Once again, Dr. Kim found the cause of the pain. It is a tumor on the outside of the colon that has grown inward into the colon. He thinks the tumor itself is causing pain. It may also be leaking causing pain and could be responsible for his low-grade fevers.
The only way to fix this is surgery - cut the tumor out of the colon & put it back together. But, Dr. Kim said Blake has too much scar tissue in his abdomen to recommend surgery. The only time he would do surgery is if the tumor caused a blockage or completely ruptured the colon wall.
So, whatdoyoudonow you ask? Right now, chemo is the best option. Blake has always responded well to chemo and Dr. Kim is optomistic he'll continue to do so. The spot they took the biopsy needs a few days to heal & then he'll be ready to start chemo sometime next week.
Thanks for your calls & sweet comments last week. They mean more to us then you'll ever know.
Much love,
Blake & Kathy
Monday, August 29, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Change of plans..........
No chemo today. Blakes been having consistent pain so Dr. Whisenant spoke with Blake's surgeon Dr. Kim. They decided it would be best for Dr. Kim to take a look at Blake to see if he thought surgery may be an option for pain relief. Dr. W really thinks he may have some scar tissue that's causing the pain. Some of you will remember the horrible pain he had in May 2010? That ended up being scar tissue.
We saw Dr. Kim this afternoon and he thinks it's tumor pain. Ugh. He's going to do a colonoscopy on Monday to double check something that was on the scan. In the scan, they couldn't tell if the mass was IN or ON the colon. He thinks he'll be able to see it directly or it may be visible through the colon wall. If the mass is IN the colon, he may be able to remove it during the procedure.
I'll let you know how it goes on Monday.
In the meantime, Live Laugh & Love!
Kathy
We saw Dr. Kim this afternoon and he thinks it's tumor pain. Ugh. He's going to do a colonoscopy on Monday to double check something that was on the scan. In the scan, they couldn't tell if the mass was IN or ON the colon. He thinks he'll be able to see it directly or it may be visible through the colon wall. If the mass is IN the colon, he may be able to remove it during the procedure.
I'll let you know how it goes on Monday.
In the meantime, Live Laugh & Love!
Kathy
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
".......... time to get back to work!........."
Well, it's been a nice 4-month break but I think I jinxed us! I really do! I was talking with a dear friend last week & going on and on about how well Blake was doing! That same night, he had such severe abdominal pain I was sure we'd end up in the ER. Thankfully, no ER and in typical Blake fashion, he was up & off to work the next morning.
Blake saw Dr. Whisenant last Friday.... the machine that processes the tumor marker (CEA) broke down so we weren't able to find out the CEA and without that and based on his symptoms, they felt it was best to order a PET scan which was completed Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, we found out that tumor marker jumped, increasing from 2.4 to 4.2. :( The PET showed 2 tumors with SUV (standard uptake value - aka "hot spots.") Anything over 2.5-3 ish is usually active cancer. The two spots were 8.3 & 5.0 which means they are active/growing.
We knew this was only a "break" but......... (how do I say this?...) it simply BITES!
Of course, starting back on chemo is completely Blakes decision and with his typical awesome attitude, he said "well, I guess the break is over" and, "I guess it's time to get back to work!" Next week, Blake will have chemo & will continue every other week until the next break. Everyone at the chemo center is wonderful and it will be nice to see them again - wish it was just to say HI!
In October, it will be 4 years since Blake was diagnosed with this horrid disease. Did you hear that? 4! F.O.U.R. YEARS! He's faced the beast on his own terms and has amazed the experts. He's officially "messing with the stats!"
Fight on, My Dear Sweet Man (tough, rugged and handsome too!) Fight On!
Live, Laugh & Love,
Kathy
PS. Just a shout out to our awesome kids!! Jess, Dal & girls will be welcoming their daughter within the next few weeks.... so exciting! Tanner is busy working @ UP and being a bachelor. Jenny is busy working and is continuing her education at SLCC. Cody is feeling much better and is excited to start SUU next week and Danielle is looking into school opportunities, working and has a new baby... a PUPPY! LOL!!
Blake saw Dr. Whisenant last Friday.... the machine that processes the tumor marker (CEA) broke down so we weren't able to find out the CEA and without that and based on his symptoms, they felt it was best to order a PET scan which was completed Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, we found out that tumor marker jumped, increasing from 2.4 to 4.2. :( The PET showed 2 tumors with SUV (standard uptake value - aka "hot spots.") Anything over 2.5-3 ish is usually active cancer. The two spots were 8.3 & 5.0 which means they are active/growing.
We knew this was only a "break" but......... (how do I say this?...) it simply BITES!
Of course, starting back on chemo is completely Blakes decision and with his typical awesome attitude, he said "well, I guess the break is over" and, "I guess it's time to get back to work!" Next week, Blake will have chemo & will continue every other week until the next break. Everyone at the chemo center is wonderful and it will be nice to see them again - wish it was just to say HI!
In October, it will be 4 years since Blake was diagnosed with this horrid disease. Did you hear that? 4! F.O.U.R. YEARS! He's faced the beast on his own terms and has amazed the experts. He's officially "messing with the stats!"
Fight on, My Dear Sweet Man (tough, rugged and handsome too!) Fight On!
Live, Laugh & Love,
Kathy
PS. Just a shout out to our awesome kids!! Jess, Dal & girls will be welcoming their daughter within the next few weeks.... so exciting! Tanner is busy working @ UP and being a bachelor. Jenny is busy working and is continuing her education at SLCC. Cody is feeling much better and is excited to start SUU next week and Danielle is looking into school opportunities, working and has a new baby... a PUPPY! LOL!!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Interesting article/update
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/business/heated-chemotherapy-bath-may-be-only-hope-for-some-cancer-patients.html?_r=2&ref=health&pagewanted=all
This is a very interesting article that details (and even provides a slideshow) about the HIPEC procedure that we hoped Blake would receive last spring. We all know how that turned out....
This article shows the controversy in the procedure but also gives a fairly-good overview of the procedure itself. You may even want to check out the slideshow. It's really isn't too graphic.
Dr. Whisenant feels we may be able to revisit the idea this coming spring. But with Blake tolerating treatment as well as he has, why fix it if it's not broken? Right now, he's still on a chemo break but I'm not sure how much longer it will last. He's starting to get symptoms of.... something amiss.... Who knows what it is, but I'm guessing they'll schedule a scan soon. We see Dr. W this afternoon & I'll let you know how it goes.
In the meantime.................
Live, Love & Laugh!! :)
Kathy
P.S. They're scanning Blake on Tuesday. Don't know the tumor marker yet - machine malfunction? We should have it on Monday. I'll update when we know more.
This is a very interesting article that details (and even provides a slideshow) about the HIPEC procedure that we hoped Blake would receive last spring. We all know how that turned out....
This article shows the controversy in the procedure but also gives a fairly-good overview of the procedure itself. You may even want to check out the slideshow. It's really isn't too graphic.
Dr. Whisenant feels we may be able to revisit the idea this coming spring. But with Blake tolerating treatment as well as he has, why fix it if it's not broken? Right now, he's still on a chemo break but I'm not sure how much longer it will last. He's starting to get symptoms of.... something amiss.... Who knows what it is, but I'm guessing they'll schedule a scan soon. We see Dr. W this afternoon & I'll let you know how it goes.
In the meantime.................
Live, Love & Laugh!! :)
Kathy
P.S. They're scanning Blake on Tuesday. Don't know the tumor marker yet - machine malfunction? We should have it on Monday. I'll update when we know more.
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