Mark's heart

This morning, Mark had a CT scan which showed his left anterior descending coronary artery was blocked. He went to surgery and had 4 stents placed.

Arrows show the area of blockage on Mark's heart.




Same area after the stents were placed.

Visiting Dad in the hospital.
 

Palbociclib (who thinks up these drug names?)

Palbociclib is an experimental drug- a pill- taken once a day for 21 days followed by 7 days off. It can be taken any time of the day and it's taken with food. I started on it on 2/16 with no side effects so far. I am having a few aches and pains, so Dr Laudi increased my Fentanyl patch from 35 mcg to 50 mcg to see if that would cover my pain better.

Instructions.
Glad I can read.
Thank you Elementary School Teachers!
(Those pictures are doing nothing for me.)
 

Palbociclib pill.

 

Sadly, Mark's mom is in the hospital and not doing well. Today, we were headed down to the hospital to see her when Mark started to have chest pain, his left arm felt heavy and he was nauseous. I told him to pull over so I could drive to Abbott, the hospital closest to us. He refused to get out of the driver's seat, so he drove himself to the hospital with me riding shotgun. The EKG and CT showed nothing, but they wanted to keep him overnight and do a repeat CT in the morning.

Scans and Plans

Yesterday, I had scans of my brain and liver which showed the liver tumors were now 25% bigger than my last scan. Just think, 5 months ago they weren't even there. Dr. Laudi stopped the vinrelbine, because it was essentially a lot of nausea for nothing. He ordered neupogen to boost my blood counts. If we do nothing else, he estimates I am looking at 4-6 months...

There is a new drug, Palbociclib, that was just approved by the FDA and Dr. Laudi is trying to get me on it. This drug is a pill. He also wants me to take Femora which is a hard drug for me, because of the way it affects my hormones which affects how I feel...but here goes...

Vinrelbine

Vinrelbine is given once a week for three weeks with one week off. On 1/8 and 1/19, I went to the infusion center where my port was accessed, labs drawn and the chemo infused. I chose Monday for my infusion day, so all the side effects would hit me before I had to go to work on the following Saturday.

I was supposed to get my third dose today, but my blood counts were too low and I have felt so miserable this month from all the nausea and vomiting. It's a pajama day for me.

RAD and PAC

This week, I had a radiation consult to "map and zap" (Mark-speak) a tumor in my right and left shoulder to relieve pain. They where able to map one day and zap the next. After an hour long treatment- 30 min to each side- I was done.

The chemo I am starting is called Vinorelbine. They won't run it through a peripheral IV, because it can cause major tissue damage if it should leak out of the vein, so after all these years of resistance, today I had a portacath placed. 

This may not seem like a big deal to people who deal with these things all the time, but it is a big deal to me. It was the one small thing I felt I had control of. I told the surgeon that I wanted it placed so it would be covered by my bra. He was reluctant, because that's not where he would want it. It isn't his. It's mine. He ended up putting it where I asked him to. 

Portacath



The port is under this glued-together incision.

PAC in action.

Sometimes, I feel like I losing my grip on a body that is no longer mine.   

Sorry to leave you in the dark...

December was a busy month.  Mark, the girls and I traveled to Chicago on 12/8/2014 and 12/22/2014. The Chicago Clinical Trial appeared to be working and I started the second month, then I had my last PET scan of the year. Today, we learned the cancer was growing. If we could not find a way to get ahead of the growth, I was told at best I would have six months to a year.

We looked at more Clinical Trials and found one at The Mayo. We chose a chemo that showed great results on liver tumors. The plan was to do 2 rounds of chemo (one dose per week for three weeks, then one week off) followed by another PET scan.

Thank you for all your Prayers and support. Thank you to the Angels that helped get us to Chicago and made our Christmas brighter.

Christmas 2014

Just Breathe and Pray

Since starting Lacitanib, I have been having increased pain at all the sites of my tumors. Dr. Laudi ordered additional pain meds which have been working well. Mark researched and found that increased pain may mean the drug is working! 

I close my eyes and imagine these tumors screaming out as they desperately try to maintain their existence in my body. Their growth factors- their food, so to speak- is cut off. They are not going without a fight. I am ready. I breathe in and breathe out. I feel empowered to be fighting on their terms, the field leveled. I have their attention. I hold my ground.

Close your eyes with me. Breathe in healing, hope, peace, love. Breathe out healing, hope, peace and love to share... Visualize these tumor cells letting go of their hold. See my body break them down- quickly, mercifully- and wash them away. 

Thank you for sharing my vision. I am grateful for you. 

*My next trip to Chicago with Mark and the girls will be on December 8. At this appt I will have the usual- pee and a BP- along with scans that will tell us if Lacitanib is working.