Blow the popsicle Stand!

Finally after 3.2 days in what felt like it could be prison on some respects, I am finally writing this from the comfort of my living room chair that I enjoy sitting in (usually in the evening).  Right now it is 12:05 pm and I have been home from the Hospital for about 30 minutes.  

This morning I talked with internal medicine resident he talked about Surgical Oncology not wanting to do anything in patient so I would be released if my liver results were trending in the right direction.  I saw the internal medicine doctor after my lab results came back and we chatted about the improvement in liver enzymes.  What this tells everyone is the stent that was placed Monday afternoon is successful and doing its job.  Later this morning a previous surgeon of mine stopped by.  He stated he thought this was not a tumor but rather an enlarged Lymph node.  There are 1 of 3 things it could be enlarged from.  1 metastatic Colon Cancer, 2 Some sort of Lymphoma, or 3 Simply enlarge from no cancer at all.  Obviously everyone is waiting to see what the results of the biopsy is.  This will tell us if this is cancer and what flavor of cancer it is or if it is not cancer.

If it is cancer he would opt to do a mix of chemo and radiation to shrink the mass prior to surgery.  

I want to be honest here.  Some doctors we have really great relationships with and others not so much.  Also my former oncologist apparently doesn't do GI tumor cancers any longer so we can ask if he would be willing to take my case but there is a new doc in the last 7 years that specializes in GI Oncology.  I saw him in the hospital.  At this point assuming this is Cancer we are lookning for the best medical team of Oncology and Surgical Oncology that works for my journey...  

All this is pending those pesy biopsy results.

A pastor and friend of ours reminded me that God gives us what we need for today and that we don't need to worry about tomorrow.  I'm not sure I would call what I have worry.  I would say I am very unsure about what my medical team would look like and that's the thing I really need to figure out quickly of course pending results.

~Kent

"You have a test result"

I saw plenty of people today during the day including oncology, and surgical oncology about the plan and mostly the consensus was we need to wait for the biopsy results.  I had 2 things that are noteworthy.  The first was from labs drawn earlier this morning.  One of the cancer markers they checked was really high.  Most people want to be off the charts but not me in this regard.  The other information I'm learning is that the Doctor who did the biopsy said this looked like metastatic colon cancer. 

The other noteworthy thing that happened today was a CT it was scheduled for 1:30 p.m and it was just before 2 p.m. when our Pastor and a consistory member ( a good friend) showed up in my room as did the wheelchair to take me to the CT.  My nurse talked with the person taking me down to see if they were staying or leaving after dropping me off.  She said, she was staying.  So it was a quick trip down to radiology and 2 passes through the CT machine one without IV contrast (just oral contrast), and another WITH IV contrast.  About 10 minutes later I arrived back in the room.  On the way back to the room I almost ran into an occupied bed and I wasn't driving.  This person told me not to say anything so If you know them I didn't tell you.  

When back in the room Leah and I had a great conversation with the 2 men from  our church before they left.  Later in the day Leah said to me "You have a test result".  She checks our email account and when MyChart sends me something they let me know by email.  The app itself notifies my on my phone. So I checked the result and it was the result of the CT.  The main purpose of the CT with oral and IV contrast was to find any other spots in the chest, abdomen, and pelvis.  From what I read they did not find cancer in any other locations than the Mass we discovered on Saturday.  

As of now we still do not have results from the biopsy taken from the Mass.

~Kent

And now we Wait.

 Since the last post (written Sunday night) I had been in the Hospital awaiting a procedure.  Monday (yesterday) I saw plenty of new faces all talking to me about the plan (getting the biopsy).  When I asked what day that would happen I got a lot of we're not sure kinds of answers or just simply passing the buck to another department.  The Doctor in charge yesterday did finally tell me scheduling started at 8 ( my convo with him was roughly 8:15)  He told me I would know soon if it was scheduled for Monday or if I could begin eating.  

I don't remember exactly how long it was but My nurse came in and told my Endoscopy was scheduled for 4 p.m.  I sat around all day waiting with no food and very little water .  I managed to get a couple sips with my medicine and Ibuprofin earlier  in the day.  I buprofin you ask, well the pillows in Hotel Buttorworth (again someone else's words) are horrible.  So sleeping on those for one night was enough.  Monday morning Prior to hearing anything I communicated with Leah begging for My pillow.   Later in the day that turned into pillow and blanket.

