Another Quick Update

Been quite a week, as I related earlier. The latest news is that SoCal has accepted the referral for the IFN/IL2 therapy.

Note, that does not mean that I will be getting the therapy, only that they will consider the request. Before I really hit the winnowing process there are some tests that have to be done. First, I have to have a Treadmill Stress Test. This is where they make you runn your butt off, and take a bunch of electrocardiograms while you do it, The aim is to see if you have any cardiac disease. My test will be a bit different, as the Orthopaedic Oncologist does not want me running--he wants to keep the stress on my left femur as low as possible, so I will have a pharmacologicic stress test..Currently scheduled for next Friday, so more to report then. I will also have to undergo a Pulmonary Function test--they will see how much air I can move and how well my lungs function--before the referral will be formally accepted. But hey, one step at a time. Assuming that I pass the tests, I will then have to travel to SoCal for the full consultation. One step at a time.

For now, things are going well. The chest pain gets better every day, and the nausea/vommitting from the weekly chemo infusions has not started up...yet.

Have a good weekend all, and Go Cardinals! Remember, it is the little things that matter to those around us.

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Just a Quick Thank-You

And a quicker update on things. First, I want to extend further thanks to a few people. Dad, thanks for always being there. You are more important to the family and I than I think you realize. To Shirley G, Jacqueline V, and Mary W; thanks for the thoughts, messages, prayer cards and just plain being around. I know that I often fail to answer; but I have read everything, and it gives Robin and I great comfort.

Now, on with the show...

I was subjected to my third thoracentesis today--you may recall that they are scheduled weekly now--and even more fluid was pulled off this time! Today's total was 2850ml, or just shy of 3 litres. Oddly enough, when the Radiologist looked at my chest with the ultrasound machine she thought that there was "only" about 500 to 800ml to remove. So much for the trained eye... Or, maybe I just have a bloody big pleural cavity. Thank God for the years on the swim team, it seems to have given me some respiratory reserve.

Anyway, I was feeling pretty good before the tap--no shortness of breath at rest, and very little with exertion--but I guess I can just compensate well. Or, as Robin puts it, I have an "amazingly effective game face". Whatever; I felt good before the tap. Now...things hurt like H E Double Toothpick! It feels like a whole drawer of knives and forks are stuck into my left chest and flank; and let's not even talk about coughing or hiccups!. For the first time ever I actually had to leave work early today because of the pain. Now, granted, I try to limit myself to only four hours on-site, but I have never before had to cut that short (truth be told, I usually stretch it out, much to the consternation of my wife and co-workers!).

Tomorrow is the weekly chemo infusion. Still getting very odd bouts of nausea from it, they come on in a flash and then watch out! Had a mildly humorous bout this weekend; at least I found it funny. My dog, on the other hand, was rather annoyed when I bent down to pet her and she caught a face full of it...Ah well, Sheba needed a bath anyway!

Not much else to report, still waiting for the SoCal doc to get back to us about the referral for the IFN/IL2 therapy. Robin started a support group today, she really enjoyed it and is thinking about cutting her work hours so that she can attend the weekly sessions. The kids are fab, and still have no idea what is up, only that Daddy has a "cold" these last few weeks. Ah, to be six again...

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Catching Up

WWFD? Or, What Would Francis Do? Where the heck did that come from, you ask. Well, I gotta admit that this is from an old event, but corporate mail seems to take awhile...

Way back in September I attended a party that was in appreciation for the pivotal figures in our implementation of the computerized medical record. No, I was not a recipient, merely a participant, Any way, during the party I had a chance to talk with a group of the project's nursing reps, and they introduced me to the term "WWFD". Evidently it means "What Would Francis Do?" and it had become their standard approach to any problems that they faced. Needless to say I was 1)Humbled, 2)Honored, 3)Secretly proud, and 4)Irreverent.

The very next weekend my family and I were at the Castro Valley Street Fair and I stumbled across a stall that would create License Plate surrounds on the spot. Needless to say my irreverent side took over and just as a joke I had one created that had "KPHC" across the top and "WWFD" across the bottom.  Well, it turns out that this joke gift I mailed to the project is now posted on the wall of their clinical leader, and photos are floating all over the corporate intranet.  I guess it’s my 15 minutes…

So, on with the updates.  I had the Neck to Nuts CT a bit over three weeks ago.  All of the tumors are stable/shrinking—the ones in the right kidney are now classified as cysts—except for the lung tumors.  Evidently they are multiplying and growing.  The CT also showed a small pleural effusion (fluid pooling in the space between your lung and ribs) at the base of the left lung.  Needless to say my Onc was not happy--nor was I.

