Friday, September 5, 2008

Results and R7D1

Not as good as I had hoped and certainly not as bad as my uninhibited imagination had me thinking.

The large tumor in my liver is back to the same size it was at the beginning. The others haven't changed. The tumor in my pancreas hasn't changed. There were a couple of miniscule dots in my lung on the last scan. Those have gotten a smidge bigger and there are a couple more. They are not anything to be concerned about at this time.

We changed my treatment schedule to 2 weeks on and 1 week off. By the third treatment in my previous rounds, my counts would be so low that they either wouldn't treat me or I got a drastically reduced treatment. We are going with the lowered dosage we started at the beginning of the last round and will increase it a bit nexxt round if things go OK. We don't have CA19-9 numbers yet, so don't know if that has changed significantly in the last month. After a couple of rounds we will see where the numbers are and get another scan if we need to. We are hoping that the inconsistency of my treatment during the last 3 months is what is causing some growth. If that doesn't prove true, we will try another drug.

Despite all that, the Dr. says overall I am doing well. I haven't lost a significant amount of weight in the last few weeks. People say I look good. I assume if I looked like crap they wouldn't say anything at all, so I take them at their word.

I did pretty good with my treatment yesterday. A headache last night and this morning. Thankfully some good friends had us over and bathed and dried Kohlbi, as that would have been too much. Today we were at the Local Samoyed Specialty in Greeley. It was a long day. Tomorrow and Sunday we will have shorter days at the show.

I am optimistic that things will continue to go well and I know that the prayers and positive thoughts that are being sent my way make a difference.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jane, Thanks for the updates. Just so you know, not only do you look good but it is your spirit that shines through you that will keep you looking good and not only keep you taking a step foward but helping the rest of us to move with you. Nothing, not even cancer, can take away the spirit within. The prayers keep us all connected and hopefully help to keep your spirit ignited. Much love, Mary

Anonymous said...

We love you and also appreciate the updates. Because I believe that God is in charge of everything, and I also believe in miracles, I will rejoice that you are holding your ground, still fighting, and still solidly "in the game."

Erik said...

Sorry to hear that things didn't turn out "best-case", but I glad the docs are thinking that you're doing well overall.

If it'll help you sleep better at night, I'll tell you if you look bad. You can count on me.

FYI, Leslie and I have been thinking sending you mad positive energy, thoughts with a healthy heaping of love.

Hang in there.