Around 2 p.m The GI person on the floor came and talked to me.  She told me I was scheduled for the Endoscopy and could tell me all about it but didn't know when I was scheduled.  I was able to give her that info.  Essentially they were going to do an ultrasound via endoscopy then take a biopsy of the mass and place a stent in the bile duct.  I loaded her with a hopper full of questions most of which she answered and some of whch she pointed to another department (a lot of finger pointing happening around here)  One piece of information she told me is my family could go down with me and talk with the Doctor once the procedure was completed.  My family showe up around 3 - 3:30 and as oon as the last one arrived so did the bed. It caught me a little by surprise I still had to slip on one of the Beautiful gowns they provide you with.  You know the kind that are light and airy in the back.  I got out of my shirt and pants and under layers. What you may not know about these shirts is they have velcro up one side so if you're connected to something you can still get them on or off.  Huge props to my Sister in-law for this design.  I'm told she thinks the hospital should give a kickback.  Honestly I think the hospital likes their gowns a little to much.  After slipping into the gown I got on the bed and received some warm blankets and then was wheeled down to The prep bay for the endoscopy.

The nurse loaded me up with leads and then got fluuids connected and then left.  Next came the anesthesiologist who talked about the kind of anestesia.  We had a few questions for him and he had a few for me.  Shortly after, He rolled me out and directed my family memebrs to another room on our way.  After saying goodbye to them he wheeled me through a set of double doors and then another to the left.  We played bumper cars getting in the room but I wasn't driving so I felt o.k. with it.

Once fully in the room I met my nurses for the procedure and the doc talked to me.  He quickly explained what was going to happen, Had me sign something and got started with Oxygen.  The mask the hold over your face collapses around your nose and mouth when you breath in.  I did this for what felt like less than a minute.  They told me they were going to push sleepy meds and seconds later your eyes feel super heavy and when you close them you are in nap land.

The next thing I remember is waking up in Recovery.  The nurse there asked about pain nausea and the like which I had some pain but wasn't aware af it right away.  I was there for over an hour since they were trying to regulate my High BP.  I told her it runs high so this might be on the normal side of things.  If you know about whit coat syndrome It's a very real thing.  Even if the white coat looks like blue scrubs.  She finally made a call to Doc on duty and I was permitted to go back to my room.

On my way back to the room I passed a family waiting area and I saw Lydia's face over top of the wall.  I waved as I went by.  The bed stopped in front of my room and I was asked if I could walk or if I wanted to be wheeled in.  At that point I wasn't super sure of my walking ability so I opted for the latter.  Leah showed up by the side of my bed as they were creating room for this bed to get next to my bed in the room.  What I failed to mention earlier was as we were getting ready to go down My nurse mentioned I would be getting a roomie while in the procedure.  There were enough long faces and questions why from my and my family at the time.  What Leah told me is that my Nurse did some string pulling to allow me to have the room to myself.  She came in later and apologized for telling a little white lie... Honestly she is a great nurse.  Props to you for the care you give especially to the small needs of your Patients!!!!!!

when situated in the room I got new Icewater, Orange Jello (3 of them) and a menu for later.  I was told clear liquids for 4 hours then a more regular menu at 11.  Honestly with the pain I had and the aftereffects of the procedure I didn't really feel like eating much.  I got 2 jello cups down and some water but I was done at that point.  After saying goodbye to my family I got some pain meds hoping it would help and turned in for the night.  I never go to sleep before 10 but last night I did.  I slept pretty good except for the things they need like vitals and blood draws.  

My blood draw at 6 am was what got me up today (Tuesday),  Now it's a hurry up and wait day.  In regard to my stay I will get to have anything I want on that low fat diet I'm stuck on.  Other than that I'm hoping to hear the biopsy results and I'm also told My oncologist will be stopping by.  Finally someone I know not that I want to be his patient again.  He's a great doc and Just chatting with him will be great.

Obviously the emotional part of this is overwhelming Especially not kowing what this really.  Prayers for Good results and Peace are what I'm asking for at the moment.  And of course when I know more One of us will post things here.

~Kent

A familiar but undesired hallway.

Written Sunday 5/14 around 9 p.m.

 I apologize first off for being away so long.  Life has been pretty normal the last years since I stopped treatment for stage 4 Colon Cancer.  

I don't really know how to begin this post so I guess I'll dive into the details as I have them.  I had a Physical on April 15 with labs.  Those showed a high Liver Enzyme.  My Primary doc ordered an Urgent CT to see what was causing the Enzyme.  The CT came back with a very good report which made all of happy as I haven't had a scan in many years.  On May 3 I was experiencing new symptoms Like itchy skin and other things associate with Liver issues.  I saw my primary Doc again and after a short discussion he suggested it was likely a blocked bile duct.  He referred me to GastroEnterology.  I got a call regarding scheduling and the soonest appointment they had was Thrusday May 11.  I met with an NP and and ER Doc who was trasitioning out of the ER.  After a thourough review of my case they felt it best to order more labs and an MRI of the Liver.  So Friday I went and got my labs done over lunch.  Yesterday I started my day driving to Reed City Hospital for an 8 am MRI.  After completing the MRI, I got in the car where I had packed my Meds and Coffee.  I took my meds right away and sipped my coffee on the 1 hour and 15 minute drive back home.  

