Hey! I again don't know what to say about the delay in blogging except I can't even believe the gap. Sorry again, especially for those of you who check frequently. I will commit to writing far more frequently, although they will probably be shorter posts.
Tuesday I had my surgical procedure to "fix" the L3 vertebrate and can only characterize it as a success.
This involved a never been done in South Florida procedure, taking a tried and true procedure called a Vetribroplasty (don't think that is spelled right) and adding a new wrinkle specifically for cancerous damage to vertebrate pioneered in San Diego. The basic procedure basically shoves a huge needle into your vertebrate, then they pump cement into the gaps in the vertebrate. What I did adds a step where the dead cancer tissue from the Radiation is ablated by a radio frequency "wand", eliminating far more soft tissue material and reducing the risk of the cement pushing the dead tissue material into the spinal cavity.
The doctor, Dr. Tate, later that afternoon presented my operation in a presentation to the entire Cancer Center Medical staff to a standing ovation!
All of that celebrating aside, there was a small complication during the procedure. While they were filling the vertebrate with structural epoxy cement, I had a minor heart arrhythmia on the table.
So..... More nights in the hospital for Eric. They kept me in Tuesday for some EKG's, blood tests, an Wednesday for Echocardiogram, and a stress test. We didn't get the stress test results back by 6pm, so he I sit on a Wednesday night, blogging to you from a hospital bed.
Obviously there's a lot of reasons why that could have happened (oh... Radiation, Chemotherapy, Job Stress, Life Stress, I was having surgery, are a few that come to mind)... The head of cardiology is feeling like it was probably a one off thing, but Dr. Lozada (my oncologist and lead doc) is very conservative. The Taxol chemo can be hard on hearts, so she wants all the results back before discharging me. I expect that will be sometime just after lunch.
Anyway, I am not worried about it and am in great spirits over the back. I can already tell I have more mobility and can move much easier.
If I can only get my back to feel back like it was pre-diagnosis, I would be in such good shape with all of this. It also means I can scuttle that back brace.
With the exception of Sunday a.m. my past week has been great. And even with all of the surgery excitement, I have been doing very well feeling wise.
More good news to report: I only have (2) (read it! 2) more radiation therapies. that means no more going to the hospital EVERY day. And i can cut out a major side effect generator. No it may take 4 weeks for the side effects to subside, but at least the line is no in the sand and it is Friday.
Friday is also my "bye-week" for Chemo, so next week is my rest week - and without radiation treatment.
I am hoping that it will be a high watermark in how I am feeling during all of this treatment. The Friday after that, I go back to a chemo only regimen and we bring back the Gemzar in to the mix.
Thanks for the continued e-mails and prayers!
Love, in Christ,
Eric
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
8/10/07 Update (a.k.a. the least creative title in blog history)
8/10/07 Update (a.k.a. the least creative title in blog history)
Hard to believe another week has gone by without a posting… Time seems like it is both frozen and on fast-forward.
I had an uneven week. My previous experiences have been something linear and positively progressing. Meaning, that I have chemo on Fridays, which since progressively each day has been better than the next, it is usually going to be my best day. Saturday seems to hold court with no real improvement, but I slow way down by night time. Then the chemo catches up and Sunday is usually the worst day. Followed by Monday, a little better, then each day better yet.
This last week was different; and in a very real sense disappointing. Only because it was different. More fatigue in general is the culprit. Typically, Sunday held up as a bad day. Monday was actually pretty good. Tuesday, I backslid big time. But then Wednesday was pretty strong. Thursday was up and down. My nights were all pretty tough. I had major appetite issues and low grade nausea. Today, Chemo day, was a good day. And strangely, wonderfully, I can actually say as I write this very text, this is the best I have felt since I took my first Chemo. I even feel normal!!! Let’s pray this holds up!
I think I need to chalk up the week’s unevenness to the fact I had BOTH Chemo and a lot of radiation. My nurses told me “it will be butt-kicking”… The other good news is that I am done with the first radiation field at L3. But the remaining radiation is substantial and I am assuming that the fatigue will remain an issue for at least the next 2 weeks while I get this next large field addressed. The radiologist says fatigue onset can remain for 4 weeks past completion. OH well. Either way, the period is finite. And I am not an 80 year old lady.
