LeeR is now receiving his 6th unit of blood. Although his counts are still quite low, they are holding stable. He looks much better tonight and is feeling really good. Today he had an EGD that showed his digestive tract from his throat to his duodenum is in great shape. While that is good news, we were really hoping that the problem of him losing blood would be identified.
The plan now is to finish the transfusion tonight (he had four units yesterday and two this evening) and go home tomorrow. We can't wait for that--there really is no place like home. On Monday we will try to get an appointment on Tuesday for him to have a colonoscopy. If that goes well and his blood stays up, he will probably begin his first series of chemo on Wednesday and Thursday.
The doctor is concerned about the blood clot in his leg and the fact that he can't be on blood thinners until after the colonoscopy. Hopefully no clots will break off or new ones will form and travel to his lungs or heart. That is scary. Hopefully the colonoscopy can be scheduled and completed quickly.
The bumps just seem to keep coming. Hopefully it will be a quiet and uneventful weekend.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
1st day of chemo...yesterday, today, next week???
Yesterday LeeR had a port placed and was then scheduled to go have his first chemo session. The port placement took too long for him to start chemo since the chemo is projected to take 5-6 hours. So we got up bright and early today and reported for chemo. All went well, at first anyway. He was prepped and they started the saline drip and hung the first bag. Routinely, before beginning the actual chemo, a blood sample is taken to check the blood counts. The nurse said, "I'm sure it will be fine--we actually are more concerned after you have already had chemo but we need to do it to be sure." A few minutes later LeeR's oncologist, Dr. Gregory Litton, came in shaking his head and said that his hematocrit (the volume percentage of red blood cells in blood) was only 15. It is normally about 45 for men. The doctor couldn't believe the test because three weeks ago it was normal, so he asked for another test. The new test came back at 16.
So chemo was postponed (again) and LeeR was admitted to the hospital to receive four pints of blood and then to find out the source of the bleeding and where the blood is going. He will finish the transfusions about 10:00 tonight and we're hoping for good and positive information tomorrow. Usually this loss of blood is caused by a problem in the GI tract, but the preliminary tests showed no blood in his stool. Tomorrow morning he will have an EGD (endoscopy, etc.) and other tests, as necessary.
Today was a rough day. LeeR was in a lot of pain from his surgery site, looked kind of grayish-yellowish-whiteish, had slurred speech and had trouble staying awake. It was scary. But, after two units of blood, he started looking more normal, he was awake and alert, and his speech was fine. Looks like he dodged a bullet. The doctor said that if he weren't in the great shape he is in, he would likely have had a heart attack and be gone--especially at his age.
Tomorrow is a new day--we are hopeful that the doctors will be able to find the source of the problem, fix it, and send him home to rest for chemo next week. This is quite a journey. We are so grateful to be walking this path with the love and support of our family and friends. We feel so blessed and embraced by love. Thank you all--our love for you is overflowing.
So chemo was postponed (again) and LeeR was admitted to the hospital to receive four pints of blood and then to find out the source of the bleeding and where the blood is going. He will finish the transfusions about 10:00 tonight and we're hoping for good and positive information tomorrow. Usually this loss of blood is caused by a problem in the GI tract, but the preliminary tests showed no blood in his stool. Tomorrow morning he will have an EGD (endoscopy, etc.) and other tests, as necessary.
Today was a rough day. LeeR was in a lot of pain from his surgery site, looked kind of grayish-yellowish-whiteish, had slurred speech and had trouble staying awake. It was scary. But, after two units of blood, he started looking more normal, he was awake and alert, and his speech was fine. Looks like he dodged a bullet. The doctor said that if he weren't in the great shape he is in, he would likely have had a heart attack and be gone--especially at his age.
Tomorrow is a new day--we are hopeful that the doctors will be able to find the source of the problem, fix it, and send him home to rest for chemo next week. This is quite a journey. We are so grateful to be walking this path with the love and support of our family and friends. We feel so blessed and embraced by love. Thank you all--our love for you is overflowing.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Beginning the journey
LeeR loves to play handball--even through various muscle pulls and a broken wrist. So in April when his left leg was giving him problems, he thought it was another handball injury. He stretched, massaged, iced, and everything else he could think of (including continuing to "throw the ball around") to make his leg feel better. But all to no avail. On May 3 as he sat down on a sofa in our room, the pain was so excruciating that he went into shock. The x-rays in the emergency room showed some "abnormalities" in his hip: cancer.
After transferring to IMC in Sandy, UT, and sending the biopsy to Florida for further analysis, it was eventually determined that he had osteosarcoma, which originated in his hip. Sarcomas are the rarest of cancers and osteosarcoma in people over 30 is extremely rare. On May 13 LeeR's left hip and femur were replaced.
At the time of the surgery a CT scan showed three nodules in LeeR's lungs. They were too small to biopsy so it was not possible to tell if the cause of the nodules was environmental, age, or metastasized cancer from his hip.
A few weeks ago another CT was done and we received the very sad news that the original three nodules had grown dramatically and there were over 50 new nodules in his lungs. We are now dealing with Stage IV metastatic osteosarcoma. Although the oncologist says they are very poor at predictions, he was honest to tell us that without treatment we will probably have "more than 2 but less than 9" months left together in this life. If we have one of the most potent combos of chemo drugs administered two consecutive days a month every month for 4-6 months and the chemo works (50% chance), we may have 3 years. LeeR is choosing to have the chemo.
LeeR's plan has always been to celebrate his 100th birthday at a big party, go to bed, snuggle up together (I would be 93), and then go to sleep together and not wake up. Sounded like a plan. While that is still our goal, we are peaceful in the knowledge that the plan of happiness is definitely a plan of happiness and that our birthday celebration may have to wait--but it will take place. We'll just wake up after the party.
After transferring to IMC in Sandy, UT, and sending the biopsy to Florida for further analysis, it was eventually determined that he had osteosarcoma, which originated in his hip. Sarcomas are the rarest of cancers and osteosarcoma in people over 30 is extremely rare. On May 13 LeeR's left hip and femur were replaced.
At the time of the surgery a CT scan showed three nodules in LeeR's lungs. They were too small to biopsy so it was not possible to tell if the cause of the nodules was environmental, age, or metastasized cancer from his hip.
A few weeks ago another CT was done and we received the very sad news that the original three nodules had grown dramatically and there were over 50 new nodules in his lungs. We are now dealing with Stage IV metastatic osteosarcoma. Although the oncologist says they are very poor at predictions, he was honest to tell us that without treatment we will probably have "more than 2 but less than 9" months left together in this life. If we have one of the most potent combos of chemo drugs administered two consecutive days a month every month for 4-6 months and the chemo works (50% chance), we may have 3 years. LeeR is choosing to have the chemo.
LeeR's plan has always been to celebrate his 100th birthday at a big party, go to bed, snuggle up together (I would be 93), and then go to sleep together and not wake up. Sounded like a plan. While that is still our goal, we are peaceful in the knowledge that the plan of happiness is definitely a plan of happiness and that our birthday celebration may have to wait--but it will take place. We'll just wake up after the party.
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