August 31st, 2010

The CT scan was done last night at five pm and by 8AM I received a call from the surgery scheduler. Dr. Finne and the Radiologist did not like what they saw. I will be going in for surgery tomorrow at 2PM. They are going to try to drain the abscess completely and will likely be putting in an additional drain through the abdomen. I find it hard to believe that I am so full of infection and yet my body shows no signs of fighting it off. No fever, no chills, aren't those signs that the body is fighting infection?
It makes me wonder if the chemotherapy took away all of my immune fighting abilities. Dr. Finne spoke with Dr. Oken to find out what his intentions are for me. It sounded like Dr. Oken was planning on doing more chemotherapy to make sure that I was in total remission. I was told in a blessing that I was given that the cancer is in remission and I believe it. I wonder if the problems that I am having now are not all caused from the chemo and rituxin. I have never had problems like this until I started getting treated with all these drugs. They are horrid and do a lot of damage to even the good cells. The bowel also get's hit hard by them. I had my troubles with the bowels during the treatments. Whatever the cause of my problems now, it is going to take a miracle to cure them or surgery to correct things.

August 30,2010 Update

Brian took me to see Dr. Finne today. He ordered another CT scan because things had changed ( abscess broke and drained). He said that I will require surgery to get rid of all the diseased tissues and infection.
He tentatively told the scheduler to fit me in in 3-4 weeks. I have not heard from her yet and wonder if Dr. Finne is waiting to see how things look before making that call. He explained the procedure and it is a very
serious operation that requires great skill. He told me that I could be looking at having to wear a colostomy from 6-12 months because of the location of the abscess. Once the bowels heal they would go back in and reconnect the remaining part of the colon to the rectal area. His greatest concern is that there might not be enough good tissue left in the rectal area to be able to reattach the colon. i REALLY DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT THAT! i WANT TO FOCUS ON THE FACT THAT GOD IS A GOD OF MIRACLES AND BLESSES LIVES EVERY DAY! (Sorry about the cap lock) Well maybe not- that is a good thing to emphasize. I'm going to pray that God will grant me a miracle of healing so that all goes well.

Dr.Carson

Yesterday I went up to the U of M for an appointment with Dr. Carson.
She is an OB/GYN doctor who specializes in Oncology and surgery. Dr. Oken felt like I needed to be seen by her since the fistula broke open and the pus started draining. That happened last Sunday morning and Dr. Finne was on vacation.
After Dr. Carson examined me and looked at the Pet and CT scans she felt that I needed to be seen by a colo-rectal surgeon and so I am going back to see Dr. Finne on Monday. Dr. Carson said that he needs to be the one in charge of this whole mess and that she would assist him in doing surgery to get things straightened out. So the ball is back in Dr. Finne's court.
Staying focused on the blessings, I have many.
I am not running a fever, nor do I have chills, the abscess found a way to drain out of my body rather than to further pollute it, the feeling in my fingers and toes is back and so I do not have permanent nerve damage from the Vincristine! I am not feeling sick or nauseated any more and some of my strength is coming back. I still have a hard time opening containers with small screw type lids but that is only a minor detail so I count myself as a winner.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support! They have played a tremendous part in my healing and will continue to play a huge part in my recovery process.

I love you all!
Colletta

August 2010

The last week of July and pretty much the first three weeks of August has been a time of great physical challenge for me. I have had pain and felt sick but despite all that it has been a month of great blessings.

The first half of August we were blessed to have our oldest grandson, Jordan, with us in our home. He is a joy to be near and was a huge help to me while he was here. He mowed the lawn and helped with the chores. He is very knowledgeable about what is going on in the world and it was fun to listen to his thoughts about what is going on.
He amazes me!

Our son, Andrew and his wife, Kim were also here during the first half of August. It was a joy to see them and we enjoyed the fair together.
Kim and Andy helped clean out a flower bed that has become a disaster over the summer. It is great to have the weeds gone and to be able to enjoy the flowers again. I look forward to the fall blossoms.

