Monday, October 19, 2009
Spinal Chemotherapy
I should mention, the spinal chemotherapy has been planned by Dr. G from the beginning, but he failed to mention it to us. It is a precautionary step, that's all. I just accidentally freaked out Tim's mom because I forgot to mention that during our call after the visit on Friday, so I thought I'd bring it up here. Sorry, Lori!!!
Visiting Dr. G
Just before the chemo rounds, we always have an appointment with Tim's oncologist, Dr. G. Last Friday was one of those informative visits.
One new thing we found out about during this visit is that Tim is going to need chemotherapy to his spine. The procedure involves Dr. G inserting a needle into Tim's spine to extract some spinal fluid, mixing that fluid with chemotherapy, and injecting it back into T's spine. He didn't sugarcoat it; it will be painful. It will happen on four separate occasions and we do not yet know when the first round will be.
Tim did not need blood transfusions at all during this cycle, so again the dosage of his chemo will be increased. This does not say anything about the chemo: whether or not it's working. It just means Tim's body is able to fight off infection despite the treatments.
We were also informed on this visit that on Friday the 6th of November, we will know the extent to which the chemotherapy is working. Tim has a CAT scan of his chest and pelvis during Tuesday of that week, which we will be discussing during the appointment. The results of that test will again be analyzed when they are compared to another CAT scan to be done after the sixth and hopefully final chemotherapy treatment (the week ending on December 4th). Around the time of the second CAT scan, T will be getting another PET scan and bone marrow biopsy, just as he did during the diagnosis stage. Hopefully that will be the full circle, the ending mimicking the beginning.
If all goes well, after the sixth round we will be waiting for the cancer to return, running tests every three months at first and then every 6. If it doesn't come back in the next five years, it's not likely to return. Of course, as I'm typing this I'm looking for wood to knock on. We've seen already how much regard life has for our expectations of it.
So we're starting a new round this week...wish us luck!
One new thing we found out about during this visit is that Tim is going to need chemotherapy to his spine. The procedure involves Dr. G inserting a needle into Tim's spine to extract some spinal fluid, mixing that fluid with chemotherapy, and injecting it back into T's spine. He didn't sugarcoat it; it will be painful. It will happen on four separate occasions and we do not yet know when the first round will be.
Tim did not need blood transfusions at all during this cycle, so again the dosage of his chemo will be increased. This does not say anything about the chemo: whether or not it's working. It just means Tim's body is able to fight off infection despite the treatments.
We were also informed on this visit that on Friday the 6th of November, we will know the extent to which the chemotherapy is working. Tim has a CAT scan of his chest and pelvis during Tuesday of that week, which we will be discussing during the appointment. The results of that test will again be analyzed when they are compared to another CAT scan to be done after the sixth and hopefully final chemotherapy treatment (the week ending on December 4th). Around the time of the second CAT scan, T will be getting another PET scan and bone marrow biopsy, just as he did during the diagnosis stage. Hopefully that will be the full circle, the ending mimicking the beginning.
If all goes well, after the sixth round we will be waiting for the cancer to return, running tests every three months at first and then every 6. If it doesn't come back in the next five years, it's not likely to return. Of course, as I'm typing this I'm looking for wood to knock on. We've seen already how much regard life has for our expectations of it.
So we're starting a new round this week...wish us luck!
Birthday Weekend
Sorry for the lapse, everyone! Happily I report that it's merely because of my busy schedule and nothing to do with any bad news related to Tim. I'm going to try to write a few entries today to catch up...this one is essentially cancer-info free.
Last weekend was my birthday weekend and it was wonderful. I knew Tim was taking us on a secret trip on Saturday, so on Friday night when I had plans with my friend Becca, she agreed to go shopping with me. As most people who know me well can either attest to or imagine, this was a generous task for her to agree to because a.) I hate shopping with an undying passion and b.) I have very little fashion sense and generally am glad to stick to the hand-me-downs of my more fashion-conscious sister.
