It is Friday about 1:00 our time (Eastern). Here at CTCA, they are in the central time zone so it is noon. For some reason I have the hardest time with that hour difference - especially in the morning when we have to get up and get to the hospital early to get our day under way. I am not a morning person anyway, so not knowing what time it is, REALLY confuses me!
Our day began early this morning - getting here to have the port access and blood draw. Then to see the doctor - actually we see Irene, the physician's assistant between the times we see Dr. Neelam, our Oncologist. Today we saw Irene. She came into the room to see us and the very first thing she said to Arnie was..."your cancer marker is down." That is what we have been looking at each and every time we come here and have blood work done - the CEA -- carcinoembryonic antigen.
CEA is used mainly to monitor the treatment of cancer patients, especially those with colon cancer. Patients with small or early-stage tumors have only slightly elevated CEA values. If there are more advanced tumors or if they have spread, the CEA values will be higher. When CEA levels decrease after treatment, it means that most or all of the CEA producing tumor is gone.
Several months ago Arnie's CEA was up to 37. Over the next weeks of treatments, the blood tests showed that CEA value decreasing. Two weeks ago, that CEA was 5.7 and today it was 3.8.
We are so encouraged as we continue on this journey. God continues to bless us and provide for us. We still feel we are where we are supposed to be - perhaps to be an encouragement to others. God has been so good to us!!!
I so appreciate hearing from you via your comments, emails...etc. Please keep praying for us and for safe travels. We saw some real idiots on the highway this time!!! One person made a right turn from the extreme left lane, across 5 lanes of traffic, to exit off the highway. Left us both shaking a bit!!
Keep us in your prayers and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know we will -- we have so much to be thankful for!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
More Improvement!
Arnie's blood work this week showed everything was totally NORMAL... not just "within the normal range" but NORMAL! The white cell count is normal... even the red count is normal, which hasn't happened before - it has always been on the low side of normal, which we are told is because of the chemo. They expect that count to be on the low side because of what the chemo is doing, but this week, even the red count is totally normal!! Also, I asked him about the tenderness and soreness at the incision site where the cancer has been - he said that the soreness is completely gone! When I hug him, I have always been aware of where that spot is and to be careful not to aggravate the soreness. I have purposely hugged him in that spot lately and he hasn't complained of any soreness or tenderness at all!
Coincidence??? I don't think so!!! God is very present with us and is answering the prayers of all of you who are praying for us! Thank you so much and please continue! Prayer is powerful and it definitely makes a difference!
Recently we attended a BP dinner that was a celebration and recognition of those who have increments of 5 years of service with the company. Arnie has 30 years with BP. He began there August 18, 1980. It was a very nice event and it was good for us to be able to attend. There were many of his co-workers who showed a genuine concern for him and expressed those feelings.
I get a devotional email from 2 sources every day and so often there is something there that is so timely and I feel surely it is meant for me just at that time. One of those emails came today and it reads like this..."the Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing." Isaiah 51:3
CTCA is in the city of Zion, Illinois and we will be traveling there soon. Please keep us in your prayers -- they ARE working - God hears and answers prayer. That is a fact!
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Happy and The Sad
Well here we are again... at CTCA getting infused! Today is the 12th time we have been here for chemo. It doesn't seem that long, but there are times that I am quite aware of every second we have spent here. The good news we received from our last visit does make the chemo a lot easier to endure not only for Arnie, but for me because I can see the progress being made and the obvious answers to the many prayers from so many people.
The terrific news we received 2 weeks ago was overshadowed by the sadness of the death of Arnie's dad. We received a phone call from Arnie's mom on our way home from here telling us that his dad had taken a turn for the worse. He passed away that evening, after we returned home.
We knew we were going to have to make that trip to PA and it would be difficult because of just having a chemo treatment. Usually it takes maybe 4 days until Arnie feels like he could even approach the thought of traveling anywhere after getting a treatment but we knew we had to make this trip. Somehow he made very good progress following this treatment which made the trip very tolerable. I drove, he rested and we were fine. The time we were in PA was good for him also. The side effects were completely manageable and we did the things that we had to do.
Arnie's dad was a wonderful person - one of those people who you could easily talk to and he made you feel happy to be alive and honored to know him. He accepted me as a daughter-in-law and my kids as his grand-kids without any conditions and I always loved him for that. We will miss him terribly, but I know I will see him again some day.
God provided for each of us through this difficult time. It always amazes me when I look back at situations and can see the hand of God directing events and this was one of those times.
We can see an end to these treatments... progress is being made... prayers are being answered ... God is Good!!
Please feel free to call or leave a comment or email. I love hearing from you! Keep us in your prayers!
The terrific news we received 2 weeks ago was overshadowed by the sadness of the death of Arnie's dad. We received a phone call from Arnie's mom on our way home from here telling us that his dad had taken a turn for the worse. He passed away that evening, after we returned home.
We knew we were going to have to make that trip to PA and it would be difficult because of just having a chemo treatment. Usually it takes maybe 4 days until Arnie feels like he could even approach the thought of traveling anywhere after getting a treatment but we knew we had to make this trip. Somehow he made very good progress following this treatment which made the trip very tolerable. I drove, he rested and we were fine. The time we were in PA was good for him also. The side effects were completely manageable and we did the things that we had to do.
Arnie's dad was a wonderful person - one of those people who you could easily talk to and he made you feel happy to be alive and honored to know him. He accepted me as a daughter-in-law and my kids as his grand-kids without any conditions and I always loved him for that. We will miss him terribly, but I know I will see him again some day.
God provided for each of us through this difficult time. It always amazes me when I look back at situations and can see the hand of God directing events and this was one of those times.
We can see an end to these treatments... progress is being made... prayers are being answered ... God is Good!!
Please feel free to call or leave a comment or email. I love hearing from you! Keep us in your prayers!
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