Well, today was the Nuclear Bone Scan. For those not used to the terminology, that basically means that I was injected with a material that binds to the active cells in the bones and emits particles that a fancy geiger counter can "see".
Granted, that is a horribly simplified explanation, but it works. The "camera" simply sees radioactive decay particles and plots them. Over time, you end up with an outline of the bones and some other areas. The brighter the area, the more decay particles. The brighter the area, the higher the probability of cells that are running at a fast metabolic rate. Again, a simplification, but it works.
So, on to my reading of the scan. First off, the only reason that I can guess at this is having a bit of the theory, and a bit of experience in seeing these scans--the fruits of many years working in the Emergency Department.
From what I saw, the left Femur (thigh) lesion is confirmed; whether cancer or a bunch of cells fixing a fracture I cannot say. The Kidneys are definitely a hot spot with some funky dark spots on the left. A good friend tells me that the dark areas probably mean that there are dead areas in the left kidney. The other interestingly bright area is in the region of the bladder; not surprising as the nucleotide is cleared by the kidneys and at the end of the test I was desperate to pee ;)
So, all in all, not too bad a scan--as far as I can tell. I'll get back when I see the real reading. Moving forward I am looking at going to the Orthopaedic Oncologist for the femur lesion; and then off to the Urologist for the left kidney removal. With luck this will all happen by the end of January, but I am not looking forward to having a titanium rod shoved into my thigh. Ah well, what is, will be.
On the chemo front the side effects are not too bad this time. The GI stuff is a bit of a bother, but seems better today.
Not too much on the home front; we are looking forward to tramping thru the forest this weekend and picking out a Christmas tree. With a bit of luck we will even manage to get it decorated this weekend. Speaking of that, what in the world do they tell kids now a days? My daughter is deathly afraid that a "real" tree will catch on fire, and that says that we have to get a "fake" tree. Ah, don't get me started. They can't sing Silent Night at their Winter Festival, but they can sing O Hannukah. Yet another symptom that the Judeo-Christian origins of the US are being sundered, and the States are dead. All hail the Politically Correct interpretation of (dis) reality!
Anyway, enough depressing stuff. Today was a good day. I am alive, the family is alive, and we are all healthy.
Two quick notes. For those who have been reading this blog, I have good news and bad news about some of the people that I have mentioned.
Last week my Aunt Noelle passed from this earth. She fought a long and valiant fight against some disease that they still cannot diagnose. She was a wonderful person and has enriched the lives of all of us that knew her. Noelle, I will miss you. Say hello to momma for me.
As for my office mate, he is doing well, and evidently living without a kidney is not too bad. According to all of the work-ups he has no metastases and should be fine. Let this be so.
Please pray for them both during this holiday season.
Be well, and remember that it is the little things that count.
Read more!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thanksgiving Update
First, let me be the first to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Many of us get so wrapped up in our lives, and the sheer commercialism of this time of year, that I think it is wise that we all sit back and reflect on the true meaning of this Holiday.
And what is Thanksgiving about? For me it is a time to remember all the blessings and benefits that we all have in our lives. A time to share those thanks, and whatever else I can, with family and friends. Some of us have more, some of us have less, but we all have something to share and to be thankful for. For myself, I am mainly just thankful for the fact that I am alive and relatively healthy, and that I am blessed with one of the best family's around. Both blood and "adopted". I truly could not be going through this so easily without the support of all. Thank you.
Now, on to the update stuff. Today I went to see the Onc, and to get another infusion of the "Bone Juice". My doc--and the whole team--are quite happy with my current situation. The current plan is to resume the chemo on next Tuesday, and after the cycle is over to run a complete battery of tests. So sometime in early January I will have another set of Brain and Spine MRI's, as well as the neck to nuts CT. After the tests are done I will be off to RWC and Stanford for my follow up appointments for the Craniotomy and CyberKnife. Also, after the tests I will be scheduled for the removal of my primary tumor. Yep, time for the Radical Nephrectomy (Kidney removal)! Seems kinda odd to be excited about another surgery, but I like the idea of treatment progressing. The only drawback is that I will have to be off work again for a few weeks. Ah well, I don't know anyone who died of boredom; so I doubt that I will.
Hopefully the next few days will not be as rough as after the last bone juice infusion; but what will be, will be. The Onc team all had some ideas to try out, so I am hopefully applying their suggestions.
Turkey day should be pretty quiet; we have some friends and my brother bringing food and spending the day with us, so that will be a big help. Of course, stubborn cuss that I am, I insisted on cooking the turkey, stuffing, and gravy. So, come hell or high water, that is what I will do. Besides, I did most of it today. All that is left is plopping the bird on the barbeque or into the oven...
