Today David and I had our consultation with Dr. Komlos, the Interventional Radiologist who will perform my TACE procedure. Dr. Dormady really holds Dr. Komlos in the highest regard. And as a side note, I'm lucky to have Dr. Dormady on my side. Dr. Komlos was on vacation last week until today. While he was away I called to schedule my appointment with him and was told that he was booked for two weeks. So, I scheduled for April 23rd and let Dr. Dormady know. Behind the scenes, Dr. Dormady called Dr. Komlos and the next thing I know I got a phone call saying that Dr. Komlos called and said for them to move me to April 11th. What an awesome team of doctors.
Dr. Komlos described the procedure to me, most of which I already knew since I looked it up online. He said that I have two options at this point: the chemoembolization which is the procedure I have described in a previous post. A catheter will be inserted in my femoral artery and will be threaded up to my liver and then Irinotecan-saturated beads will be inserted into my liver which will then emit chemotherapy into my liver for two weeks. There's another very similar procedure that could be done, but instead of chemotherapy-saturated beads, the beads would emit radiation. But he thinks that in my case (where only one lesion is present) the chemoembolization is the better choice so that we can save additional radiation procedures for later when it may be needed more.
The procedure will be a 30-minute procedure done while sedated. I will stay in the hospital overnight for observation and to make sure any pain is controlled. He said I would then be fatigued and have a decreased appetite for 2-3 weeks. I can handle that.
Dr. Komlos said he doesn't think this procedure will completely get rid of the current lesion that I have and that I may need to CyberKnife it at a later date. The purpose of this procedure is to knock down additional tumor cells that are trying to rally, preventing lesions that are not present now but would be in the future. That will allow us to then focus on this one that is present without having additional ones pop up right afterwards.
The procedure is scheduled for Wednesday April 24th, and will proceed as long as the insurance authorization does not get in the way. So far the insurance has been mostly cooperative, so hopefully they will continue to be so.
I was hoping that I would have the MRI report from yesterday but it isn't completed yet. When I have that I will post it.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
TACE (Transarterial Chemo Embolization)
Here's the update I promised today on Facebook. First of all, the CEA from yesterday is 14.6, down from 16.7 two weeks ago. So, that does show that the 4 rounds of chemotherapy has been doing its job. But the side effects have been building up and I'd like to give my body (and my psyche) and break from the systemic treatment. I've been on some form of chemotherapy since July 2011. Most of that time I was taking Xeloda and Avastin which have caused some side effects that aren't pleasant. The Avastin has caused ulcerations inside my nose which are painful and cause nosebleeds. The xeloda has taken its toll on my gums. The chemotherapy I've been on for the past two months have increased these effects plus have cause discomfort with my hands and feet as described in a recent post.
We are not by any means giving up on this battle though, we are just changing the strategy. While I am taking a break I will undergo a procedure called TACE which stands for "Transarterial Chemo Embolization" Here is a link that describes this procedure: TACE. Basically an Interventional Radiologist will insert a catheter through a femoral artery and place Irinotecan-saturated beads into my liver, which will supply a dose of the chemotherapy directly to the tumor for two weeks. This should kill it. Also the liver will be saturated with the beads as well so if there are any micro-tumors (too small to detect) that are gearing up for battle, the TACE will also take care of them.
After this (probably in a couple of months) we will likely continue the systemic treatments to make sure and kill (hopefully) any additional tumor cells that are elsewhere in my body.
I don't have the details on when this procedure will take place, I would guess within the next couple of weeks. I will have an MRI before then to double check and see if there are any additional sites in the liver that have activity. Any tumor sites that are found will get a direct hit of these beads.
Here is the CT scan report:
We are not by any means giving up on this battle though, we are just changing the strategy. While I am taking a break I will undergo a procedure called TACE which stands for "Transarterial Chemo Embolization" Here is a link that describes this procedure: TACE. Basically an Interventional Radiologist will insert a catheter through a femoral artery and place Irinotecan-saturated beads into my liver, which will supply a dose of the chemotherapy directly to the tumor for two weeks. This should kill it. Also the liver will be saturated with the beads as well so if there are any micro-tumors (too small to detect) that are gearing up for battle, the TACE will also take care of them.
After this (probably in a couple of months) we will likely continue the systemic treatments to make sure and kill (hopefully) any additional tumor cells that are elsewhere in my body.
I don't have the details on when this procedure will take place, I would guess within the next couple of weeks. I will have an MRI before then to double check and see if there are any additional sites in the liver that have activity. Any tumor sites that are found will get a direct hit of these beads.
Here is the CT scan report:
Monday, April 1, 2013
My Husband
I wanted to take a few moments to write about my husband, David. Anyone who knows him will already know everything that I have to say, but I want to say it anyway. When we got married 7 1/2 years ago, he believed we'd get married, build a house big enough to raise two kids, and live a long, happy life together. Well, we got married, built the house, and then instead of the planned path, he has taken on the job of caring for and supporting me through this sometimes difficult journey that we are on. And it is touching that he can do it so well considering that he also lost his mother to cancer when he was in high school. This disease of mine has been been more unfair to him than to me in some ways.
Despite having to take on a burden that he didn't expect, he has taken it on in stellar fashion. I try not to make things too hard on him, but when needed, he has shouldered "my" tasks as well as his own. He is still working, but luckily he is able to work from home often. So, in addition to his regular job, he is now preparing food and drinks for me on treatment weeks, fetching drugs, feeding the dogs, walking the dogs on his own, going to the store, sometimes more than once a day, to get whatever my shifting whims have dictated. While undergoing treatment, I take nourishment and calories in whatever form I can, and what I can eat/drink/tolerate seems to change a bit each time. And David is right on top of it all. He is even doing "my" garden tasks when asked. :-)
He is doing an amazing job without any complaints. According to the doctors, there's little chance of a cure for me, but we keep fighting each battle to try, and to at least give me long periods of peace and good health. Since David didn't sign up for a life with a wife with cancer, who cannot work outside the home, and who sometimes needs a lot of help, my goal is to give him as many breaks as I can by earning periods of remission that are as long as possible.
I love David very much, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner though this.
Despite having to take on a burden that he didn't expect, he has taken it on in stellar fashion. I try not to make things too hard on him, but when needed, he has shouldered "my" tasks as well as his own. He is still working, but luckily he is able to work from home often. So, in addition to his regular job, he is now preparing food and drinks for me on treatment weeks, fetching drugs, feeding the dogs, walking the dogs on his own, going to the store, sometimes more than once a day, to get whatever my shifting whims have dictated. While undergoing treatment, I take nourishment and calories in whatever form I can, and what I can eat/drink/tolerate seems to change a bit each time. And David is right on top of it all. He is even doing "my" garden tasks when asked. :-)
He is doing an amazing job without any complaints. According to the doctors, there's little chance of a cure for me, but we keep fighting each battle to try, and to at least give me long periods of peace and good health. Since David didn't sign up for a life with a wife with cancer, who cannot work outside the home, and who sometimes needs a lot of help, my goal is to give him as many breaks as I can by earning periods of remission that are as long as possible.
I love David very much, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner though this.
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