My girls were at a baby shower Saturday so I had the house to myself so to speak.  I finished one show I had been watching and was starting another when I got a notification in my MyChart app that I got a test result.  I looked and it was the MRI Report.  So just 2 hours aftert the test I read the full report.  Not once but several times.  The result was not what I wanted to read.  Pushing on my bile duct and Portal vein (which both sit under the liver) was a rather large mass.

We were on our way to meet family for dinner to celebrate my long delayed Birtday.  The GI doctor called Leah since he got the busy signal on my phone.  We talked with him about what the report said and next steps for the entirety of my 30 minute drive.  Consensus was for us to go to the ER and be admitted to the Hospital to get 2 things.  First a Biopsy of the Mass and Second a Stent in the Bile duct.  

This morning I took a picture of Leah and Lydia on the Front porch as Today is Mother's Day.  Then Lydia drove me and Leah to the ER for the beginning of this new Journey.  During our stay in the ER there were a lot of conversations Mixed with a lot of waiting.  Finally at 4 they had a room.  At the moment I was excited until we got off the elevator and rounded the corner headed to the wing I would be in and the words on the door read  "ONCOLOGY".  I have been here before and hoped I would never be back.  This was a familiar but undesired hallway.  I was wheeled around the entire wing to get to my room.

When we arrrived in the room My nurse was found relatively quickly and asked 101 questions (her words not mine).  I aksed about food since I was given the rights to eat just a little before leaving the ER.  I got a menu and had what I thought to be a delicous meal picked out.  I callled the number and gave them room info and verified it was me then told them what I wanted only to be told I could not eat that since I was on a low fat diet.  I wonder how that got in my chart?  New selection was made and I got dinner about an hour later.  I have 2.5 hours left to eat before they cut off my food supply.  Why you ask?

They are cutting off food supply at midnight due to a possible procedure tomorrow.  This procedure would likely be done by GI which is an endoscopy with Ultrasound and Biopsy of the mass while they are in the area.  I'm hoping it's tomorrow but at this point you learn in the Hopsital things move at the Hospital's pace....

All this to say when I get the biopsy done they will be able to tell what this mass is and what we need to do to treat it.  So for Now from the Oncology wing of the Hospital, Good Night.  More information will be posted here in the not to distant future.

Kent

Miracle on Oakview St.

Last April 28th I got a good report on my previous scan.  Since then I was scheduled for another 6 months from that point.  That was scheduled for November 9th (a few weeks ago).  It went as normal as a CT scan could go.  Since I have been such a regular at these I talked with the tech about how I have these every 6 months.  I told her as I left I would see her again in 6 months.

A week later I had an appointment with my oncologist to go over the results.  After a week of some very anxious feelings by some people we waited patiently on a very busy afternoon for our turn to talk with the doctor.  When he came into the room he told me I had a very good scan.

He quickly generalized the points of the report.  He decided to focus more on the things he noticed in my CBC (complete blood count).  Everything in my CBC was fairly normal.  The one thing he made note of is I have a slightly elevated level of Bilirubin.  Based on their test the normal is considered a 1.0 and my level was at a 1.2.  He doesn't want to ignore this but he wants to make sure we watch it carefully.  Our family is very familiar with bilirubin from when Leah's dad had cancer.  For those of you who don't know what bilirubin is a toxin made by the liver.  My doctor thought the elevated level was due to all the work done on my liver in the past 4 years.  I also had a slightly enlarged spleen on my scan.  My doctor believes these may be related.

At the end of my appointment my doctor said he wanted to see me in 4 months and then he said he wanted to do 1 final CT in a year.  These are very good things to hear.  If we feel there is another reason to see the doctor before next November then we call him.  Otherwise we resume normal life until November 2017.

We were waiting for scheduling shortly after that and I was reading through the report.  The one  sentence that I read that surprised me is the following "No liver lesions are present."  up until my scan in April there have been 2 lesions found in the liver that were just not active. Based on past conversations with my oncologist I was told I may always have these lesions and could eventually turn back to cancer.  

A true miracle those two lesions are not present.  Praise God for this great report and renewed Health.

-- Kent

And now you know...