Last of all, I have a special request. A good friend of mine--he stood with me when few would--recently underwent surgery and the pathology report came back this week. Turns out the two of us have another thing in common; we both have Renal Cell Carcinoma. His prognosis is rather better than mine--thank God they found it relatively early. Anyway, I am sure that he and his wife and kids would benefit from your prayers as much as me and mine have, so please remember him.
Thanks again to all of you; and remember that Thanksgiving is about sharing your bounty and being thankful for what you have. Sometimes a hard thing to do, and this year has been harder than most, but I am positive that we all have at least one thing to be thankful for. For myself, many more that one.
Be well. Read more!
And what is Thanksgiving about? For me it is a time to remember all the blessings and benefits that we all have in our lives. A time to share those thanks, and whatever else I can, with family and friends. Some of us have more, some of us have less, but we all have something to share and to be thankful for. For myself, I am mainly just thankful for the fact that I am alive and relatively healthy, and that I am blessed with one of the best family's around. Both blood and "adopted". I truly could not be going through this so easily without the support of all. Thank you.
Now, on to the update stuff. Today I went to see the Onc, and to get another infusion of the "Bone Juice". My doc--and the whole team--are quite happy with my current situation. The current plan is to resume the chemo on next Tuesday, and after the cycle is over to run a complete battery of tests. So sometime in early January I will have another set of Brain and Spine MRI's, as well as the neck to nuts CT. After the tests are done I will be off to RWC and Stanford for my follow up appointments for the Craniotomy and CyberKnife. Also, after the tests I will be scheduled for the removal of my primary tumor. Yep, time for the Radical Nephrectomy (Kidney removal)! Seems kinda odd to be excited about another surgery, but I like the idea of treatment progressing. The only drawback is that I will have to be off work again for a few weeks. Ah well, I don't know anyone who died of boredom; so I doubt that I will.
Hopefully the next few days will not be as rough as after the last bone juice infusion; but what will be, will be. The Onc team all had some ideas to try out, so I am hopefully applying their suggestions.
Turkey day should be pretty quiet; we have some friends and my brother bringing food and spending the day with us, so that will be a big help. Of course, stubborn cuss that I am, I insisted on cooking the turkey, stuffing, and gravy. So, come hell or high water, that is what I will do. Besides, I did most of it today. All that is left is plopping the bird on the barbeque or into the oven...
Last of all, I have a special request. A good friend of mine--he stood with me when few would--recently underwent surgery and the pathology report came back this week. Turns out the two of us have another thing in common; we both have Renal Cell Carcinoma. His prognosis is rather better than mine--thank God they found it relatively early. Anyway, I am sure that he and his wife and kids would benefit from your prayers as much as me and mine have, so please remember him.
Thanks again to all of you; and remember that Thanksgiving is about sharing your bounty and being thankful for what you have. Sometimes a hard thing to do, and this year has been harder than most, but I am positive that we all have at least one thing to be thankful for. For myself, many more that one.
Be well. Read more!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Catching Up With Reality
OK, I have to send out an apology to a bunch of people. Evidently some people worry about me, and when I don't post here they email my family to find out what is going on...
Sorry all. I let myself get so caught up in returning to work that I forgot about everything else.
Things are going pretty well with this cycle of the Sutent. Amazingly enough, it seems that Benadryl is quite effective at staving off the side effects. Since day one of this cycle I have been taking 50mg of benadryl in the morning and at nighht. For me this dosage causes no problems, but it has sure kept the side effects down.
I am currently ending week four of this Sutent cycle, and I only just experienced the metallic taste side effect on monday. As for the funky oral swellings, they have not arisen this time around. All in all, this has been a good cycle.
Let's see, catching up on the rest of things...you have no idea how good it feels to be working. Of course, it probably helps that people seem downright ecstatic to see me, but the personal satisfaction of doing something to earn a buck really helps the old self esteem.
I finally finished all the dental work and started the pamidronate infusions. Boy, do those make you feel like crap. I basically get to write off 2 or 3 days after every infusion. Luckily they are every 4 weeks, so it is not too bad. As long as it keeps me from having pathologic fractures it will be worth it...
***WARNING: POLITICS SPOILER***
The craziness of this state's and country's electorate never ceases to amaze me. Millions of people get caught up in a movement to effect "change". So they all march like lemmings to the sea (in this case the promised land--as interpreted by Obama and Soros), They vote that chickens deserve what are basically an extension of HUMAN rights to the animal kingdom (what ever happened to being fruitful, multiplying and having dominion?); while at the same time they reject a similar dubious extension of "human rights" to fellow humans. Go figure.