This morning Jason, Kiley and our two grandson's,Jake and Nathan
left for Indiana. They arrived home last Friday for a visit with us and oh how we have enjoyed having them. The boys are growing so fast!
Jake is able to hold some wonderful conversations and Nathan is learning to talk. He has so much to say but even without being able to understand what he is talking about he wins you over completely with his smile and his personality. We love them both and will miss them all. Jason and Kiley, took over for me this past few days and have given me time to enjoy the boys.

I love my family with all my heart and any time I get to spend with them are treasured moments.

Friday with Dr. Finne

Brian took me down to my appointment with Dr. Finne in the Cities last Friday. He took a look at the Cat and Pet Scans and the letter that Dr. Oken sent to him and admitted that it was out of his field of expertise so he said that he would have to consult with a radiologist, another oncologist and Dr. Oken before moving forward. However, he wanted to throw me in the hospital on Friday and run another CT scan and a different test. Brian told him that we had family coming in from out of state this weekend and that we wanted to be able to visit with them. He said that because I had good color, and wasn't running any fever and was on antibiotics to curb the infection that he would allow me to come into the clinic on an outpatient basis to have the tests run. So on August 26th I am scheduled for more tests down in the cities. That being said He told me that i could end up coming down there sooner if the abscess should break as it could poison my insides and turn into a systemic infection.
Yesterday morning the abscess started draining through a fistula that grew between the abscess and the vaginal cuff. I woke Brian up around 7:30 and told him I needed to go to the hospital. He took me in and the on-call Dr. ordered blood work, and took some of the blood/pus mixture to culture. He located the fistula so that is no longer and educated guess but has become a fact. He told me that it will require surgery to fix the problems that I am having now and so I will be prepared to stay in the Cities when I go down next. Dr. Finne told me that it is not an easy surgery and it is not pleasant but that when it is done, things should get better. Now the question will be, do I wait for him to get back off of vacation next Friday or do I go down sooner and see whomever is filling in for him? I'll talk to Dr. Oken's nurse to see what she thinks I need to do.

The latest CT Scan

My heart is pounding within my chest this morning. I am not sure why.
Is it due to stress or is it due to what is going on in my body. The results of the CT scan came back quickly and the doctors are moving even more quickly. No waiting to see the Colo-Rectal surgeon. He was only going to be in the office briefly today but they got me in to see him. I meet with Dr. Finne this morning at 11:30.
The CT showed continued inflammatory changes in the pelvis with fat stranding in the pericolonic fat. There is 5.4 x 3.8cm heterogeneous fluid collection in the left hemipelvis lateral to the mid sigmoid colon which contains gas and a relatively thick wall. The radiologist said that it is consistent with an abscess. There are other changes noted as well that suggest to me that I am going to end up in surgery.
The scan was not all fraught with bad news however ans so I want to share the good news with you too!

The tumor- nothing left but a little bit of soft scar tissue! The enlarged lymph nodes in that area have shrunk. The largest one now measures 14mm .
My heart is in good shape. The liver and spleen are normal in size and texture. There are no focal liver or splenic lesions. There are no pulmonary infiltrate or pleural effusion seen. There is no bowel obstruction. The adrenal glands, pancreas and kidneys appear unremarkable. That is all good news!

So, there is hope. Even if I have to have surgery to get rid of the rest of the problems that have developed this past three months, I hold onto the Lord's promise that in the resurrection I will be given a whole new body that will be made perfect.The Lord does not lie and so I can take comfort in His word and know that this time shall pass and my spirit will not be bound by an imperfect body.

A Visit with DR. Oken

Friday I saw the oncologist. Brian asked him point blank if I was in complete remission and he was very guarded about saying yes . The nurse then asked him how confident he was that it might be a complete remission and he said about 60-70%. He said that he was not completely sure that there are no lymphoma cells left in me. The inflammation in the bowel and the increased metabolic activity have him concerned. He wants me to be seen by a Colo-rectal specialist whom he has worked with in the past. He called him and spoke to him about my situation and the specialist agreed with the surgeon that I may not have to have surgery. The antibiotics may be all that I need. He agreed that the CT Scan should be done in two weeks and then we would go from there. So that is the plan. I'll stay on the antibiotics and have the CT Scan in two weeks. Here is hoping and praying that all will be well!