Time to pick up where I left off a bit ago.  I last wrote on on Oct 27, 2015.  That post was 2 days before my dad died.  A couple days after Dad passed away I got the call to schedule my Port removal.  Since the funeral was on Tuesday the 3rd of November and I had 5 days off from work for bereavement, I scheduled the port removal for Friday the 6th.  A dear friend of ours drove Leah and I to our appointment.  He was and has always been a real encouragement when I am in a nervous situation.  As much as I wanted my port removed I was nervous about getting it done.

My 3 month check up with my Oncologist I talked with him about my gabapentin not really helping my nerve pain in my feet.  Rather than change the dose He suggested changing to Lyrica.  He wanted me to wean off gabapentin and then start on Lyrica.  I  started Lyrica about a week later and the change has been great.  While it doesn't completely take all the pain away I have a lot less pain in my feet which is a welcomed change.

Since then I have continued to have a great appetite and feel great.  Our family had the opportunity to take a trip to Florida for spring break.  Destination Disney World.  We were there 9 days and were close enough to 2 of the parks that we could walk there and back.  We were only on a bus a couple times during the week.  We rode a boat a handful of times during the week but we ended up walking most often.  According to our fit bits we averaged 9 miles a day for most of the week,  

While in Florida I got a call from scheduling wanting to schedule my CT.  This was the last thing I wanted to think about when on vacation.  I scheduled it for the morning of the 27th of April which was yesterday.  More on that in a little bit.

Monday was my Birthday so I spent much of the weekend and of course Monday celebrating with My family and Leah's family.  This included afire in our yard with Hobo Pies for supper and then a special planned Ice Cream bar thought up and executed by my best daughter Lydia.  Sunday Lunch was burgers on the grill and my favorite cake for dessert.  Monday we had supper at On the Border which is always fun.  I had a great Birthday.  Thanks for all helping me celebrate.

Now for the rest of the story.  The medical profession generally allows about a week in between the actual test and the Doctor's appointment to give you the news.  I meet with the PA from my Oncologists office on May 6.  So I shouldn't really know any results yet.  As far as I knew yesterday the scan went as normal as they could.  They to gave me a Birthday present.  Evidently when you turn 41 they take an extra delayed image to check your kindey function.

Today Leah met with our Primary doctor.  We each see him but I mostly visit my oncologist and see my primary Doc on occasion.  During her appointment with him she brought up I had a scan yesterday.  She told him we didn't find out the results til May 6.  He asked if she would like to know today.  She said yes of course so He told her that my scan looked good.  Again another good report.  Short and sweet as some may say.  I don't know if I should be offended he didn't call me to tell me first ;-).

So now May 6th is just a formality and an excuse to get a copy of the radiology report.

Another 6 months until the next scan at least unless my oncologist decides to bump this out further.

More in a few months.

-- Kent

Mixed emotions

In Leah's facebook post last Friday she stated I would write on the blog that evening.  Here it is the following Tuesday and I'm just sitting down to write.  I had an CT of my abdomen a week ago last Friday as my first 6 month long checkup.  The results showed no cancer.  Other than a thickening of the Bronchial tube nothing was really noted in the report.  The PA at the Oncologist office didn't seem at all concerned with the Bronchial tube activity.  Since I still have to make a trip out there every 6-8 weeks for a port flush, I politely inquired about getting that taken out.  The PA asked when I last had treatment.  I told her it had been a year in May.  She stated they usually take them out around a year.  Since I was nearly at a year and a half it was definitely time.  She did confirm that if I needed treatment in the future they would be reinstalling one again.  I understood this and stated I would rather have it reinstalled later than hang onto it and visit every 6 weeks whether I had to or not.  I had the blood test taken for this procedure.  In the next couple of weeks they will call and schedule my port removal.

Sunday Leah had her 40th birthday.  Before leaving for church Leah received a call from her mom wishing her a happy birthday.  While she was on the phone her mom also told her that her Grandpa passed away that morning.  Leah's birthday wasn't exactly what either of us expected, regardless we were surrounded by family and friends.

Many of you know my Dad has Alzheimers.  In recent weeks he has had difficulty swallowing so he had been placed on a diet of Pureed food.  Saturday evening Leah and I went to visit him and he was sitting in his chair but had very labored breathing.  I talked with my Mom tonight (tuesday) again after many of the times this weekend.  She told me she was asked by Dad's facility to either put Dad on Hospice or they would send him to the hospital.  Since my Mom had Cataract surgery today she asked to push off the decision for one day.  Neither of us feel sending him to the hospital will be beneficial for his quality of life at this point.  So more than likely he will be put on Hospice care soon.  He was diagnosed with this disease 7 years ago and although I slowly prepared for this moment I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for the final goodbye.  

--Kent