Well, the majority of the public has spoken, and they deserve what they will get. As for the rest of us, BOHICA.
As one of my favorite authors says, "Despair is a sin. And bad tactics".
Read more!
Sorry all. I let myself get so caught up in returning to work that I forgot about everything else.
Things are going pretty well with this cycle of the Sutent. Amazingly enough, it seems that Benadryl is quite effective at staving off the side effects. Since day one of this cycle I have been taking 50mg of benadryl in the morning and at nighht. For me this dosage causes no problems, but it has sure kept the side effects down.
I am currently ending week four of this Sutent cycle, and I only just experienced the metallic taste side effect on monday. As for the funky oral swellings, they have not arisen this time around. All in all, this has been a good cycle.
Let's see, catching up on the rest of things...you have no idea how good it feels to be working. Of course, it probably helps that people seem downright ecstatic to see me, but the personal satisfaction of doing something to earn a buck really helps the old self esteem.
I finally finished all the dental work and started the pamidronate infusions. Boy, do those make you feel like crap. I basically get to write off 2 or 3 days after every infusion. Luckily they are every 4 weeks, so it is not too bad. As long as it keeps me from having pathologic fractures it will be worth it...
***WARNING: POLITICS SPOILER***
The craziness of this state's and country's electorate never ceases to amaze me. Millions of people get caught up in a movement to effect "change". So they all march like lemmings to the sea (in this case the promised land--as interpreted by Obama and Soros), They vote that chickens deserve what are basically an extension of HUMAN rights to the animal kingdom (what ever happened to being fruitful, multiplying and having dominion?); while at the same time they reject a similar dubious extension of "human rights" to fellow humans. Go figure.
Well, the majority of the public has spoken, and they deserve what they will get. As for the rest of us, BOHICA.
As one of my favorite authors says, "Despair is a sin. And bad tactics".
Read more!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Cyberknife and More...
TV commercials suck. The last thing that I want to watch is the latest Viagra or Tampax ad, especially when the kids are watching TV with me. Ever try to answer a six year old when they ask "Daddy, what's a tampon?"!
Since I hate commercials I tend to watch many of the shows from the DVR recording; that way I can tap the button I programmed for a 30 second skip and just bounce past the offensive interludes. Why bring this up? Well, last week I saw--for the first time that I can remember--one of the KP Thrive commercials and it really hit home. The scene is set by a young lady going about town, talking about how she has cancer. The tag line for the ad is "I have cancer, it does not have me." Great attitude, and one that I will have to remember.
Friday was Cyberknife treatment one; they did the spine only. Yesterday was treatment two (spine and brain), and today is treatment three (spine and brain again). Robin tells me that the CK team says I am their most relaxed patient yet...huh, all I do is try to sleep through it! What else is there to do when you have to hold perfectly still for one hour and are strapped into a cradle or mask to ensure compliance? Watch a fancy welding robot move about and spit Xrays at you? Boring. (Yesterday the CK tech discovered my secret--she came in at the end of the brain frying and had to wake me up.)
Side effects from the CK treatments are pretty manageable. Mostly just fatigue/lassitude and a touch of nausea. These generally hit around one hour after the treatment. Yesterday I was feeling pretty good and a bit adventurous, so we stopped and got dome food on the way home. Note to self: Fried McDonalds food and CK treatments do not mix well. I ended up missing dinner (a gorgeous steak) and spent the evening praying for my stomach to chill out. Joy.
Initially the CK scheduler had the majority of my treatments scheduled for the mid afternoon--which caused much whining from me due to travel and rush hour--but they have so far managed to reschedule every one to earlier in the day. Today's appointment is now in its third iteration, as we have to be there by 1130am. Just goes to show, whining can help! Plays havoc with Robin's scheduling back-up for her clinic though. I must say, her boss and the staffers have been absolutely stellar through this whole thing. Thanks ladies!
Not much from the Sutent this time around. The reflux can still be pretty bad--that and the steroids they are giving me as part of the CK treatment are why I am up so early--but not much else thus far.
Had a friend drop by for the afternoon on Sunday, so we spent the time kibitzing about our old employer and generally catching up. Great fun and a good morale booster. Hey, in case any of you forgot, it's the little things that help. I am also told that the prayer circle has grown again; thanks Mary and Laura!
Well, time to go. About time to wake up the house and do the Daddy thing.
Take care. Read more!
