Gastroenterologist

I had my colonoscopy today. All went well, no polyps, no cancer, nothing unusual to report! Since everything looked good I do not need another colonoscopy for 3 years. I was expecting one every year, so it will be nice to not have as many visits. Looks like I should just have doctor visits the rest of the year without any more testing. I meet with my oncologist next month to discuss the results of my tests, and I will mention the neuropathy in my feet. Then I have an appointment with my radiation oncologist and surgeon in July.

So far everything has been looking great for me. I sure am grateful that I was fortunate enough to get into see the Doctor before my cancer turned into something much more serious. Please never forget, if you have something odd going on, even if it may seem trivial, go and get it checked out. It probably saved my life.

checkups

It has been a long time since I posted, which is great!

I met with my surgeon on Monday, and everything went good, she found nothing unusual.

On Wednesday I had a Cat Scan. The results came back negative, no signs of any cancer! The scan was at a new location that has a brand new machine. It has only been there for a month or two, and is the only one of its kind in Alaska. It provides a much lower dose of radiation. I received 62% less than I would of had on an older machine. Any of you in Alaska that may need a Cat Scan be sure to check on this. Imaging Associates of Providence on Abbott. It is only a block from my house.

I do need to schedule a colonoscopy, and then I will have a break for a few months, to probably a year until I need more scans and probes.

I have had problems with neuropathy since I finished my chemotherapy treatments. My toes and most of the bottoms of my feet are numb. The tips of my fingers were numb also, but that is mostly OK now. I will be meeting with my oncologist next month. I will see what he has to say about the neuropathy. It is a common side effect of the oxiplatium that I received. It is suppose to go away, but can take up to two years to get better, or never. It is not a big deal, more of a nuisance than anything.

Port removal

I had my port removed on Wednesday. It went very well. The Nurse Practitioner injected some sort of numbing medication near the port, and then she made an incision and removed the port. I had heard that it would be a pretty good tug to get it out. That was not the case, I actually had to ask if it was out since I did not feel a thing. They told me to leave it covered for 24 hours then I could remove the gauze and Tegaderm film (band aid), and could leave it uncovered. I did that a couple of hours before going to sleep. I woke up in the morning and was going to ride to work. I pulled up my shirt and noticed that it had bled some overnight. So I covered it back up and drove to work instead. 

I met with my surgeon. She did an exam, feeling my lymph nodes and a digital (as in fingers) exam and everything was good. So I only have a dentist appointment on Tuesday, and then no more doctors or medical visits till March and April!!!! I will miss seeing all of my healthcare providers though. They are all great people, and some of them I will continue to see outside of the medical field. 

I am grateful for all of my friends, family, and medical personal that helped me through my cancer diagnosis and treatment. :)

Finished with chemo and radiation!!

Karen and I met with Dr. Levandosky on Friday. He felt that I had enough of the chemo and said that my treatment was over. I thought about it for a millisecond, and had to agree! It has been 4 weeks since my last treatment. My neuropathy is much better now, actually it is almost completey gone. I still have an upset digestive tract, nothing bad, mostly annoying.

I am getting my port out on Wednesday. So I am off of the blood thinner till Friday. Then one month of the blood thinners before I can quit taking it. They told me that they will numb up the area around the port, make an incision, get a hold of it, and pull it out. I will let you know how it goes. On Thursday I have a check up with my surgeon June George.

I will be having my follow up colonoscopy and CatScan in April.

I am relieved to have finished the chemo and radiation, it was a long summer. I will continue with my support group and all of my annual check ups. I hope that I will stay cancer free for the rest of my life. It is well worth the battle and would do it again if I had too. I do hope that someday they can find a less toxic treatment.

It has snowed a lot here lately and I have been able to enjoy some snow biking. I am a little out of shape and I fatigue quicker than normal. I have managed 60 miles since the snow hit the ground, so hopefully I can get back in shape and put on lots of miles this winter. :)

Enjoying a break

I am feeling pretty good this week. I did not have my infusion on Monday! :)  My hands and face are still a little cold sensitive. But I have been able to do some biking in the cold, a face mask, goggles, and good gloves have worked well.

I will meet with my oncologist on November 11 to talk about the rest of my treatment. Right now I am leaning on being done with the chemo. If he feels that is not a good idea, and wants to lower the dose of chemo, or change me over to the 5FU pills, I will consider it.

Altering Treatment

I had my 6^th infusion on Monday. After discussing my severe stomach pains that I have after every infusion the doctor prescribed some muscle relaxers for me. They did nothing to help. Since the effects of the chemo are cumulative the stomach pains were worse and more often this time. My neuropathy is worse this time also. I can touch nothing that is cold, or even metal at room temps, and when I breathe in cold air it hurts. I have decided to alter my treatment. I spoke with Katmai and I have an appointment to speak with my doctor on November 11^th about my options. I will either take the 5FU pills, lower my infusion dose, or just be done.

Since my prognosis was real good without doing any of the chemo or radiation I should be in pretty good shape having done all of my radiation and 75% of my chemo.

Over the hump

I did not have a very bad week after my last infusion. I did wake up twice the first night of my infusion with very nasty stomach cramps / pains, but it does not last more than a few minutes. I am sure this will happen every time. My hands and feet have been cold sensitive and tingly, not real bad, but nonetheless bothersome. I sure hope that is doesn’t last forever. I rare cases it does. I am not looking forward to the colder weather since the cold makes my hands and feet hurt. I will be done in the middle of November, so hopefully it will go away soon afterwards.

I have been out biking a few times this week, we have been having nice sunny days, although they are cool fall days.

I will have my 5^th infusion on Monday. I will then be over half-way through!!