It looks like I do need to do the reconstructive surgery on my back to ensure stability at L3. This would require and outpatient procedure may be as soon as THIS NEXT WEEK. There is obviously risk with any procedure you do, but one of the issues is paralysis and I am nervous about it. Doing nothing is also a risky option. We will be praying about that a lot this weekend and early week. Please pray about that was well. And this can’t help the fatigue story can it?
By the way, I love your e-mails and cards. Thank you all for sending them. I type very slow, so I have not been the best a returning all of them. Please accept this note as a heartfelt thanks for your thoughtfulness.
And honestly, you all have blown me away really. It has been amazing how many people from High school and College have gotten word and reached out. Your kind comments have frequently moved me to tears. (Yes, I am vastly more emotional lately – my Pastor told me that this was a good thing and not to fight it). I wish we had stayed in better touch.
But, one obvious blessing in all of this is that I am catching up with so many of you. I hope we can continue that.
I’d like to encourage you all to read Psalm 30 and Psalm 40. Two more Psalms that I have clung to recently.
From Psalm 40: Be pleased, oh Lord, to save me. Oh lord, come quickly to help me. I say this passage a lot, especially while laying on the radiation table.
May god bless you all richly and give you all peace that can only come from Him, so that you will all know who much we are all loved.
Love, in Christ,
Eric
P.S. For those of you who know him, Chris Pottorff and his new bride Carrie, have flown in just to hang for the weekend. He has been a dear friend from Junior H.S. on… A real blessing to have them, here!!!
Hard to believe another week has gone by without a posting… Time seems like it is both frozen and on fast-forward.
I had an uneven week. My previous experiences have been something linear and positively progressing. Meaning, that I have chemo on Fridays, which since progressively each day has been better than the next, it is usually going to be my best day. Saturday seems to hold court with no real improvement, but I slow way down by night time. Then the chemo catches up and Sunday is usually the worst day. Followed by Monday, a little better, then each day better yet.
This last week was different; and in a very real sense disappointing. Only because it was different. More fatigue in general is the culprit. Typically, Sunday held up as a bad day. Monday was actually pretty good. Tuesday, I backslid big time. But then Wednesday was pretty strong. Thursday was up and down. My nights were all pretty tough. I had major appetite issues and low grade nausea. Today, Chemo day, was a good day. And strangely, wonderfully, I can actually say as I write this very text, this is the best I have felt since I took my first Chemo. I even feel normal!!! Let’s pray this holds up!
I think I need to chalk up the week’s unevenness to the fact I had BOTH Chemo and a lot of radiation. My nurses told me “it will be butt-kicking”… The other good news is that I am done with the first radiation field at L3. But the remaining radiation is substantial and I am assuming that the fatigue will remain an issue for at least the next 2 weeks while I get this next large field addressed. The radiologist says fatigue onset can remain for 4 weeks past completion. OH well. Either way, the period is finite. And I am not an 80 year old lady.
It looks like I do need to do the reconstructive surgery on my back to ensure stability at L3. This would require and outpatient procedure may be as soon as THIS NEXT WEEK. There is obviously risk with any procedure you do, but one of the issues is paralysis and I am nervous about it. Doing nothing is also a risky option. We will be praying about that a lot this weekend and early week. Please pray about that was well. And this can’t help the fatigue story can it?
By the way, I love your e-mails and cards. Thank you all for sending them. I type very slow, so I have not been the best a returning all of them. Please accept this note as a heartfelt thanks for your thoughtfulness.
And honestly, you all have blown me away really. It has been amazing how many people from High school and College have gotten word and reached out. Your kind comments have frequently moved me to tears. (Yes, I am vastly more emotional lately – my Pastor told me that this was a good thing and not to fight it). I wish we had stayed in better touch.
But, one obvious blessing in all of this is that I am catching up with so many of you. I hope we can continue that.
I’d like to encourage you all to read Psalm 30 and Psalm 40. Two more Psalms that I have clung to recently.