Since I hate commercials I tend to watch many of the shows from the DVR recording; that way I can tap the button I programmed for a 30 second skip and just bounce past the offensive interludes. Why bring this up? Well, last week I saw--for the first time that I can remember--one of the KP Thrive commercials and it really hit home. The scene is set by a young lady going about town, talking about how she has cancer. The tag line for the ad is "I have cancer, it does not have me." Great attitude, and one that I will have to remember.
Friday was Cyberknife treatment one; they did the spine only. Yesterday was treatment two (spine and brain), and today is treatment three (spine and brain again). Robin tells me that the CK team says I am their most relaxed patient yet...huh, all I do is try to sleep through it! What else is there to do when you have to hold perfectly still for one hour and are strapped into a cradle or mask to ensure compliance? Watch a fancy welding robot move about and spit Xrays at you? Boring. (Yesterday the CK tech discovered my secret--she came in at the end of the brain frying and had to wake me up.)
Side effects from the CK treatments are pretty manageable. Mostly just fatigue/lassitude and a touch of nausea. These generally hit around one hour after the treatment. Yesterday I was feeling pretty good and a bit adventurous, so we stopped and got dome food on the way home. Note to self: Fried McDonalds food and CK treatments do not mix well. I ended up missing dinner (a gorgeous steak) and spent the evening praying for my stomach to chill out. Joy.
Initially the CK scheduler had the majority of my treatments scheduled for the mid afternoon--which caused much whining from me due to travel and rush hour--but they have so far managed to reschedule every one to earlier in the day. Today's appointment is now in its third iteration, as we have to be there by 1130am. Just goes to show, whining can help! Plays havoc with Robin's scheduling back-up for her clinic though. I must say, her boss and the staffers have been absolutely stellar through this whole thing. Thanks ladies!
Not much from the Sutent this time around. The reflux can still be pretty bad--that and the steroids they are giving me as part of the CK treatment are why I am up so early--but not much else thus far.
Had a friend drop by for the afternoon on Sunday, so we spent the time kibitzing about our old employer and generally catching up. Great fun and a good morale booster. Hey, in case any of you forgot, it's the little things that help. I am also told that the prayer circle has grown again; thanks Mary and Laura!
Well, time to go. About time to wake up the house and do the Daddy thing.
Take care. Read more!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Sleepless in Castro Valley
Just a quick update while I wrestle with insomnia...I received a phone call from the Cyberknife folks late yesterday afternoon--tip for others out there: trying to locate items in a newly remodelled Safeway while noting appointments and talking on the phone does not work. I must have cruised the same aisles three or four times while trying to do both. I guess my sister in law is right, that Y chromosome prevents multi-tasking!
It seems that I have an 0800 appointment this morning (nothing like a timely warning) for the simulation and target scanning; then treatment appointments for Monday and Tuesday. Of course, the follow up email from the Treatment Coordinator has to confuse all of that, as it also mentions a treatment appointment on Friday. Not very confidence building. Ah well, all I know is that Robin and I will be at the Cancer Center at 0800 to sign in and start the day. The Treatment Coordinator tells me that today's appointments will last about 4 hours, so I think I'll bring my netbook along and surf. Yes, Stanford has free WiFi for the public to use.
Other news from the trenches: The various docs have finally agreed, and I am back on the Sutent as of yesterday morning. Too early to tell what the side effects will be this time around, other than nasty indigestion at 0330 in the morning.
Well, time to see if the Zantac is working and try to get back to bed. But first I'll have a bit of a snack as I am not supposed to eat anything after 0400 today (part of the preparation for the morning CT and MRI scans). Gotta keep the weight up...
Take care. Read more!
It seems that I have an 0800 appointment this morning (nothing like a timely warning) for the simulation and target scanning; then treatment appointments for Monday and Tuesday. Of course, the follow up email from the Treatment Coordinator has to confuse all of that, as it also mentions a treatment appointment on Friday. Not very confidence building. Ah well, all I know is that Robin and I will be at the Cancer Center at 0800 to sign in and start the day. The Treatment Coordinator tells me that today's appointments will last about 4 hours, so I think I'll bring my netbook along and surf. Yes, Stanford has free WiFi for the public to use.
Other news from the trenches: The various docs have finally agreed, and I am back on the Sutent as of yesterday morning. Too early to tell what the side effects will be this time around, other than nasty indigestion at 0330 in the morning.
Well, time to see if the Zantac is working and try to get back to bed. But first I'll have a bit of a snack as I am not supposed to eat anything after 0400 today (part of the preparation for the morning CT and MRI scans). Gotta keep the weight up...
Take care. Read more!
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