As a result of this finding I underwent a Thoracentesis (stick a needle through your chest, feed in a plastic tube, then suck out the fluid) 2 weeks ago.  The results were pretty normal, except for the presence of cancer cells.  On this tap they took out 175cc, not a whole lot.  Unfortunately, one week later I was very short of breath with exertion; so after a chest X-ray I was back in the Interventional Radiology lab where they took out 1700cc of fluid.  When she saw this, the only thing that Robin could say was “wow, ten times the last one”.  Thanks Robin.  Next Tuesday I am due back in IR to see how things are progressing.  As for how I feel, I haven’t felt this good in weeks.  As I used to tell my students, “Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round, oxygen is good”!.

The weirdest part of the experience came when I saw the tube from my back plugged into the vacuum bottle.  It struck me that after about 20 years of assisting on procedures like this—and feeling sorry for the poor bastard that we were treating—now I was the poor bastard being treated.  Very strange feeling.

As a result of the CT scan result and the effusion a bunch of stuff has changed.  First, my chemo has been changed to Temsirolimus; this is similar to Sutent, but is a weekly intravenous infusion which I receive every Wednesday morning.  Also, my Onc has referred my to the Riverside facility that administers the Interferron and Interleukin 2 therapy—with luck we will hear from them next week when their specialist returns to the US.  Pending the results of this referral, and the response of my effusion, the nephrectomy has been put on hold.

Looking back over the last few weeks, I am pretty chagrined to realize that I had no idea what was going on with my lungs.  Like I said earlier, I feel better now than I have in weeks, but a part of me is certain that I should have caught this earlier.  You have no idea what it is like to feel anxious with every breath, weak with every movement, and confused all the time.  And to think that I chalked it up to the side effects from the chemo!  Ah well, live a little, learn a little.

The side effects from the Temsirolimus are pretty limited; most of the effects are zero tolerance for spicy/sour foods and oral sores.  The biggest problem is the nausea and vomiting that hits on the second day after the infusion…yes, that is right now, and the porcelain god has received his due as I type this.  Bloody annoying; and tastes like crap to boot.  With luck it will end tomorrow, and I can get back to eating and drinking.

Well, that is about enough for one night.  Time to go huddle the throne and pray for the morning.

Be well.

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A Bit of Good News

It has been awhile, and for that I apologize. What with Christmas and appointments and side effects I have basically ignored everything. But, there is good news.

First, let's review the Bone Scan results...nothing new there, except that what I thought was a fracture in my right foot way back when truly was. Yep, dropping a motorcycle on your foot will break the foot. The scan confirmed all of the existing mets and found nothing new. Damn good news.

In the intervening time I also had an MRI of the Brain and Spine--to check the results of the CyberKnife treatment--and all of the lesions have gone from small and dense to diffuse and larger. Before anyone freaks out, this is GOOD. As the lesions are treated and die they will result in some inflammation of the surrounding areas, and the tumor core will be "attenuated" on the scans. This has all happened; so things are good. The plan is to wait for another three months and see what happens.

As for the left thigh pain, that has been confirmed as a mets. I am currently undergoing full radiation therapy to the thigh for this, and should be done in about eight days. Seems to be working, as the stress related pain in my thigh is gone. Course, there is a downside, as my left leg feel decidedly weaker. Ah well.

That brings up an odd experience. The rad techs swore that I would noitice nothing, but yesterday when they blasted my leg every hair stood up like they were all charged...so much for them saying that "non-ionized" radiation has no ionizing effects. Of course, the techs think that I am nuts, but I know what I saw and felt.

Monday I have the Neck to Nuts CT; so we will see what the rest of my body is doing. Assuming that the scan shows a positive progression in the tumors, I will then have the Primary Tumor in my left kidney removed. Here's hoping.

As for the side effects; food sucks, but I am still keeping my weight stable.

If it were not for Robin and the kids I would probably have given up by now, but I cannot let myself do that. They are my life.

Happy New Year to all, and to all a good night.

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