If you are reading this blog, I will assume that you are interested in what is happening with Dave. The truth of the matter is that his situation is not too good. He is still experiencing weakness and pain in his legs, along with a tremendous reduction in mobility, due to the spinal reconstruction. He can drive again, but our car is a 5-speed and it hurts to change the gears, so I drive most places. Usually, he borrows his mom's truck to go anywhere, but lately he hasn't felt like leaving the house too often.
The radiation treatments he had for the edema and the tumor that remained after the surgery has kicked his booty. He has been nauseated now for almost 5 weeks and his appetite ebbs and flows. Some days he can't get enough to eat and some days he doesn't eat anything. The reason for this is that the radiation was targeted at the spine, but traveled straight through to the body and killed the cells lining the stomach, etc. While they are healing, the nausea, pain, etc. will continue. According to the radiologist, this could last for several months or be well overnight. I was hoping for overnight but looks like we rolled snake eyes on this one.
Last week, we went to the oncologist for another consultation and for a reading of the MRI and CT scans that were done earlier that day. Up until now, we haven't seen any pictures of the region from the shoulders up...neck and head, in other words. There is a nodule in the facial lymph gland that bears looking into because it can't be definitively identified visually. In other words, it has to be biopsied, which can be done two ways...needle or excision. Yet another surgeon came in for a consult and advised removal because of the location, so that happens the first of May. Also, we are having yet another consult with his neurosurgeon about the very large tumor that showed up in one of the ventricles of the brain. Although it looks benign from the structure, again, there is no way to tell. We don't have any recommendation on that yet.
As of last week, Dave has a large tumor in his right lung and a small one in the left. Also the lumph node between the lungs has been affected. Our oncologist said if he developed a cough we should come straight into the office. There are two very small tumors in the liver and several along the spinal column. We haven't started the drug treatment for these tumors yet because of all of the other issues. You can't take this powerful drug 7-10 days before or after you have any surgery or other procedure that causes bleeding. That means we can't start on that treatment until mid-May. That might not sound like a long time to you but these tumors grew visibly in just the 4 weeks between their original discovery and the follow up scans last week. This means that the Renal Cell is relatively aggressive so we are caught in a loop of what to do when.
I feel very blessed that we have one of the best oncologists in this area attending Dave. The doctors we have seen so far have been incredibly concerned, caring and involved.
The radiation treatments he had for the edema and the tumor that remained after the surgery has kicked his booty. He has been nauseated now for almost 5 weeks and his appetite ebbs and flows. Some days he can't get enough to eat and some days he doesn't eat anything. The reason for this is that the radiation was targeted at the spine, but traveled straight through to the body and killed the cells lining the stomach, etc. While they are healing, the nausea, pain, etc. will continue. According to the radiologist, this could last for several months or be well overnight. I was hoping for overnight but looks like we rolled snake eyes on this one.
Last week, we went to the oncologist for another consultation and for a reading of the MRI and CT scans that were done earlier that day. Up until now, we haven't seen any pictures of the region from the shoulders up...neck and head, in other words. There is a nodule in the facial lymph gland that bears looking into because it can't be definitively identified visually. In other words, it has to be biopsied, which can be done two ways...needle or excision. Yet another surgeon came in for a consult and advised removal because of the location, so that happens the first of May. Also, we are having yet another consult with his neurosurgeon about the very large tumor that showed up in one of the ventricles of the brain. Although it looks benign from the structure, again, there is no way to tell. We don't have any recommendation on that yet.
As of last week, Dave has a large tumor in his right lung and a small one in the left. Also the lumph node between the lungs has been affected. Our oncologist said if he developed a cough we should come straight into the office. There are two very small tumors in the liver and several along the spinal column. We haven't started the drug treatment for these tumors yet because of all of the other issues. You can't take this powerful drug 7-10 days before or after you have any surgery or other procedure that causes bleeding. That means we can't start on that treatment until mid-May. That might not sound like a long time to you but these tumors grew visibly in just the 4 weeks between their original discovery and the follow up scans last week. This means that the Renal Cell is relatively aggressive so we are caught in a loop of what to do when.
I feel very blessed that we have one of the best oncologists in this area attending Dave. The doctors we have seen so far have been incredibly concerned, caring and involved.
