It is Thursday and we saw the doctor today following the 9th radiation treatment. He says the treatments are going well and Arnie is doing well. They take x-rays about every other treatment which lets the doctor know how things are progressing. We are very encouraged by what Dr. Patel has to say and we are very thankful for all the prayers of friends and family.
The weather out here, on the other hand, leaves lots to be desired! It has rained almost every day and the temps can't seem to get out of the 50's most days. Not fun!!
After tomorrow's treatment, we will be half way done and we will be on the road for home.
Please keep us in your prayers and keep in touch with us!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
4 down and 16 to go!
We are at CTCA after seeing the Radiation Oncologist following the 4th treatment. Arnie is doing fine and the oncologist is happy with the treatment and progress. He showed us the computer image of the tumors and the map of the treatment area.
We were impressed with the precision of the map, compared to his radiation treatment in Toledo. The map showed the total area of radiation treatment, and also indicated areas that are receiving a higher dosage.
The Oncologist feels that there will be no significant side effects other than fatigue which we feel is good news. He examined Arnie's back and found no indication of "sunburn" yet. He said that might even develop after the completion of the treatments. He also told us that the benefit of the treatment would continue for several weeks after actual treatment was complete. It will be at least 6 weeks after treatment before a scan can be done that will indicate success. He also said that at about 12 weeks after treatment there would probably be more progress indicated.
Please keep us in your prayers!
We were impressed with the precision of the map, compared to his radiation treatment in Toledo. The map showed the total area of radiation treatment, and also indicated areas that are receiving a higher dosage.
The Oncologist feels that there will be no significant side effects other than fatigue which we feel is good news. He examined Arnie's back and found no indication of "sunburn" yet. He said that might even develop after the completion of the treatments. He also told us that the benefit of the treatment would continue for several weeks after actual treatment was complete. It will be at least 6 weeks after treatment before a scan can be done that will indicate success. He also said that at about 12 weeks after treatment there would probably be more progress indicated.
Please keep us in your prayers!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Update
We have completed 2 radiation treatments here at CTCA. We got the treatment schedule yesterday. Radiation will be every morning, Monday through Friday, until May 13th. We will see the Radiation Oncologist every Thursday following the treatment. The schedule works out so that we will easily be able to get home Friday afternoons.
I will be in touch later - just wanted to give you an update. Please keep us in your prayers as we go through these treatments and as we are spending more time traveling. Send me your comments and emails!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Learning patience
Feels strange to me that I am writing this from Zion on a Tuesday afternoon from our hotel room! We saw the Radiation Oncology people this morning at CTCA and I can say that we have yet to meet someone here who isn't nice and extremely competent! The nurses who took care of getting vitals and asking all the questions they ask were extremely nice, cheerful and pleasant.
Dr. Patel is young and asked all the right questions and had all the right answers to our questions. He was completely familiar with Arnie's history both here and back home. He is very confident as is Dr. Neelam, of the success of this treatment. We are encouraged by his attitude and level of competency.
We have an appointment tomorrow morning where they will do what they call a "simulation". They will put Arnie in a machine, make a mold so he is positioned in the right place and they will collect data to determine the actual pattern of radiation. He will receive tattoos for the target points for the radiation. Following the simulation there are calculations to be done to determine the exact placement of the machine for each phase of the treatment which will take a few days. Afterward, we will start the actual treatments. We will receive our schedule for treatments tomorrow. We expect to head home early in the day tomorrow.
Keep us in your prayers. God is definitely in control. We feel that God has led us this far and this is just another step. We are not particularly discouraged, but encouraged that we are getting this close to being cancer free.
James 1: 2-3 says "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."
I guess we are learning patience!
Dr. Patel is young and asked all the right questions and had all the right answers to our questions. He was completely familiar with Arnie's history both here and back home. He is very confident as is Dr. Neelam, of the success of this treatment. We are encouraged by his attitude and level of competency.
We have an appointment tomorrow morning where they will do what they call a "simulation". They will put Arnie in a machine, make a mold so he is positioned in the right place and they will collect data to determine the actual pattern of radiation. He will receive tattoos for the target points for the radiation. Following the simulation there are calculations to be done to determine the exact placement of the machine for each phase of the treatment which will take a few days. Afterward, we will start the actual treatments. We will receive our schedule for treatments tomorrow. We expect to head home early in the day tomorrow.
Keep us in your prayers. God is definitely in control. We feel that God has led us this far and this is just another step. We are not particularly discouraged, but encouraged that we are getting this close to being cancer free.
James 1: 2-3 says "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."
I guess we are learning patience!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Cancer throws us a curve ball
Here we are in Zion Illinois. This time I am writing this from our hotel room because the chemo treatment today was a short one - 26 minutes for Zometa, which is the drug they administer for bone growth so I didn't have enough time to get this done.