A Visit with the Surgeon

Last Monday the Chemo nurse sent me over to visit with the surgeon as I was still having pain. He read the Radiologists report on the PET scan
and told me that I was more than likely fighting an infection. He put me on a months worth of two very strong antibiotics and ordered a CT scan in two weeks. He told me that if I was dealing with an infection all those inflammatory conditions would likely go away and that my body would heal. He also told me that I may have to have surgery to remove a portion of the colon but that we would wait to see how my body responded to the antibiotics first. All of the inflammation could be the cause of the added metabolic activity in the area. So I am on antibiotics for now, but no chemo drugs!

The Results of the PET Scan

The Radiologist sent back the report stating that "there was significant improvement in the retroperitoneal,mesenteric and retrocrural lymphaddenopathy from the last CT scan of 3-11-10. The nodes currently do not demonstrate increased metabolic activity." That was good news because that means there are no active cancer cells left in the lymph nodes.
The other side of the news was not so good. It showed inflammation in the pelvic region with an area of encapsulated fluid in the posterior cul-de-sac and inflammatory changes in the pelvic fat. Her suspicion is that it was due to a "walled- off perforation related to diverticulitis".
She said that there was also an ovoid mass in the left side that also demonstrated increased metabolic activity and had increased in size since the previous CT scan. She suggested further testing.

The PET Scan

For those of you that have never had a PET scan, a little bit of information. With a PET Scan you are given an injection of radio active glucose and then wait for about 45 minutes while it circulates throughout your body. I was told that Cancer cells uptake the glucose 10 times faster than normal cells and so that increased metabolism of sugar by cancer cells will show up on the film. Technology is fascinating and I am so glad to live in a time where we are advanced enough so it no longer requires exploratory surgery to determine what is going on inside of us ! I was sent into a small donut -like tube and had over 2,000 pictures taken from my knees to my eyebrow level. It wasn't long and the test was done. Now all I had to do was to wait and see what the Radiologist would say. More sleep, more rest, less pain, but no energy to do anything. I was completely drained!

One Step at aTime

This past month has been perhaps the roughest month of the last eight as far as my physical health goes. Just after my last round of Rituxin and then Chemotherapy I started having a lot of lower bowel pain. I started with the nausea and vomiting not quite a week later. The pain in the lower bowel increased. I had an episode of extreme dizziness and almost passed out while in the bathroom. I lowered myself to the floor figuring that if I was going to hit the concrete I'd be safer getting as close to it as I could get. I managed to get onto my hands and knees and kept my eyes closed and started to crawl for the recliner in the living room. As I crawled I prayed that someone would find me and help me. A knock came on the door at the very moment I asked! It was the Fed- Ex man and he had a package for us. I yelled out for his help and he came in. He called 911 and then stayed with me until the ambulance got here. The dizziness went away as I was sitting in the recliner. I was taken to the hospital and tests were run. My oxygen level was low and the carbon dioxide levels were high but other than that every thing seemed to be okay. Except I still had pain in the pelvic region. It was determined that maybe I was dehydrated and so they pumped me full of fluids. The next day I went to see my family doctor as the pain was still there and I was feeling much worse.
More tests and everything still seemed okay. It was determined that maybe I still needed more water so I was sent back over to the hospital and given a huge bag of fluids. When that failed to relieve the pain I was handed a couple of enema's and told that perhaps I was constipated from all the medications I was taking. I tried one but no relief came. It wasn't the problem. I decided to just deal with the pain until the following Monday, when I was scheduled for my PET scan.
Perhaps that would show what was going on. I got my Pet Scan om July 26th and the waiting began. By this time I was getting relief from the pain by taking extra strength Tylenol and sleeping it off.

Mixed Bag of News

The good news is that the lymphoma and bone marrow cancer are in REMISSION! The bad news is that there is a possibility of colon and ovarian cancer. I go in for more blood work today to find out if either of those two conditions are showing up in the blood. On Thursday I will talk to the oncologist and he will determine where and what we do from that point. Keep me in your prayers.
Love,
Colletta