Sam’s appointment today with his E/N/T, Dr. Celin, went well.
Dr. Celin said he like the way Sam appeared and, after examining him with a Fiberoptic Laryngoscope and then physically examining his tongue, he said did not detect any problems.
He also told us that he prefers to do physical exams because he said he can generally detect head and neck tumors at fairly early stages by exams and that Oncologists tend to use more frequent PET/CT Scans for their diagnoses.
In the interest of being proactive, Dr. Celin schedules follow up appointments every 6 weeks the first year, then every 3 months the next year and then every 6 months – ongoing – unless any secondary cancers occur – then it’s back to every 6 weeks. He said that if this cancer returns, it most usually recurs in the first two years after treatment, but he has seen patients with a recurrence at six years out. Also, he feels that it is easier to keep track of the changes in the patient with more frequent exams. We concur.
After a few questions that were minor in nature, i.e. dealing with acid reflux and saliva deficiency, Sam asked if Dr. Celin would call with the results of the PET/CT. Sam related the feelings he had regarding the Oncologist and Dr. Celin suggested that it’s probably a style issue and that he sometimes finds that some patients are better suited to other physicians. So, that validates the idea of changing Oncologists if we continue to be unhappy with that physician. Anyway, we’re glad he will be the one to call.
Sam’s weight is holding at 145 pounds which means he has not gained any weight in the past two weeks – but he hasn’t lost any weight either.
Overall, after this visit, we feel like Sam’s on track but we continue to pray to prepare our hearts for any possible derailments. Prayer is the power for peace.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Making Progress
From Oct. 2008 to Feb. 2009
Sam is on the mend. It's great to see the physical evidence, isn't it? He feels a lot better too. He is still experiencing neuropathy in his fingertips and toes, but it hasn’t gotten worse and is manageable without medication. We are hoping that it will diminish over time.
We are happy to report that Sam is making progress with eating. While most of his meals still consist of soft foods and he still needs to have something to drink after each spoonful of food to be able to swallow; food is palatable to him again. He reluctantly tried apple juice today for the first time since September and to his surprise, it tasted like apple juice.
The desire of Sam’s heart is to have the feeding tube removed - but that most likely won't happen until after the results are in on the PET/CT scan which has now been scheduled for March 13th.
Our prayer is that the scan will be clean. What else can I say? I don't think I (Maddy) am prepared for anything else. With the progress Sam's making, it would certainly be tough to take. But, we have hope and we believe that he will be fine. God will give us the strength we need to deal with any other scenario.
One of the challenges of this cancer experience has been waiting for test results. Our natural desire is to want answers immediately and it is difficult wait. But, we have found that focusing on daily living has a peace to it that keeps you from being anxious about what the future might bring. After all, no amount of worrying will change the outcome of the test. So, it's good to live the best day you can live today and look forward to another best day tomorrow.
We are grateful for your prayers for Sam – it seems to us that they are being answered.
We are happy to report that Sam is making progress with eating. While most of his meals still consist of soft foods and he still needs to have something to drink after each spoonful of food to be able to swallow; food is palatable to him again. He reluctantly tried apple juice today for the first time since September and to his surprise, it tasted like apple juice.
The desire of Sam’s heart is to have the feeding tube removed - but that most likely won't happen until after the results are in on the PET/CT scan which has now been scheduled for March 13th.
Our prayer is that the scan will be clean. What else can I say? I don't think I (Maddy) am prepared for anything else. With the progress Sam's making, it would certainly be tough to take. But, we have hope and we believe that he will be fine. God will give us the strength we need to deal with any other scenario.
One of the challenges of this cancer experience has been waiting for test results. Our natural desire is to want answers immediately and it is difficult wait. But, we have found that focusing on daily living has a peace to it that keeps you from being anxious about what the future might bring. After all, no amount of worrying will change the outcome of the test. So, it's good to live the best day you can live today and look forward to another best day tomorrow.
We are grateful for your prayers for Sam – it seems to us that they are being answered.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Quick Update
On Tuesday 2/10/09 Sam had a follow-up appointment with his Oncologist. It was strange.
Nothing bad… just strange.
After waiting an hour to be seen, Sam was examined by the “Physician Assistant”. Sam told her about the development of the neuropathy in his fingers and toes. He also told her about his visit to his primary care doctor who ruled out B-12 deficiency and diabetic neuropathy and that the E/N/T suggesting it was the Cisplatin. She (the P.A.) agreed that that was the likely cause. Then struts in the Oncologist who said, “This is odd. I treat with this drug a lot and I haven’t found that it occurs this long (3 months) after being given.”
Sam and I just looked at her in amazement. Fortunately, Sam spoke up and said, “Well, we looked it up online and it said that it’s common for neuropathy to occur 3-5 months after Cisplatin is administered.” I wanted to squeeze him because he usually doesn’t challenge doctors.
Here’s one example:
http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/NCI_Cancer_Bulletin_040307/page7
“Chronic peripheral neuropathy may arise weeks or months after chemotherapy treatment and may be very difficult to treat; in some patients, it may be irreversible.”
Anyway, the Oncologist then said something like, that’s probably what it is from.
Annoyed, much? Good guess.
Next steps: Another visit to the E/N/T on 2/24/09 and then a PET/CT will be scheduled for mid-March.
The best surprise of the office visit was the weigh-in. Sam’s weight is now 145.5 pounds. That’s up 16 pounds from September 17th. Pretty soon we’ll have to put him on a diet.
Well, Happy Valentines Day to all our loved ones and friends. Thanks for remembering us before the Throne of Grace. We love you all.
