Today I returned to Duke to talk to the liver surgeon. I had an MRI and chest CT the week before, so these results would tell me whether the chemo was successful at containing the cancer and preventing it from spreading. If you recall, when I first started this journey, the liver surgeon said the location and size of the tumors (there are actually four of them) dictate whether we can cut them out and leave enough liver to function on its own. The results were good. The chemo has been successful at shrinking the tumors and they have not spread. Yay!
The next step is surgery. I asked whether it was important to have the surgery as soon as possible because I have a dear friend's wedding in early March that I really want to be able to enjoy. The nurse said I didn't have to rush it, so we picked 3/13. This means that I can't go to a conference later that month, which is unfortunate since I was looking forward to it. But oh well.
I learned that I should have a fully functioning liver after recovery, and recovery could last 2-3 months. The surgery will last 4 hours and I'll be in the hospital for a week. Comparing this with my previous surgery, this surgery is a bit more serious and risky. Less than 1% have complications during the surgery (ie death) but 20-30% have complications with the recovery. Complications vary significantly so I have no idea what to expect.
I'll be removing part of my liver, but the remaining part will expand to fill in the missing space. The veins and bile ducts won't regrow, but that shouldn't affect the liver function. So that's great news! After I've recovered from the surgery, I'll do a few more months of chemo to kill all the microcells that no one can see to ensure they don't find homes and grow into nasty tumors. So the end is near(er).
So now to plan it all out. When will I go back to Duke for my pre-op anesthesia visit? Can my brother come for the surgery? When will my mom come after surgery to help me recover? We'll be at Duke Hospital, so where will my parents stay while I'm in the hospital? What work items will I need to get coverage on? And finally, when can I finally take a vacation????? Lots of question, need to work on the answers.
Baby steps...
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Catching Up
Happy New Year folks!
It's been too long since my last update. I had a great holiday. My mom came down from Chicago for two and a half weeks. It was so great to have her around. My feet were in a really bad state and she was so incredibly helpful giving me cool water foot baths and such. My mom rocks!
My brother Josh, sis-in-law Gloria, and nephews Cedar (9) and Jasper (4) came from Bozeman, MT for ten days. We split them up between my place and my dad's so we both had packed houses. It was awesome to have EVERYONE together for the holidays (for 10 days!) We had a lot of good meals together, went to the NC Transportation museum in Spencer, NC to see the trains, went to Discovery Place and saw an IMAX movie, and visited a couple of parks. It was a very nice holiday.
Then it was bad to the real world. On 1/3, my dad and I headed back to Duke for chemo #4. I think the two week break made a big difference. It kind of reset my system, so this one felt a lot like my first one in terms of side effects. My feet are doing ok, and the nausea was very limited.
Today I headed back to Duke for the tests. I had an MRI scan and a chest CT. I've never had an MRI before and can now understand why people freak out. It's not quick like a CT scan. It took about 25 mins and the whole time you're in this very tiny tube. You've got headphones on, streaming Pandora, because the scans are very loud. The nurse said she would blindfold me, if I wanted, and although I turned down her offer, I can totally understand the benefit. Not knowing that I was in a tight space would be a lot easier. Although, this tube is open on both sides...you just can't see it. All in all, not bad.
And the CT scan was easy peasy since they didn't need contrast, which meant I didn't have to drink the nasty crystal light crap that takes 45 mins to drink, nor did I need the IV contrast that makes you feel like you're peeing on yourself. Fun stuff, huh? So I was in and out of there!
