Update on yesterdays numbers

I'm currently sitting in the "chemo suites" getting my treatment.  My oncologist, Dr. Johnson, stopped by to talk about why my tumor marker has been going up.  He feels he knows why this is happening. I was glad that he had some answers but , his explanation is a real catch 22.  He said that he feels my liver function is getting better.  The liver is the organ that is responsible for metabolizing drugs.  My liver is getting better at processing the chemo drugs therefore not allowing the drugs to stay in the liver as long as they were before.  Bottom line, the good news that my liver function is getting better is causing the chemo drugs to not work as well and the tumors may be growing because of it. This is only a hypothesis that will be verified by the PET scan I will be getting on April 17th.  I'm 2 1/2 hours into my infusion and I have about 3 1/2 hours to go.  This will give me all the time I need in order to decide whether I should be happy or concerned with this explanation.  I'm going to opt for happy because it's been working pretty well so far.  Keep praying!

Round 6 starts tomorrow

I will be starting round 6 of chemo tomorrow morning.  I had blood work and labs done today and again it was mixed results.  I will not be given Avastin as part of my chemo cocktail during this round because my platelet count went down again.  I think I am the only person who's platelet count goes up during treatment and down during my week off.  It is supposed to be the other way around but, as they say in the oncology department, "every body is different".  My liver function numbers are on the high side of normal but they did use the term normal, so that's good.  The bad news is that my tumor count went up again.  They really don't know why it is going up.  The doctor said it is not ideal at this point and we will watch it closely.  If it continues to go up, we will have to change our course of treatment.  I have a PET scan scheduled for mid April.  This will give us a much better answer as to why the count is going up.  All other numbers have not changed and I feel good physically.  I am going into this round like all others with lots of prayer and a positive attitude. Thanks for the prayers and good thoughts.

My week off after round 5 update

It is day 4 of my week off.  So far this has been a great week.  The weather has been wonderful and has allowed me to get outside and do some things.  I've been able to take Ramzi for walks, which has been good for both of us.  The only thing I have to watch out for is over doing it.  I can certainly tell my body has been weakened by the chemo drugs because I just do not have the stamina I am used to having.  Vic has been very good at keeping me in line when it comes to knowing it is time for me to stop.  She says she is able to see it in my face when I've done too much.  I usually don't agree with her right away but, she is right most of the time.  I bring this up because the Doctor gave me some good news.  He has cleared me to play golf!  I am trying to get my body in shape so I can play nine holes.  I am going to bring Vic for her companionship and superior golf skills, as well as her uncanny ability to know when I am running out of gas.  I just hope the weather cooperates now, like it has over the past few weeks.  I will update this story as it happens.

One other question....How's everyone doing with their brackets?  I tore mine up yesterday since I had North Carolina winning it all.  It has really been a good tournament so far and it looks like the seeding committee did a good job.

I hope everyone has a good week.  Keep the faith and smile at someone today, you will both feel better.

The numbers are in

I got the results of my lab tests today.  My numbers that show how my liver is functioning did not change from the last time.  They are still on the high side but they show that my liver is actually working well.  My bilirubin count went from .9 to 1 so nothing to worry about.  The real good news was that my platelet count went up to 88 from 78.  I know, which numbers should go up and which ones should go down?  Here's a quick review: All liver function numbers should go down; platelet numbers should go up; all blood numbers (red count, white count, hemoglobin) should go up; tumor marker should go down.  Unfortunately my tumor marker did not go down.  It actually went up from 427 to 496.  This is the first time my tumor marker has gone up since I started treatment.  I was told by the nurse practitioner to not worry about the increase because this is not uncommon during treatment.  I will admit I am disappointed with these results but, I have to realize these numbers are still quite a bit less than when I started.  I will use a Wisconsin based analogy for how I will look at these numbers.  When your car is stuck in the snow you have to rock it back and forth in order to get it out and move forward. This is my rocking back and forth in order to get unstuck.  I have another appointment next Thursday and I pray for a lower number in order to continue my journey forward.  No one said it would be easy.

Round 5 almost done

Only 2 more days to go for round 5.  I have an appointment for blood work/labs tomorrow,  followed by a consultation to review my progress. This is always a tough appointment for me.  I feel like the results should be good based on my past history but, there is always that possibility, in my mind, that they might be bad.  Now is the time for me to trust in God's plan and accept his will. I always, from day one, have gone into these appointments with a very positive attitude and I will continue this tomorrow.  I will post my results later in the day tomorrow.  As always, prayers welcome!

March Madness- Weekend #1

What are 5 things we all learned from the first weekend of the best sports tournament of the year?
1. It is the best sports tournament of the year.
2. Charles Barkley is not very smart.
3. The sound of college basketball on TV is very distinctive. DDD..Defense!
4. David VS Goliath is alive and well.  15 seeds beating 2 seeds....12 seeds beating 5 seeds....11 seeds beating 3 seeds.  Schools with enrollment of under 10,000 beating schools with 40,000 plus enrollment.
5. I did sort of predict this would be the year of the underdog.  I'm taking this as a good sign!

