Sometime in November my father through a series of Dr. appointments found out that he was no longer in remission. We also found out that his oncologist was going to be leaving our hospital and going to another city and another hospital system. We sure were disappointed but the Dr. has to do what he has to do and so we have to be open to welcoming a new Dr. into the fold.
The new plan was for my father to do radiation. There were no more additional tumors but the ones in his groin area were showing up again and they were a little bigger than they were before. The radiation would be only to the groin area and the treatment would be 15 sessions (a session every day) and then they would re-evaluate. But he could start after the holidays. So he could drive to Vegas to see my little brother and family for Thanksgiving and enjoy Christmas here after that.
So first part of January we went back to the Dr.'s to schedule his radiation. Which he did and it did, in fact shrink the tumors that he was experiencing growth in.
So then a PET scan was ordered. I know that many of you have heard of a PET Scan but may not know what it is exactly.
"A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is an imaging test that allows doctors to check for disease in your body.
The scan uses radioactive tracers in a special dye. These tracers are injected into a vein in your arm and are then absorbed by your organs and tissues. When highlighted under a PET scanner, the tracers allow doctors to see how well your organs and tissues are working. The PET scan is able to measure blood flow, oxygen use, glucose metabolism (how your body uses sugar), and much more."
So when we got the results back from the PET scan we were pretty disappointed. We were thinking that things were really going well except for the little flair up in his groin area. Unfortunately there were a LOT of things going on. Belly, neck and lungs were showing signs of "activity". Especially since we had had such a long period of time where there was nothing to report. But that is how it is with cancer. At least in my experience.
The new oncologist (who is a woman and who we like very much) decided that my father needed to have a colonoscopy to see what was going on in his gut. But she also felt that because of the new activity he should not go back on the Retuxan. It was only for maintenance and his cancer seemed to be on the upswing. She had a plan...there is a new drug that was just approved in November for the treatment of this particular type of cancer. It was once a third line approach but the results have been so good that they have moved it up to the front line of defense in this type of cancer. It's called Imbrutinib and it's in pill form. He would take 4 pills every day at the same time and if all goes well we may see results as early as a month. Really exciting as it's much better than my dad going back on chemo with all it's harsh effects and I'm not so sure at this point whether he wants to go back on chemo.
We went right from the oncologists' office to the Gastro guys office. Fortunately for us....all his Dr.s' are in the same building/Hospital. Makes it very easy for them to confer with once another as well so that everyone is on board when my father has to have some kind of test. The gastro guy told us that the colon area was particularly troubling as he saw some thickening and a few other spots that had him concerned. Procedure would be the next day.
So here is what was found...there is a small colon cancer. Very small and apparently not growing (fingers crossed) very quickly. It needs to come out but his blood levels are not good enough for him to go through surgery. So plan is...he immediately begins his new medication and keep retesting his blood so that we can see if the medication is working. If his levels come up enough then they will take him into surgery, take out the small cancer....get in, get out and continue on. This would be an ideal scenario and I would love that it would happen in just that way. I'm not a person of prayer because I believe that things are going to be what they are going to be no matter how much you pray for them to be different. My life, my thoughts.
I hope that things work out ideally and that my father lives to be at least 85. He will turn 83 next week and just the fact that he has survived this long is pretty surprising. But there are a few milestones coming up this year that would make his survival all the more sweet because my mother is not here to celebrate them. We have a graduation from Vet school so we'll have a DVM in the family. Another child (young woman) will be getting married. Such milestones that my mother wanted to be here for.
I'm hoping for the best but I am also knowing that the worst could also happen.
The scan uses radioactive tracers in a special dye. These tracers are injected into a vein in your arm and are then absorbed by your organs and tissues. When highlighted under a PET scanner, the tracers allow doctors to see how well your organs and tissues are working. The PET scan is able to measure blood flow, oxygen use, glucose metabolism (how your body uses sugar), and much more."
So when we got the results back from the PET scan we were pretty disappointed. We were thinking that things were really going well except for the little flair up in his groin area. Unfortunately there were a LOT of things going on. Belly, neck and lungs were showing signs of "activity". Especially since we had had such a long period of time where there was nothing to report. But that is how it is with cancer. At least in my experience.
The new oncologist (who is a woman and who we like very much) decided that my father needed to have a colonoscopy to see what was going on in his gut. But she also felt that because of the new activity he should not go back on the Retuxan. It was only for maintenance and his cancer seemed to be on the upswing. She had a plan...there is a new drug that was just approved in November for the treatment of this particular type of cancer. It was once a third line approach but the results have been so good that they have moved it up to the front line of defense in this type of cancer. It's called Imbrutinib and it's in pill form. He would take 4 pills every day at the same time and if all goes well we may see results as early as a month. Really exciting as it's much better than my dad going back on chemo with all it's harsh effects and I'm not so sure at this point whether he wants to go back on chemo.
We went right from the oncologists' office to the Gastro guys office. Fortunately for us....all his Dr.s' are in the same building/Hospital. Makes it very easy for them to confer with once another as well so that everyone is on board when my father has to have some kind of test. The gastro guy told us that the colon area was particularly troubling as he saw some thickening and a few other spots that had him concerned. Procedure would be the next day.
So here is what was found...there is a small colon cancer. Very small and apparently not growing (fingers crossed) very quickly. It needs to come out but his blood levels are not good enough for him to go through surgery. So plan is...he immediately begins his new medication and keep retesting his blood so that we can see if the medication is working. If his levels come up enough then they will take him into surgery, take out the small cancer....get in, get out and continue on. This would be an ideal scenario and I would love that it would happen in just that way. I'm not a person of prayer because I believe that things are going to be what they are going to be no matter how much you pray for them to be different. My life, my thoughts.
I hope that things work out ideally and that my father lives to be at least 85. He will turn 83 next week and just the fact that he has survived this long is pretty surprising. But there are a few milestones coming up this year that would make his survival all the more sweet because my mother is not here to celebrate them. We have a graduation from Vet school so we'll have a DVM in the family. Another child (young woman) will be getting married. Such milestones that my mother wanted to be here for.
I'm hoping for the best but I am also knowing that the worst could also happen.
