Hi everyone,
I hope that everyone is enjoying their month of November! I know here it is getting way too cold way too quickly! I'm also amazed by all of the stores that have their christmas decorations up and are playing christmas music over their loudspeakers! Seems like it comes earlier every year--both Doug and I have started our holiday shopping already. Luckily for Doug, I have held off on playing the music and watching the christmas movies on tv until this Friday after Thanksgiving. :-)
So I wanted to post an update on what is going on in our world right now. This week brought the first round of chemotherapy for Doug. On Tuesday we went into the doctor's to meet with Dr. Hegde--it was very quick, just a quick checkup to make sure that we were all ready to start on wednesday. Wednesday morning we got to UCONN around 9 am and they brought us into the treatment room. Doug got a great seat right by the window and they brought me over a comfy chair so I could sit with him. Well, what we thought was going to be a couple of hours in the treatment room turned out to be an all day affair. Because it was his first time getting the chemo it was quite a process. They needed to first of all test his blood, and his port in his shoulder was being uncooperative. So they had to administer a "Roto Rooter" type medicine in order to unclog it before they could draw the blood. So between that and the testing of the blood, it was about 1 pm before they even started giving him the actual treatment! Moving forward we've been assured that it will be much quicker--probably around 3-4 hours each wednesday. Luckily they have wireless internet in the treatment room so I will be able to work while being there with him. This past wednesday I took the day off since it was his first time.
So we got out of chemo around 3:30 pm and headed home with the chemo pump attached. Basically its about the size of a scienfic calculator, although a bit bigger than that. It comes with a bag that unfortunatly Doug has to carry around with him for 46 hours. He has taken to calling it his "purse" haha. Yesterday we went back to UCONN to get the pump disconnected, it was very quick we were only there for an hour or so. Overall Doug has handled the chemo very well. He obviously hasn't felt ready to run a marathon, but the doctors have given him some excellent anti-nausea medication so that won't be a problem moving forward. Probably the biggest problem he will face besides fatigue is the fact that one of the chemo drugs--oxiliplatin--causes extreme sensitivity to the cold, especially in hands and feet. It has started to affect him a little bit, but we've been warned that as the treatment continues and the drugs build up in his system it could get more severe. So we just have to be very careful about bundling him up good to go outside, making sure the car is all warmed up, and keeping him away from the fridge and freezer (no cold drinks or anything). Its a tough time of year to start a treatment that causes sensitivity to the cold, but if it keeps him healthy in the long run, it is all worth it, in my opinion! So, one treatment down, and 11 more to go! The treatment is every other week, so he won't have to get more until December 3rd. we have to go back to UCONN next week for a quick checkup is all.
So things are progressing smoothly here so far! As far as how things are going besides chemo, things are great and we are looking at a busy holiday season full of friends and family. For Thanksgiving we will make the trip to Saratoga to spend with my family. I'm excited to see my parents and my grandma and be at home for a couple of days. We have various other parties and events throughout the month, including Doug's Grandma's 99th birthday! She is quite a lady. We are going to a concert on the 13th--one of Doug's favorite bands, and we are going to go down to NYC for a day to see Dennis and Elizabeth which we are really looking forward to. So Doug is doing great!
I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I know that I personally have a ton to be thankful for this year. I'm thankful for skilled doctors and advanced medical technology, I'm thankful for both of our wonderful families, and thankful for all of our friends who continue to love and support us. I'm also so thankful for Doug--we are truly a team and I'm so lucky to have him in my life. we've been through a lot, but we are stronger because of it.
Have a great holiday---eat lots of turkey! :-)
Love,
Lindsey
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
More Appointments
Hi everyone--
Can you believe that it is November already? Can you believe we have a new president of the United States? Its crazy how time flys by....although for Doug I think that time is not going quickly enough! I wanted to write an update just to let everyone know whats up and how Doug is progressing in his recovery!
I guess the biggest news is that Doug just had his 8 week anniversary of his surgery on Tuesday! I can't believe that it has been two months. He is doing great---I think that he has really turned the corner and is starting to really feel better, and I'm so happy. There are still days where he doesn't feel great, and he gets tired easily, but its definitely an improvement from a month ago. Now we are working very hard to get some weight back on him--he's pretty skinny so he's a lucky guy right now as I always buy him all of the yummy fattening stuff he likes :-).
Last week we had an appointment with Doug's oncologist at UCONN--Dr. Upendra Hegde. Doug really liked him, and I did too. He of course is not a specialist in the field (no one is in our neck of the woods!) but he has been in contact with Dr. Sardi about Doug's case, and you could tell that he really had done his homework to learn what he could about Appendix cancer. He was very nice, and spent a good amount of time with us and even looked through Doug's latest CT scans with us to explain what and where everything is. He also started discussing with us what Doug's chemotherapy treatments would be like moving forward. It was just a preliminary conversation, and we are going back to see him this Friday morning to really finalize a plan. Dr. Hegde's initial plan is to do the FOLFOX regimen, which is the most common chemotherapy treatment for this type of cancer. He will go into the treatment center and receive IV chemotherapy for 90(? i think it was 90) minutes, and will then go home for the next two days with a chemotherapy pump--similar to an insulin pump. As always, I remain amazed about what science has come up with to make things easier for patients! They are two week cycles, and it looks like Doug will have to do this for 6-8 months. Side effects really vary from person to person, and we are keeping optimistic that Doug will not have an adverse reaction to the treatments!