The results of the PET scan were not exactly what we wanted to hear --the cancer has spread some and there are now 2 ribs involved. Dr. Neelam was very encouraging, however, because she assured us that there is no cancer anywhere else. It has been contained in these 2 ribs but is showing resistance to the current chemo drugs. The next step is radiation treatments. We have an appointment next week to see a Radiation Oncologist who will evaluate our situation and lay out a plan of attack. We will probably be doing 5 treatments per week for a period or 3 to 5 weeks. Dr. Neelam was confident that the radiation would be able to finish this bout with cancer. She also felt that the radiation treatments would give Arnie a much needed break from the side effects of the chemo. The radiation would be confined to the 7th and 8th ribs on the right side which should produce a minimum of side effects other than fatigue.
This is not exactly what I expected us to be facing but it does tell us where we are at this time and what we will be doing as we go forward. We still feel that God is in control and there must be a reason for us to be facing these upcoming treatments.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers and let me hear your comments and emails. Many of you were encouraging prior to this visit and we appreciate that support.
The results of the PET scan were not exactly what we wanted to hear --the cancer has spread some and there are now 2 ribs involved. Dr. Neelam was very encouraging, however, because she assured us that there is no cancer anywhere else. It has been contained in these 2 ribs but is showing resistance to the current chemo drugs. The next step is radiation treatments. We have an appointment next week to see a Radiation Oncologist who will evaluate our situation and lay out a plan of attack. We will probably be doing 5 treatments per week for a period or 3 to 5 weeks. Dr. Neelam was confident that the radiation would be able to finish this bout with cancer. She also felt that the radiation treatments would give Arnie a much needed break from the side effects of the chemo. The radiation would be confined to the 7th and 8th ribs on the right side which should produce a minimum of side effects other than fatigue.
This is not exactly what I expected us to be facing but it does tell us where we are at this time and what we will be doing as we go forward. We still feel that God is in control and there must be a reason for us to be facing these upcoming treatments.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers and let me hear your comments and emails. Many of you were encouraging prior to this visit and we appreciate that support.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Please pray!!
This is going to be a quick reminder and prayer request. We are going to Zion this week for a PET scan. The apprehension is very present here with me...again, as I have shared with you before. I know that God is in control and that He is going to see us through this but that human-ness is showing it's ugly head and trying to dominate my thoughts ---again!!! I know that God is with us and He will not leave us.
Please keep us in your prayers. Maybe we need to be more specific in our prayers and actually pray that the cancer will be gone. I know that God will have His way but can we influence that end result by praying specifically for something? I believe that the scriptures tell us that God wants us to bring everything to Him in prayer -- He wants to hear from us. So that tells me that we should express to Him exactly what we want and in this case, I want that miracle which is no cancer to be present. Please join with me in that prayer - that we will see a clean PET scan on Friday.
I will be making this trip with Arnie this time. My surgery was 3 weeks ago today and my back feels pretty good. I wear the brace all the time, even though I find it more and more annoying but I know it is necessary. I am learning to do certain things in creative ways because I am unable to bend over, so picking things off the floor becomes a challenge! I have gotten out of the house more lately - going to church on Sunday, going to the grocery store and traveling in the truck for an hour to visit with my daughter. That was all fine so I feel the trip to Zion will be fine but we will probably have to make more frequent stops so I can get out and walk around a bit.
Thank you for bearing with me as I express my feelings - writing this is therapeutic for me. I would ask that
you please keep us in your prayers. I will be back in touch with you soon.
Please keep us in your prayers. Maybe we need to be more specific in our prayers and actually pray that the cancer will be gone. I know that God will have His way but can we influence that end result by praying specifically for something? I believe that the scriptures tell us that God wants us to bring everything to Him in prayer -- He wants to hear from us. So that tells me that we should express to Him exactly what we want and in this case, I want that miracle which is no cancer to be present. Please join with me in that prayer - that we will see a clean PET scan on Friday.
I will be making this trip with Arnie this time. My surgery was 3 weeks ago today and my back feels pretty good. I wear the brace all the time, even though I find it more and more annoying but I know it is necessary. I am learning to do certain things in creative ways because I am unable to bend over, so picking things off the floor becomes a challenge! I have gotten out of the house more lately - going to church on Sunday, going to the grocery store and traveling in the truck for an hour to visit with my daughter. That was all fine so I feel the trip to Zion will be fine but we will probably have to make more frequent stops so I can get out and walk around a bit.
Thank you for bearing with me as I express my feelings - writing this is therapeutic for me. I would ask that
you please keep us in your prayers. I will be back in touch with you soon.
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