When I pulled up to Becca's place, I had to run into the house to use the restroom before we set off on our expedition, when SURPRISE! Becca had invited my sister Becky and our friends Nicole and Jenn to her place for a birthday party, which I had absolutely no clue about. Shopping was clearly off, which was fine by me! After we sat down to dinner, the doorbell rang and Becca innocently remarked, "The neighbors must have locked themselves out." Naively thinking nothing of this, I continued to chow down on the delicious stuffed shells she had prepared when in walked Becca followed by my dear Mommala! I was again taken aback, but was a little wiser when the doorbell again about 15 minutes later. Expecting my pops to have been waiting in the van to make a dramatic entrance of his own, I was once more caught off-guard when Bobbi and Sarah, two of my other sisters, walked in. It was incredibly touching that everyone had gathered from Chicago and around the state to make sure my 27th birthday was one of fond memories overshadowing the cancer-related ones. The party commenced and we had a wonderful time playing games and having headstand contests! Mother was of course behind the camera for the picture, as always!
The next morning I returned to our apartment slightly worse for the wear, but excited for the road trip. I had it narrowed down to a visit to either Madison or Milwaukee from Tim's description of the plan (a city outside of IL within a few hours of Chicago), so I knew when we took the Edens at the 90/94 split that we were Milwaukee bound. After a pleasant drive we arrived at the Pabst mansion, one of the few historic former residences left on what used to be a street of extravagant estates. The mansion is being restored by the citizens of Milwaukee and so far it is absolutely gorgeous. I would recommend it without pause to anyone who even remotely enjoys such things and is in the area.
Tim and Mr. Pabst
Somewhere in the tour at the Pabst mansion the guide mentioned that of the other three remaining mansions on the street, two were made into stores and one was a bed-and-breakfast. You can probably guess, then, what the next surprise was, but I didn't see it coming. We stayed for the night at the Brumder Mansion Bed and Breakfast down the road and it was gorgeous. The extremely cordial host gave us a tour of the open bedrooms of the house when we first arrived and I was amazed by the lavish accommodations. All of the rooms had their own bathrooms and a few of them had HUGE jacuzzi tubs.
We stayed in the gold room and settled ourselves in quite quickly. After a bit of time at the bed and breakfast, we headed downtown to see some sights and have dinner at a nice little French restaurant where T had made reservations. Troopers that we are we went out after dinner for one drink, but we were so exhausted that we trudged back to our room by 10 and were in bed by 11:30. In that room, I slept better than I have in months!
We woke up the next morning to a delicious breakfast shared with some fellow travellers. After sharing tips on where to visit, T and I headed off to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Go, go, go, I command you. We were there for 3 or 4 hours and didn't have time to fully soak it in. We had a late lunch after the museum and then started the drive back to Chicago. Our trip was the perfect mix of relaxation and recreation, as only T knows how to plan it. The entire time we were in the city, I just kept saying to Tim, "You know, I wouldn't mind if we lived in Milwaukee!" I just hadn't realized it was such a cool place. At only a couple of hours from Chicago, I'm sure we'll be heading back there sometime in the near future.
Last weekend was my birthday weekend and it was wonderful. I knew Tim was taking us on a secret trip on Saturday, so on Friday night when I had plans with my friend Becca, she agreed to go shopping with me. As most people who know me well can either attest to or imagine, this was a generous task for her to agree to because a.) I hate shopping with an undying passion and b.) I have very little fashion sense and generally am glad to stick to the hand-me-downs of my more fashion-conscious sister.