 One last thought.  Coach K of Duke was interviewed after his team was upset by Lehigh (Duke was a #2 seed and Lehigh was a #15 seed) He said that in this tournament there are tremendous highs and tremendous lows, his team experienced a low that was not expected and the Lehigh team enjoyed a high that no one thought could happen.  This one basketball game is a prime example of life in general.  We don't have to be able to dunk a basketball or hit a 3 point jumper in order to enjoy these games.  We enjoy these games because we can all relate to the emotion tied to success and failure.  This tournament is truly "Reality TV".  We want to see and experience the highs and lows, live and in HD.  I think this type of emotional outlet is good for all of us.  If it can allow you to take your mind off your own problems for awhile, it's a good thing. It might even be good for your health.  That's what I'm going with, the health thing.....It all starts again this weekend with the round of the sweet sixteen.  Go Badgers and Marquette!

Another Bucket

As I said before, I have a few different "buckets" I want to take care of before I go.  Today is an opportunity to go into my "Grandchildren Bucket".  Caroline Victoria Katula turns 2 years old today! Happy Birthday Sweetheart.
When I was told I had cancer, the possibility of me not being around to see my grandchildren grow up was one of the first things that came to my mind.  It was a devastating thought.  From the time the girls were born, I always dreamed of doing special "grandparents" things with my grandchildren. As I spent more time with the girls, I realized that all the wonders of being a grandparent were actually true.  I now know that God has placed an empty space in my heart that can only be filled with the love for my grandchildren, and fill it they did.  Based on my situation I have to change my thinking for the future.  I have to take each and every opportunity with my grandchildren, no matter how small, and embrace it.  To be able to celebrate Caroline's 2 year birthday is another milestone for me.  It's these milestones that keep me looking forward to more.  Not only more milestones but, more grandchildren!  Wink...Wink :)      

Round 5 update

Things have been going well during this round.  I have really been enjoying the mild weather because it has allowed me to take a walk every night.  Unfortunately I still get fatigued very quickly so I can't walk as far as I would like to but, the walks have been wonderful.   I would like to challenge everyone to take the time, as often as possible, to take a walk with your spouse, kids or a friend.  Not only will you get the exercise you need, you will have an opportunity to spend some quality time together.  It's amazing how much Vic and I find to talk about without the distractions of the household commotion. Talk about your day, what went good and what went bad.  Talk about important upcoming events in your lives.  Use this time as a chance to get on the same page and reconnect.  The old "Eat dinner with the family" theory is old school because of technology.  Phones, TVs and IPads are to distracting.  Get away from it for awhile and spend one on one time with the ones you love.  Just a thought!

Back to the "Sports Bucket"

The first weekend of round 5 has passed with no other problems.  As a matter of fact I had a wonderful Sunday because of the pleasant weather.  I was able to figure out that 60+ degree temps are ok for me to go outside with very little effect from the cold aversion.  I was able to join Vic, her parents and Bob and Donna Duesing for a nice walk with the dogs at the park.

Back to the Sports Bucket and one of the best times of the year...March Madness!  Watching this was one of the goals I had set after diagnosis.  I really enjoy what this tournament stands for.  These teams have all worked very hard during the season to gain a spot in this tournament.  Now that the teams have been selected the records are all thrown out and it comes down to anyone being able to beat anyone.  This is the tournament that has really coined the phrase "Cinderella Story"  Against all odds there will be teams that end up winning games nobody thought they could.  They will win the hearts of fans who have never heard of them and who will cheer them on to continue to defeat the odds.  I feel I can relate to the "underdog".  My initial odds were against me big time but, with the support of my fans and God's will, I am a true Cinderella Story.  I have a lot of time to research and work on my brackets this year.  I think I may select a few more long shots this year than in the past.  You know what they say... Birds of a feather!

Update for day 2 of round 5

The 2 weeks off was a good time but my body seems to have forgotten how well it was handling the treatments.  For some reason I am having a tough time with this treatment.  This morning I suffered through  some back spasms.  I never had them before but the pain was bad enough that I had to have Vic call the hospital for guidance.  As usual when the nurse called back the pain was going away and it has been pretty good all day.  If it comes back I have to go to the hospital right away, so far so good.  Hopefully this is just the first few days of treatment rearing it's ugly head and it will all get better as time goes on.  I'm glad this happened during the weekend because Vic was able to help me out. Thanks Sweetheart!  I just have to continue to believe in what has been working for me.  A lot of prayer, a good attitude, lots of support from family and friends and a great medical team.  Like I said, I hope this only lasts a few days.  I'll let you know.

Treatment tomorrow? YES!!