From Psalm 40: Be pleased, oh Lord, to save me. Oh lord, come quickly to help me. I say this passage a lot, especially while laying on the radiation table.
May god bless you all richly and give you all peace that can only come from Him, so that you will all know who much we are all loved.
Love, in Christ,
Eric
P.S. For those of you who know him, Chris Pottorff and his new bride Carrie, have flown in just to hang for the weekend. He has been a dear friend from Junior H.S. on… A real blessing to have them, here!!!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Good News Plus More Plan Changes… 8/4/07
Good News Plus More Plan Changes… 8/4/07
Hello! Sorry for the downbeat/mood of my last blog. This one will not be near so glum. Promise. I actually am feeling pretty good right now so I felt this would be a good time to catch you all up.
This week marked my 1st full week of radiation therapy at my L3 site. I feel it must be considered successful. My pain has greatly diminished and I am really only left with the great inconvenience of wearing a full chest brace to try to support/isolate that L3, to be worn all the time when I am not sleeping. The doctors think I may need to wear this for a pretty long time, not knowing ho truly unstable the L3 is. I am hoping we’ll have a plan in the next 4 weeks on whether I need the Kyphoplasty/Arcuplasty treatment to repair the L3, with surgical cement. We’ll just have to wait on that.
The only real side effect I have been fighting this week that may be new and/or increased is substantial fatigue. I get weak fast. I definitely think it is a combined factor of both the Chemo and the Radiation (most people do not do both at the same time).
Throw in the MISERABLE weekend stay at Holy Cross and that I am still not sleeping soundly at night and most of this is explainable… The good news is that I think I am finally pulling through on the rest front. I have caught a few naps this week and feel less fatigued today since I have since all of last week. I plan to take this weekend to really gain on my rest and feel like I can come close to square one and really try to get to an understanding of my “baseline” feelings.
And this has been my main frustration so far. All of this is new. All of this is changing, literally weekly, that I have yet be able to find a “rhythm”. And with all of the treatment changes we are still talking about, it may be a few more weeks before I get a stable routine going. Now, enough about that. Here’s the latest:
PLAN CHANGES
I had Chemotherapy again yesterday. My new cycle will be (3) straight Friday’s, then a “bye week”. But the chemo will be a fractionated dose of just the Taxol and Carboplatin (Gemzar is too sensitive to radiation, so we had to cut that out completely). This chemo plan is really just to make sure we can keep some momentum up on that front as I switch to more of a radiation therapy plan. Plus I am young and they think I can take this more aggressive plan.
I will keep up with the Monday through Friday radiation of the site at L3, PLUS I will start an additional, lager field regimen of Radiation Therapy for my hips, and sacrum on Monday. This too, will be every weekday and we expect this to go for another 3-4weeks. This ties into the Chemo cycle, and so I will guess we will be changing that plan again then, too…
Dr. Lozada ordered a CT Scan on Thursday wanting to see what my lung tumor has been doing with the chemo. We were a little tentative about what we would find, as the first scan was from 2+ weeks before treatment started, so the growth was still theoretically blooming and we feared that the new scan might come back showing an increase.
But, GOOD NEWS!!! The scan actually shows a slight decrease in size after only one cycle. Praise God! A small victory for sure, but a victory none-the-less.
With that news above, and now that we have switched to a radiation heavy plan, Dr. Lozada is asking the Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Medina, to look to radiate the lung to really go aggressively after this stuff. Dr. Medina is slightly tentative because this would be (3) very large fields of radiation all going on at the same time, but again, I am young and strong and Dr. Lozada seems encouraged. I’ll know more on that next week…
Oh yeah, I am completely bald now. I have also lost a bunch of weight (20 lbs+), eating healthier than I have in my entire life tehse last 4 weeks. When you don’t eat a bunch of crap, it is actually a major struggle to get 2000 calories a day… Funny, I don’t miss any of it.
I will get pictures up soon so you call can see my new “look”. I still feel like I am looking at a stranger in the mirror, but some people have been nice enough to say that I look handsome. I am also not getting my beard growth back either. I shaved the other week and with 5 days growth since, I still only look like a 13 year old kid trying to look like a Latino gang banger…
Still constipated. Think about that a lot. Really hate that. Bowels should not be a part of your moment-to-moment consciousness. I am trying to turn it over to God (add your own “moving in mysterious ways” jokes, here).