Nothing bad… just strange.
After waiting an hour to be seen, Sam was examined by the “Physician Assistant”. Sam told her about the development of the neuropathy in his fingers and toes. He also told her about his visit to his primary care doctor who ruled out B-12 deficiency and diabetic neuropathy and that the E/N/T suggesting it was the Cisplatin. She (the P.A.) agreed that that was the likely cause. Then struts in the Oncologist who said, “This is odd. I treat with this drug a lot and I haven’t found that it occurs this long (3 months) after being given.”
Sam and I just looked at her in amazement. Fortunately, Sam spoke up and said, “Well, we looked it up online and it said that it’s common for neuropathy to occur 3-5 months after Cisplatin is administered.” I wanted to squeeze him because he usually doesn’t challenge doctors.
Here’s one example:
http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/NCI_Cancer_Bulletin_040307/page7
“Chronic peripheral neuropathy may arise weeks or months after chemotherapy treatment and may be very difficult to treat; in some patients, it may be irreversible.”
Anyway, the Oncologist then said something like, that’s probably what it is from.
Annoyed, much? Good guess.
Next steps: Another visit to the E/N/T on 2/24/09 and then a PET/CT will be scheduled for mid-March.
The best surprise of the office visit was the weigh-in. Sam’s weight is now 145.5 pounds. That’s up 16 pounds from September 17th. Pretty soon we’ll have to put him on a diet.
Well, Happy Valentines Day to all our loved ones and friends. Thanks for remembering us before the Throne of Grace. We love you all.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
We’re havin’ some fun now.
Our daughter Deanna came in for the weekend and it’s been great visiting with her. The last time she was in town since she moved to Arizona was August 2008 after Sam was just starting his chemo/radiation treatments. So it was great for Sam to see his “little girl” and for Deanna to see that her Dad is making progress. It’s hard to see that kind of progress over the phone or by video conferencing.
Sam also thought that since Deanna was coming in, she could give us a hand with a little home repair project that we knew would soon become a problem if it wasn’t addressed. We have a well and it has produced well for us (no pun intended) in the twenty years we’ve been here. Fifteen years ago we (Sam, Max and Maddy) replaced the pump and foot valve and recently it has been making noises that indicated we were going to have a problem soon… and, trust me, it wouldn’t be any fun for the pump to stop in the middle of a morning shower.
Sam was kind of excited to have a “little project” that he could tackle (it’s a guy thing) and he thought it would take just a few hours to complete – with Deanna’s help this time. But, you know the expression, “when it rains, it pours.” This weekend we had a monsoon of sorts.
Our well is 80 feet deep and there is a little “foot” valve at the bottom of the well that keeps the pressure in the tubing so the pump can draw the water up. After pulling up the 80 feet of tubing with the aid of our Subaru and some grunt work by Deanna and Sam, we assembled the parts fairly quickly, got everything back in the ground and quickly realized that there was a problem after we poured 50 gallons of water into the tubing and it seemed to be leaking out of the tubes. We had to pull it back up again and start over. The foot valve cover came off and got stuck in the open position not allowing the tubes to hold pressure.
Without going into a bunch of details, that little 2 hour project took us two days to fix. It all seems to be working now, thank God. Sam was pretty worn out by the whole ordeal, but I know it’s a load off his mind and is another indication that he’s making progress toward his recovery.
Sam has been experimenting with a variety of foods to try to expand what he can eat with the goal of eventually getting off the food pump. We will see the Oncologist on Tuesday (2/10/09) for a follow up and to try to get a sense of when the tube can be removed. My guess is that it will stay in until after the results of the next PET/CT scan in March.
We are certainly looking forward to spring and some good news - but I'll take wrestling with a well pump over cancer any day.
Sam also thought that since Deanna was coming in, she could give us a hand with a little home repair project that we knew would soon become a problem if it wasn’t addressed. We have a well and it has produced well for us (no pun intended) in the twenty years we’ve been here. Fifteen years ago we (Sam, Max and Maddy) replaced the pump and foot valve and recently it has been making noises that indicated we were going to have a problem soon… and, trust me, it wouldn’t be any fun for the pump to stop in the middle of a morning shower.
Sam was kind of excited to have a “little project” that he could tackle (it’s a guy thing) and he thought it would take just a few hours to complete – with Deanna’s help this time. But, you know the expression, “when it rains, it pours.” This weekend we had a monsoon of sorts.
Our well is 80 feet deep and there is a little “foot” valve at the bottom of the well that keeps the pressure in the tubing so the pump can draw the water up. After pulling up the 80 feet of tubing with the aid of our Subaru and some grunt work by Deanna and Sam, we assembled the parts fairly quickly, got everything back in the ground and quickly realized that there was a problem after we poured 50 gallons of water into the tubing and it seemed to be leaking out of the tubes. We had to pull it back up again and start over. The foot valve cover came off and got stuck in the open position not allowing the tubes to hold pressure.
Without going into a bunch of details, that little 2 hour project took us two days to fix. It all seems to be working now, thank God. Sam was pretty worn out by the whole ordeal, but I know it’s a load off his mind and is another indication that he’s making progress toward his recovery.
Sam has been experimenting with a variety of foods to try to expand what he can eat with the goal of eventually getting off the food pump. We will see the Oncologist on Tuesday (2/10/09) for a follow up and to try to get a sense of when the tube can be removed. My guess is that it will stay in until after the results of the next PET/CT scan in March.
We are certainly looking forward to spring and some good news - but I'll take wrestling with a well pump over cancer any day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
