains lately. On the plus side, the tumor seems to be growing away from, not toward, the actual spinal cord. The question is whether to wait and watch or to start another round of radiation treatment. Dr. Green, my radiologist, will be out of town for the next two weeks, so we'll wait for that long to see whether further symptoms develop and then consult with Dr. Green about the possibility of another sequence of radiation. Since I've supported radiation three times before--initially on my hip/femur and on my scapula and more recently on my spine--without bad side effects, I'm inclined personally to go ahead with them. But I realize that radiation isn't without consequences, so if they're unnecessary, there's no reason to begin them. We like and trust Dr. Green, so we will consider his opinion.
The day ended with the Xgeva shot, which is the extremely expensive bone-strengthening injection. That went more quickly than at KU Med.
And then it was home and directly to bed for a long nap.
Next, after a wait, it was time for the consultation with Dr. Hashmi. The analyst from KU Med, where the results had been sent but had not yet been posted, called immediately. I could overhear just a few words, "has progressed" being the most common--not the words I wanted to hear, though I didn't have any context. Dr. Hashmi relayed the results: the primary tumor in the left kidney has not grown at all; there is a tumor near the kidney, however, that has grown, though not dramatically; but there is also a tumor on the spine (not the same one as before, but L[umbar]-4, which has increased from 40mm to 48mm. This is on the lower spine, and I have been having lower back pains lately. On the plus side, the tumor seems to be growing away from, not toward, the actual spinal cord. The question is whether to wait and watch or to start another round of radiation treatment. Dr. Green, my radiologist, will be out of town for the next two weeks, so we'll wait for that long to see whether further symptoms develop and then consult with Dr. Green about the possibility of another sequence of radiation. Since I've supported radiation three times before--initially on my hip/femur and on my scapula and more recently on my spine--without bad side effects, I'm inclined personally to go ahead with them. But I realize that radiation isn't without consequences, so if they're unnecessary, there's no reason to begin them. We like and trust Dr. Green, so we will consider his opinion.
The day ended with the Xgeva shot, which is the extremely expensive bone-strengthening injection. That went more quickly than at KU Med.
And then it was home and directly to bed for a long nap.
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