Anyway, I will sign off. Thanks so much for you continued e-mails and prayers. I love you all.
Eric
Hello! Sorry for the downbeat/mood of my last blog. This one will not be near so glum. Promise. I actually am feeling pretty good right now so I felt this would be a good time to catch you all up.
This week marked my 1st full week of radiation therapy at my L3 site. I feel it must be considered successful. My pain has greatly diminished and I am really only left with the great inconvenience of wearing a full chest brace to try to support/isolate that L3, to be worn all the time when I am not sleeping. The doctors think I may need to wear this for a pretty long time, not knowing ho truly unstable the L3 is. I am hoping we’ll have a plan in the next 4 weeks on whether I need the Kyphoplasty/Arcuplasty treatment to repair the L3, with surgical cement. We’ll just have to wait on that.
The only real side effect I have been fighting this week that may be new and/or increased is substantial fatigue. I get weak fast. I definitely think it is a combined factor of both the Chemo and the Radiation (most people do not do both at the same time).
Throw in the MISERABLE weekend stay at Holy Cross and that I am still not sleeping soundly at night and most of this is explainable… The good news is that I think I am finally pulling through on the rest front. I have caught a few naps this week and feel less fatigued today since I have since all of last week. I plan to take this weekend to really gain on my rest and feel like I can come close to square one and really try to get to an understanding of my “baseline” feelings.
And this has been my main frustration so far. All of this is new. All of this is changing, literally weekly, that I have yet be able to find a “rhythm”. And with all of the treatment changes we are still talking about, it may be a few more weeks before I get a stable routine going. Now, enough about that. Here’s the latest:
PLAN CHANGES
I had Chemotherapy again yesterday. My new cycle will be (3) straight Friday’s, then a “bye week”. But the chemo will be a fractionated dose of just the Taxol and Carboplatin (Gemzar is too sensitive to radiation, so we had to cut that out completely). This chemo plan is really just to make sure we can keep some momentum up on that front as I switch to more of a radiation therapy plan. Plus I am young and they think I can take this more aggressive plan.
I will keep up with the Monday through Friday radiation of the site at L3, PLUS I will start an additional, lager field regimen of Radiation Therapy for my hips, and sacrum on Monday. This too, will be every weekday and we expect this to go for another 3-4weeks. This ties into the Chemo cycle, and so I will guess we will be changing that plan again then, too…
Dr. Lozada ordered a CT Scan on Thursday wanting to see what my lung tumor has been doing with the chemo. We were a little tentative about what we would find, as the first scan was from 2+ weeks before treatment started, so the growth was still theoretically blooming and we feared that the new scan might come back showing an increase.
But, GOOD NEWS!!! The scan actually shows a slight decrease in size after only one cycle. Praise God! A small victory for sure, but a victory none-the-less.
With that news above, and now that we have switched to a radiation heavy plan, Dr. Lozada is asking the Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Medina, to look to radiate the lung to really go aggressively after this stuff. Dr. Medina is slightly tentative because this would be (3) very large fields of radiation all going on at the same time, but again, I am young and strong and Dr. Lozada seems encouraged. I’ll know more on that next week…
Oh yeah, I am completely bald now. I have also lost a bunch of weight (20 lbs+), eating healthier than I have in my entire life tehse last 4 weeks. When you don’t eat a bunch of crap, it is actually a major struggle to get 2000 calories a day… Funny, I don’t miss any of it.
I will get pictures up soon so you call can see my new “look”. I still feel like I am looking at a stranger in the mirror, but some people have been nice enough to say that I look handsome. I am also not getting my beard growth back either. I shaved the other week and with 5 days growth since, I still only look like a 13 year old kid trying to look like a Latino gang banger…
Still constipated. Think about that a lot. Really hate that. Bowels should not be a part of your moment-to-moment consciousness. I am trying to turn it over to God (add your own “moving in mysterious ways” jokes, here).
Anyway, I will sign off. Thanks so much for you continued e-mails and prayers. I love you all.
Eric
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