New Year

Well over a year has passed and I am pleasantly surprised at how well things are going with my dad.  I know last year at this time I was very frightened and confused by his diagnosis.

Here is the latest: He had a full body scan in November and the area around the surgical site, where there were still traces of the cancer, had continued to shrink. Last week he met with the doctors at Upstate, and we learned the radiation he had over the summer worked effectively and got rid of the cancer in his lung.  Really this is all amazing news.  He is on 6 week courses of chemo followed by 2 weeks off, and this will continue indefinitely.  Luckily, his only real side effect is fatigue, which he manages with lots and lots of naps.

He is actually going to start working again next week, as volunteer at a charity thrift shop where he had worked previous to his diagnosis.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our good fortune continues!

Sorry it has been so long!

I can't believe that I became such a blog slacker.  An update is definitely overdue!

My dad went without his medication for a couple of weeks, due to the drug shortage, and then when the drug was available he had to take another week off due to elevated Calcium levels.  He finally got back on track and is almost to the end of this 6 weeks of chemo.  He has a CT Scan in mid November to see how things are going.

The only thing that has me worried is some pain that has returned to the area near the surgical site.  Which naturally has me thinking that the cancer has started to grow back.  The doctor has just prescribed pain meds for now and we will wait to see what the scan will show in November.

I'm thankful that my dad has had a mostly pain free and symptom free 11 months which is pretty amazing for stage IV cancer.  He's been visiting us about once a week and is doing all his normal activities, which right now includes getting ready for deer hunting season.  I'm happy for him.

Chemo drug shortage? What?!

Last week someone mentioned to me in passing that there was a chemotherapy drug shortage and that they hoped that it wouldn't affect my dad.  I listened to this information but didn't really process it and couldn't remember hearing anything about it myself online or on the news.  Well guess what?  It is a real serious problem, and my dad finds himself on the front lines.

The details are still fuzzy and I hope to get more details from his doctor on Monday. Yesterday, at my dad's chemo session, the pharmacist paid him a visit to let him know that they did not have any more of one of the drugs that he gets weekly.  The pharmacist showed my dad a letter from the VA to the pharmacy about the shortage, and there was actually a line in it that said "we do not know the reason for the shortage".  Great, he can't get the medicine he needs, but they don't know why.  I feel like I want to go on and on about the drug companies but I don't really have the facts to back myself up, so I'll save my rant until then.

So my dad was unable to complete this cycle of treatment, and in fact has the next 18 days off.  This is to clear the medicine out of his system so he can begin a different course of treatment.  On the 30th he will meet with the doctor and will then begin taking the chemo in pill form.  I don't know how I feel about this because we just got the information last month that the treatment he was on was really working, and it stinks to have to change to something new that we know nothing about!  I'm trying not to stress until I get more information but that isn't in my nature!

Its been a while!

Well my dad made it 8 treatments without many side effects.  On the 9th, he started to feel nauseous and it has lasted ever since (He had his 10th treatment on Wednesday).  I feel bad for him because the medication does not seem to be helping.  It is by no means debilitating but it makes me nervous because he hadn't been eating much before the nausea set in.  He has lost over 35 pounds since he started treatment, and even though he is by no means skinny, no one wants him to lose any more weight.

On the bright side, these side effects have come on slowly and haven't been too severe. Knowing that the treatment is working, makes everything a little easier to deal with, or so my dad tells me!

On the super bright side, TJ is taking my dad to NYC for a Yankees game on Wednesday.  The doctors agreed to push his treatment to Friday so he can go! My dad is a big fan, and hasn't been to the new stadium yet. I think its very sweet of him to take my dad, knowing the challenge of taking someone who doesn't feel well and who also has a physical disability.  Bonus points for TJ!

Finally some good news!

CT Scan shows that the little bit of tumor that the surgeon couldn't remove is gone!  The chemo is doing its job!  But because this is stage 4 cancer and in the lymph nodes, this news doesn't change the course of action for my dad.  He left the very positive appointment with the doctor and headed right upstairs to the infusion room to start the next cycle of chemo.  I went with him to the infusion room, the first time I've been in that room since the original "tour" we got during his initial diagnosis. It was a lot less scary there (at least for me) since he's been through one round of chemo and the side effects haven't been so bad.  After his treatment I drove him home, then went back to mine, it was a long day, but it was a good day!

Phew....Round One is over!

Last week, chemo treatment number 6 went off without a hitch.  They told my dad that he would be super tired after this last treatement of the cycle and so far that has played out to be true.  He has been sleeping 10 or so hours a night and then having 2 or 3 long naps during the day.  I usually talk to him on the phone 3 times a day and he keeps me updated on how much he has slept.  One thing that has been a problem is his lack of appetite.  He has not been nauseated, just not hungry.  He also has been sleeping through meals.  After talking to him on Monday about how little he has been eating, I decided the kids and I would meet him in Greene for lunch.  He ate a huge meal, plus part of mine.  I know he will eat when a meal is placed in front of him, he just isn't real good at making himself meals.

He had a dose of Avastin yesterday, which has actually been in the news lately. Read this article if you are interested in learning about Avastin and breast cancer.  The news doesn't seem to affect colon cancer patients yet. Anyway it was a short infusion, and then he had a CT scan of his lungs and abdomen and we will hear about the results of the scan on July 13th.  He has a chemo free week next week which he is really looking forward to.  I am very anxious about the appointment with the oncologist on the 13th.   I'm hoping the chemo is doing what it is supposed to and the doctor is happy with his progress.

I think everything is going much better than I had anticipated and some of my fears were unfounded.  I know there is a long road ahead for my dad, but I feel calmer, and better equipped to handle whatever comes our way in the future.  I know my dad does too.

Chemo treatment #5 today.  I expect my dad to sleep much of the day away tomorrow and Friday.  He has been having a rough time emotionally, I think he is finally beginning to process the idea of stage IV cancer.  He called in tears on Sunday but wasn't really able to articulate why he was upset.  Luckily Thomas loves talking to him on the phone. I put the call on speaker and gave the phone to Thomas. He dragged the phone all over the house while he jabbered to Grandpa.  When I got the phone back, my dad felt better, a little 2 year old humor can really lighten the mood.

Today he called me from the chair while he was getting the chemo, and I could tell he was sad. One of the nurses had shown him the schedule for the chemo for the rest of the year and he found out that he is on it until the end of the year, because his cancer is "progressive".  We had been told pretty clearly at the beginning that he would have to be on chemo on and off (mostly on) basically forever.  That is what happens when you have such an advanced stage of cancer, and is the only way to give him more time on this earth.  While my brother and I understood that from the getgo, I realized today that he really didn't.  I did my usual, "look on the bright side" speech.  "You are feeling better than you thought you would, and are able to go about your normal activities, and drive, and see your grandchildren" etc etc.  I could tell that this time the speech didn't really help much.  

Another week and then he has two weeks off, so I'm hoping he continues to feel ok so he can enjoy that time.
We will be with him this weekend,  this Father's day is going to be more meaningful than ever.