The numbers are in and they are not too bad.  My platelet count is 78, up from 62.  This is not ideal but we once again agreed to stay aggressive.  Unfortunately, we cannot push the envelope when it comes to adding the Avastin to my treatment and the numbers are still too low for that, so we are just sticking with a full dose of what I've been taking.  My Bilirubin count is back to a normal level so it is no longer a problem for right now.  The nurse told us that my liver function numbers are "normal" and she actually used the term miraculous.  I also can't believe my liver is still working at normal levels especially after I look at the PET scan which still shows major tumor involvement.  Then I got the tumor marker number and that was down to 427 from 614 only 9 days ago.  I hate the treatment but I am glad it's working and I'm glad to get it started again.  I once again thank you for all the prayers and I want you to know it is working.

Testing Day

Later this afternoon I will be going in for blood work.  Hopefully I have given my body enough time to heal up and the results will be good enough to re start my treatment.  I have really enjoyed the extra week off from treatment but I need to keep aggressive and stay ahead of the cancer with whatever treatment I can handle.  I will update the blog with the results later tonight.

Monday and Tuesday... My Dog Days

 Although my platelet count is still low and I really should not be doing anything to put me in a position to get bruised, I decided now is a great time to take Ramzi for a couple days.  I am really glad I did.  He is still a fire plug when it comes to raw energy but I think he is getting better.  Both Monday and today I have spent all my time with him and realized he likes to sleep as much as he likes to run.  I let him nap most of the day hoping he is becoming more of a dog than a puppy.  I then realized that his sleep is not a normal dog trait as much as it is a chance to fully charge his batteries.  When Vic gets home from work we take him for a walk.  Unfortunately, I cannot walk as far as I used to so Ramzi is not getting the exercise he needs.  When we get back from the walk we let him out in the backyard to run hard and run he does!  Now he is tired and it's time to eat, which he does in about 1 minute and goes and lays down.  Vic and I eat our dinner and settle in for a night of TV viewing.  This is my favorite time for Ramzi's company.  He climbs up onto my lap and falls asleep.  What a great dog!  I have to thank Vic's parents again for fostering our dog while I get treatment.  I know he is a handful but, I also know he loves us all.  Oh yeah, the other thing I love about having him around is he always agrees with me when I have an opinion about something I see on TV.  Now that's not only a good dog but, a smart dog too!  Keep praying, only 2 more days to get my numbers on track in order to resume treatment.  Thanks for the help!!

My extra week off....Sunday

As I said, I will try to do something each day during my extra week off in order to make it worth while.  Not only will the time off help to heal my platelet and bilirubin counts, it will allow me to do some things I would not have done if I was having treatment.  So what did I do on Sunday? Believe it or not it involved driving down to UW Parkside again.  Vic and I left home at 7:30am and picked up our niece, Katie and our nephew, Kyle.  We then headed over to Vic's parents house and picked them up also.  We hit the road and drove down to Parkside, not to see Sammy but, to watch our niece, Lauren play in a 7th grade volleyball tournament.  For anyone who has been involved in youth sports tournaments you know these are not a one game and go home event.  They are usually an all day event with a schedule based on whether your team wins or loses.  The more you win the longer you play.  Our first game was at 9:00am with a format of best 2 out of 3.  Lauren's team played well and Lauren really impressed me with her excellent play.  As I said," the better you play the longer you play".....  After the last game we went out to dinner!  I really enjoyed the day watching a good volleyball tournament, seeing Lauren play so well and spending time with the family.  I'm glad I had an opportunity to do this and I once again thank God for giving me what I need.  Speaking of getting what I need, we picked up Ramzi Sunday night and I will have him for a few days..... stay tuned.

My week off

Thursday was technically the start of my extra week off.  I was still upset that I had a setback in my treatment schedule so I really didn't do anything.  Vic and Sam told me that I have to embrace the time off and treat it as a positive.  I agreed and told Sam that his mother and I would drive down to Kenosha and take him out to dinner Friday night.  We decided on going to a place that for the last 5 years we have driven past when going to Sam's games and always made the comment that we should eat there sometime.  The place.....Apple Holler.....for a fish fry!  Unfortunately the weather decided not to embrace my new attitude towards my off time and a winter storm warning was issued for the exact time we decided to go.  Undaunted, I decided if we take our time we would still go.  It was really snowing hard but two hours later we made it to Sammy's place.  We drove to the "Holler" hoping it was not closed due to the weather.  To our delight the open sign was lit in the window but, a strange feeling came over us when we realized there was only one car in the parking lot.  We went in and sure enough, NO Waiting!  There was one other table with people and us.  Needless to say the service was wonderful, the food was out quickly and was really good.  It was a great night with Vic and Sam and I am very glad we decided to do it.  I will try to take advantage of my time off this week by doing something everyday that I would not have done if my treatment stayed on schedule.
Saturday morning and Vic and I (mostly Vic) snow blowed and shoveled the walk and driveway.  Is this fun or what?!!  Just kidding, I really am going to enjoy this.