And the results are in!

We had a good report on midway CT scan today.  Adrenal gland tumors have shrunk almost 50% and bronchial tumors have shrunk as well.  Lungs look a little worse, but both oncology and and radiation doc think the opacity is from the radiation scarring, not more cancer so they are not at all concerned. 

Jim can start light exercise (stretching, walking, easy yoga) and now that we seem to have the nausea under control, he is feeling much more enthuse plastic about getting his old self back, or maybe his new self!

We will post more later (Jim is working on the next installment of his Battle) but we wanted to share our good news.  We are at Black Angus, our celebratory spot, watching the Niners.  

Love, hugs and gratitude,

S & J

Did He Smoke, part II

As a follow up to my earliest post, "did he smoke?", Tracey sent me this thought provoking article from Slate.com, http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/09/cancer_stigma_don_t_blame_patients_for_their_disease_no_matter_what_the.html

When someone who is not a health practitioner asks, did you smoke? were you in the sun a lot? did you eat too much fat? There is no action, nothing constructive that can come out of the answer.

Judgments about behavior not only unsettle and stigmatize the patient, but reflect the interrogator’s own insecurities. Frequently, those disease detectives are attempting to regain a sense of control amid the inherently random and sometimes unjust world that we all reside in, according to researchers who have studied stigma. Psychologists refer to this as the “just-world hypothesis,” a bias in thinking and perception that was first described by psychologist Melvin Lerner and colleagues more than four decades ago ...

“I think that in one part there is a fundamental assumption in our society that the world is a just place, and that bad things don’t happen to good people,” says Gerald Devins, a stigma researcher and senior scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto. “And I think when bad things happen to good people, it’s threatening to everybody.”

“Secondly, you can say knowledge is power in a sense,” Devins says. “If we feel like we understand something, it gives us the illusion of control.”

It doesn't change a thing.

Third time's the charm

Just a quick update to let you know how things are going.  After getting the new regime from doc, we had a very detailed plan for staving off the nausea.  I created a little chart with what to take when (yes, being married to a teacher has it's rewards) and it really helped us to keep to a schedule.  Jim did great the first couple days.  It was a little iffy the first Monday (when I had to go back to school), but when he kept to the schedule, and kept eating light meals throughout the day, it seemed to really help.  So week one went great!...at least in comparison to the first two doses.  This week he has had occasional light nausea but NOTHING like it was before.  

Next week he has his midway CT scan and we are trying not to be nervous about that, since really there is nothing we can do.  

If there is nothing you can do, why be worried? Why be worried if there is something you can do? S.McConnell

What, me worry? Alfred E. Newman

“If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.”Śāntideva

If the problem has a solution, worrying is pointless, in the end the problem will be solved. If the problem has no solution, there is no reason to worry, because it can't be solved.Hsin Hsin Ming

What is Chemo

The question has been asked my several of you, so we thought we'd do a little public education. most of this post is courtesy of the American Cancer Society. The word chemotherapy means the use of any drug (such as aspirin or penicillin) to treat any disease, but to most people chemotherapy refers to drugs used for cancer treatment. It’s often shortened to “chemo".

Treatments like radiation and surgery are considered local treatments. They act only in one area of the body such as the lung and usually target the cancer directly. Chemotherapy differs from surgery or radiation in that it’s almost always used as a systemic treatment. This means the drugs travel throughout the body to reach cancer cells wherever they are, even if they are undetectable to the eye or current image technology (i.e. PET, CT).

Chemotherapy drugs cannot tell the difference between reproducing cells of normal tissues (those that are replacing worn-out normal cells) and cancer cells. This means normal cells are damaged and this results in side effects. Each time chemotherapy is given, it involves trying to find a balance between destroying the cancer cells (in order to cure or control the disease) and sparing the normal cells (to lessen unwanted side effects).

There are three possible goals of chemo: cure, control or palliative. When cure is not possible, the goal may be to control the disease — to shrink any cancerous tumors and/or stop the cancer from growing and spreading. This can help someone with cancer feel better and possibly live longer. In many cases, the cancer does not completely go away but is controlled and managed as a chronic disease, much like heart disease or diabetes.

Jim is on two different chemo drugs. His infusion (IV) takes about two and a half hours. He starts with a steroid solution for 15 minutes or so, then gets the anti-nausea med, Zofran, (the same thing he takes in pill form a few days after chemo, at home). That takes about 30 minutes. Then he gets the first chemo drug, then the second. The nurse checks between each step, and the system flushes the lines with a saline solution. They inject him in the arm, either the forearm or the inside crook of his elbow. They've done his hand but he doesn't like that.

Hope this answers some of your questions, we are learning so much...wish we didn't have to.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The True Cost of Smoking & Tobacco Use | American Cancer Society

The True Cost of Smoking & Tobacco Use | American Cancer Society

Halfway there!

We had the third chemo Friday and it was non-eventful. Our nutritionist stopped by and was encouraging with more ideas for adding fat into Jim's diet.  The big news is the 'after-party'.  We had the regular pre-chemo meeting with oncologist on Thursday.  Dr. Wong is on vacation so we met with Dr. deBruin.  Like Dr. Wong, she was very accessible and helpful.  We told her our biggest concern was the nausea, which was lasting almost the whole 3 weeks.  So she laid out a coverage plan, essentially, for 4 different meds, to help ensure that nausea never gets a chance to take hold.  This is where our project management and teacher planning skills come into play.  First I made a little chart, then I modified an AM/PM weekly pill holder to be a 14 hour pill holder!  And the new regime is working!  So far, so good!  

The past two times, by Sunday the nausea was overwhelming.  Today Jim has been doing chores and even left the house a couple times! He's cooking dinner now! Yay!  Too soon to call it, but it feels like we have turned a corner.

We also talked to Dr. deB. about getting Jim off pain meds.  James had such bad withdrawal symptoms when he stopped the Vicodin, that Dr, Wong had told him not to try to quit the morphine yet.  Now that time has passed, we have a plan to ease him off the morphine over the coming weeks.

Finally, Jim asked for a second opinion on surgical options.  Both docs agree that at this point in time, surgery is not feasible for Jim.  They feel that chemo is the best treatment as it gets all the cancer cells, not just the ones they can see.  She feels that the risks of surgery far outweigh the benefits at this time.  

The next step is a mid-point CT scan on the 23rd.  We'll get a picture of the impact of the big boy chemo next time we see Dr. Wong in three weeks.

Sorry we haven't posted as much.  We are getting into a routine with Sandra back to school.  Please know we appreciate all of your love, concern and support.

Boom, boom! Munch, munch!

Here is James sporting his space invaders beanie.  We are visualizing each drip attacking those stoopid cancer cells!  Thank you, Marie! We are at Big Boy Chemo #3 - halfway there.  Will write more later just wanted a quick update.  Nausea is still our enemy, but we have a new plan of attack.  Jim will also be reducing his pain meds and should be off of all pain meds within two weeks.  Our body-building trainer neighbor, Court, is ready to take on Jim as a project.  So once he starts feeling better next week, he'll start getting some more exercise and building up his strength.