Dr. Hegde wants Doug to start this treatment right away, and in order to make things easier, he had to have a port installed. So yesterday we headed over to UCONN bright and early for a minor surgical procedure (Well, everything is minor to him at this point!). They basically install a port directly under the skin of his shoulder which has a catheter that is threaded through a vein--basically it allows chemo to be administed directly through this port--like a central line. It keeps him from having to be stabbed in the arm by needles every time he has to get treatment or have blood drawn. So once again I had to watch them wheel my boyfriend away from me to have surgery :-(. But the procedure was no big deal, we went in at 7:30 and were on our way home by 11:15--that had to be a record for hospital time! he's a little bit sore but other than that no biggie--he didn't even get stitches!
So now that the port is in, we will see Dr. Hegde on Friday morning and take it from there! The doctor was going to speak with a friend of his at Yale Cancer Center to discuss Doug's case, jsut to get another oncologist's opinion. He will also have spoken to Dr. Sardi again, just to make sure that everyone is on the same page with Doug's treatment and to make sure everyone agrees that he is strong enough to begin. Its hard to think about him having to go through treatment just when he is starting to feel better---it doesn't seem fair. However, its what needs to be done and we know that. Doug is, as always, much tougher than me :-). I just don't want to see him sick and in pain anymore. But, I also know that this is what is going to make him better!
Like I said, Doug is feeling much better and we are starting to think about where we would like to go on vacation in the spring---we are thinking probably Las Vegas, and then perhaps somewhere with a beach next Fall. I think that after the last few months, we need to get away for some WELL deserved fun! I'll update again once we have a plan mapped out for Doug's treatments and what our schedule looks like.
In the meantime, please keep two other PMP families in your thoughts and prayers. Diana had her MOAS one week ago on 10/28, and Joyce had her MOAS yesterday---both with Dr. Sardi. They both have wonderful families surrounding them, and Doug and I are keeping them both in our thoughts and ask you to do the same.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Lindsey
Can you believe that it is November already? Can you believe we have a new president of the United States? Its crazy how time flys by....although for Doug I think that time is not going quickly enough! I wanted to write an update just to let everyone know whats up and how Doug is progressing in his recovery!
I guess the biggest news is that Doug just had his 8 week anniversary of his surgery on Tuesday! I can't believe that it has been two months. He is doing great---I think that he has really turned the corner and is starting to really feel better, and I'm so happy. There are still days where he doesn't feel great, and he gets tired easily, but its definitely an improvement from a month ago. Now we are working very hard to get some weight back on him--he's pretty skinny so he's a lucky guy right now as I always buy him all of the yummy fattening stuff he likes :-).
Last week we had an appointment with Doug's oncologist at UCONN--Dr. Upendra Hegde. Doug really liked him, and I did too. He of course is not a specialist in the field (no one is in our neck of the woods!) but he has been in contact with Dr. Sardi about Doug's case, and you could tell that he really had done his homework to learn what he could about Appendix cancer. He was very nice, and spent a good amount of time with us and even looked through Doug's latest CT scans with us to explain what and where everything is. He also started discussing with us what Doug's chemotherapy treatments would be like moving forward. It was just a preliminary conversation, and we are going back to see him this Friday morning to really finalize a plan. Dr. Hegde's initial plan is to do the FOLFOX regimen, which is the most common chemotherapy treatment for this type of cancer. He will go into the treatment center and receive IV chemotherapy for 90(? i think it was 90) minutes, and will then go home for the next two days with a chemotherapy pump--similar to an insulin pump. As always, I remain amazed about what science has come up with to make things easier for patients! They are two week cycles, and it looks like Doug will have to do this for 6-8 months. Side effects really vary from person to person, and we are keeping optimistic that Doug will not have an adverse reaction to the treatments!
Dr. Hegde wants Doug to start this treatment right away, and in order to make things easier, he had to have a port installed. So yesterday we headed over to UCONN bright and early for a minor surgical procedure (Well, everything is minor to him at this point!). They basically install a port directly under the skin of his shoulder which has a catheter that is threaded through a vein--basically it allows chemo to be administed directly through this port--like a central line. It keeps him from having to be stabbed in the arm by needles every time he has to get treatment or have blood drawn. So once again I had to watch them wheel my boyfriend away from me to have surgery :-(. But the procedure was no big deal, we went in at 7:30 and were on our way home by 11:15--that had to be a record for hospital time! he's a little bit sore but other than that no biggie--he didn't even get stitches!
So now that the port is in, we will see Dr. Hegde on Friday morning and take it from there! The doctor was going to speak with a friend of his at Yale Cancer Center to discuss Doug's case, jsut to get another oncologist's opinion. He will also have spoken to Dr. Sardi again, just to make sure that everyone is on the same page with Doug's treatment and to make sure everyone agrees that he is strong enough to begin. Its hard to think about him having to go through treatment just when he is starting to feel better---it doesn't seem fair. However, its what needs to be done and we know that. Doug is, as always, much tougher than me :-). I just don't want to see him sick and in pain anymore. But, I also know that this is what is going to make him better!
Like I said, Doug is feeling much better and we are starting to think about where we would like to go on vacation in the spring---we are thinking probably Las Vegas, and then perhaps somewhere with a beach next Fall. I think that after the last few months, we need to get away for some WELL deserved fun! I'll update again once we have a plan mapped out for Doug's treatments and what our schedule looks like.
In the meantime, please keep two other PMP families in your thoughts and prayers. Diana had her MOAS one week ago on 10/28, and Joyce had her MOAS yesterday---both with Dr. Sardi. They both have wonderful families surrounding them, and Doug and I are keeping them both in our thoughts and ask you to do the same.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Lindsey
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