We come back on 1/22 for the results. The results could be one of two things. Here's what we want to hear - "Your cancer has not spread anywhere and it has not grown anymore". This would mean that I can have surgery next to remove the tumors in my liver. Then we'll follow up with 2-6 months of chemo to kill all the possible microcells and ensure that I'm cancer-free. The results we don't want to hear is that the cancer has grown in my liver and/or spread somewhere else (like my lungs, hence the chest CT). That would mean that I would need a new chemo plan and the possibility of surgery to remove the tumors in my liver (and cure me) decreases. That's a scary thought, so I tend to be positive. Why wouldn't they have been able to contain the cancer, right? The results will be good :)
I'm really looking forward to these results because I've felt that I couldn't plan any trips because of all these appointments and side effects. And boy am I getting the traveling itch! I've got a ton of trips already in mind. I wanna do another long weekend in Paris (it's my new annual trip). I'm thinking of doing Vegas with my parents to hit up a few shows. And then there's the trip to Turkey to charter a boat and crew and just tool around the Aegean Sea for a week or so. And of course I need to do a European vacation (FYI Turkey is at the crossroads of Asia and Europe), so I'm thinking Vienna, Budapest, and Krakow. I'd also love to get in a trip to San Diego, Boston, and Montreal, and maybe I can even do my Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico like I was supposed to do last year! Oh, the places to go! 1/22 can't get here quick enough...
It's been too long since my last update. I had a great holiday. My mom came down from Chicago for two and a half weeks. It was so great to have her around. My feet were in a really bad state and she was so incredibly helpful giving me cool water foot baths and such. My mom rocks!
My brother Josh, sis-in-law Gloria, and nephews Cedar (9) and Jasper (4) came from Bozeman, MT for ten days. We split them up between my place and my dad's so we both had packed houses. It was awesome to have EVERYONE together for the holidays (for 10 days!) We had a lot of good meals together, went to the NC Transportation museum in Spencer, NC to see the trains, went to Discovery Place and saw an IMAX movie, and visited a couple of parks. It was a very nice holiday.
Then it was bad to the real world. On 1/3, my dad and I headed back to Duke for chemo #4. I think the two week break made a big difference. It kind of reset my system, so this one felt a lot like my first one in terms of side effects. My feet are doing ok, and the nausea was very limited.
Today I headed back to Duke for the tests. I had an MRI scan and a chest CT. I've never had an MRI before and can now understand why people freak out. It's not quick like a CT scan. It took about 25 mins and the whole time you're in this very tiny tube. You've got headphones on, streaming Pandora, because the scans are very loud. The nurse said she would blindfold me, if I wanted, and although I turned down her offer, I can totally understand the benefit. Not knowing that I was in a tight space would be a lot easier. Although, this tube is open on both sides...you just can't see it. All in all, not bad.
And the CT scan was easy peasy since they didn't need contrast, which meant I didn't have to drink the nasty crystal light crap that takes 45 mins to drink, nor did I need the IV contrast that makes you feel like you're peeing on yourself. Fun stuff, huh? So I was in and out of there!
We come back on 1/22 for the results. The results could be one of two things. Here's what we want to hear - "Your cancer has not spread anywhere and it has not grown anymore". This would mean that I can have surgery next to remove the tumors in my liver. Then we'll follow up with 2-6 months of chemo to kill all the possible microcells and ensure that I'm cancer-free. The results we don't want to hear is that the cancer has grown in my liver and/or spread somewhere else (like my lungs, hence the chest CT). That would mean that I would need a new chemo plan and the possibility of surgery to remove the tumors in my liver (and cure me) decreases. That's a scary thought, so I tend to be positive. Why wouldn't they have been able to contain the cancer, right? The results will be good :)
I'm really looking forward to these results because I've felt that I couldn't plan any trips because of all these appointments and side effects. And boy am I getting the traveling itch! I've got a ton of trips already in mind. I wanna do another long weekend in Paris (it's my new annual trip). I'm thinking of doing Vegas with my parents to hit up a few shows. And then there's the trip to Turkey to charter a boat and crew and just tool around the Aegean Sea for a week or so. And of course I need to do a European vacation (FYI Turkey is at the crossroads of Asia and Europe), so I'm thinking Vienna, Budapest, and Krakow. I'd also love to get in a trip to San Diego, Boston, and Montreal, and maybe I can even do my Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico like I was supposed to do last year! Oh, the places to go! 1/22 can't get here quick enough...
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