When I pulled up to Becca's place, I had to run into the house to use the restroom before we set off on our expedition, when SURPRISE! Becca had invited my sister Becky and our friends Nicole and Jenn to her place for a birthday party, which I had absolutely no clue about. Shopping was clearly off, which was fine by me! After we sat down to dinner, the doorbell rang and Becca innocently remarked, "The neighbors must have locked themselves out." Naively thinking nothing of this, I continued to chow down on the delicious stuffed shells she had prepared when in walked Becca followed by my dear Mommala! I was again taken aback, but was a little wiser when the doorbell again about 15 minutes later. Expecting my pops to have been waiting in the van to make a dramatic entrance of his own, I was once more caught off-guard when Bobbi and Sarah, two of my other sisters, walked in. It was incredibly touching that everyone had gathered from Chicago and around the state to make sure my 27th birthday was one of fond memories overshadowing the cancer-related ones. The party commenced and we had a wonderful time playing games and having headstand contests! Mother was of course behind the camera for the picture, as always!The next morning I returned to our apartment slightly worse for the wear, but excited for the road trip. I had it narrowed down to a visit to either Madison or Milwaukee from Tim's description of the plan (a city outside of IL within a few hours of Chicago), so I knew when we took the Edens at the 90/94 split that we were Milwaukee bound. After a pleasant drive we arrived at the Pabst mansion, one of the few historic former residences left on what used to be a street of extravagant estates. The mansion is being restored by the citizens of Milwaukee and so far it is absolutely gorgeous. I would recommend it without pause to anyone who even remotely enjoys such things and is in the area.
Tim and Mr. PabstSomewhere in the tour at the Pabst mansion the guide mentioned that of the other three remaining mansions on the street, two were made into stores and one was a bed-and-breakfast. You can probably guess, then, what the next surprise was, but I didn't see it coming. We stayed for the night at the Brumder Mansion Bed and Breakfast down the road and it was gorgeous. The extremely cordial host gave us a tour of the open bedrooms of the house when we first arrived and I was amazed by the lavish accommodations. All of the rooms had their own bathrooms and a few of them had HUGE jacuzzi tubs.
We stayed in the gold room and settled ourselves in quite quickly. After a bit of time at the bed and breakfast, we headed downtown to see some sights and have dinner at a nice little French restaurant where T had made reservations. Troopers that we are we went out after dinner for one drink, but we were so exhausted that we trudged back to our room by 10 and were in bed by 11:30. In that room, I slept better than I have in months!We woke up the next morning to a delicious breakfast shared with some fellow travellers. After sharing tips on where to visit, T and I headed off to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Go, go, go, I command you. We were there for 3 or 4 hours and didn't have time to fully soak it in. We had a late lunch after the museum and then started the drive back to Chicago. Our trip was the perfect mix of relaxation and recreation, as only T knows how to plan it. The entire time we were in the city, I just kept saying to Tim, "You know, I wouldn't mind if we lived in Milwaukee!" I just hadn't realized it was such a cool place. At only a couple of hours from Chicago, I'm sure we'll be heading back there sometime in the near future.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
The bags come off...
T finished his second round of this regimen on Friday. Overall the round went fairly well. Though his medication was intensified after his high blood counts last round, he did not feel more adverse side effects with the more intense medication. He slept more, but that's about all in terms of differences from last time.
Timmeh did end up going to his parents' house last Thursday to drop off some grass transplants that we got from my mom's garden for his dad's yard, but he only ended up staying for one night. Hana, his cousin, had the flu and his parents had been ill earlier in the week, so it wasn't exactly perfect timing. He reported that his mom had them quarantined from each other on different levels of the house, with Hana in isolation in the basement and T confined to the upstairs. Robert Frost wisely said, "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in," and unfortunately for Hana, it seems he was correct.
Yesterday he got the shot that makes him sore and he's feeling the pain today. I got home tonight to him complaining about the pain and he had apparently forgotten about the expected side effects because he hadn't yet taken any pain pills. So he took those and 1/2 hour later, that and a belly full of superfood combined with a comfy recliner and a video game subscription (thanks, Richard!) has alleviated much of the pain. We'll see if he needs a blood transfusion on Thursday. Homework time...
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