I'm into my 3rd week of chemo now. No interruptions this time (like a seisure!). Yay!
So just taking it easy.
Oh, I seem to have a low blood pressure problem, so I'm now going to be receiving "hydration" twice a week where they hook me up to an I.V. pole in my home for 3 hours each time and pump saline solution directly into my blood stream (slightly salty water). Today is the first day of hydration for me.
-- Shane
Short Executive Status (Summary) -- Blog is below
Active Tumors:
» 5+ liver tumors -- largest is 7 cm by 5.2 cm (70 x 52 mm), Gold tracers inserted Nov 21 for CyberKnife x-ray 3D movement tracking. Thu Dec 1st,2011, CyberKnife planning. Dec 16th, treatment 1/3 done to whole liver. Dec 19th, treatment 2/3 done to whole liver. Dec 21st, treatment 3 failed, couldn't get tracer alignment. Dec 22nd, treatment 2.5/3 done using 2 of 4 tracers. Final 0.5 treatment was to be done Tue Dec 27th. Cancelled due to complications and hospitalization.
» 12 lung tumors -- largest is 8 mm in size (0.8 cm)
» 1 lymph node tumor -- near left renal vein & artery of left kidney (1.4 cm). Nov 14th: Ultrasound done of both kidneys and bladder area, all 3 areas are cancer free.
» 3rd-8th brain tumors -- 6 new brain tumors. Sizes all less than 5mm(0.5cm). Some as small as 2mm(0.2cm). Full brain radiation or CyberKnife TBD in Jan after 2nd MRI to see speed of growth.
Inactive Tumors:
» 2nd brain tumor -- Killed via CyberKnife Sep 29/2011, 5 mm in size (0.5 cm).
» 1st brain tumor -- Killed via CyberKnife May/2011, was 20 mm in size (2 cm). Nov 21st, still showing brain tissue swelling, but not active.
» Original Esophogeal Cancer tumor (source of everything) -- Surgically removed June/2010 by 3-field Esophogectomy. Was roughly large egg sized.
[ Note: 2.54 cm = 25.4mm = 1 inch ]
Link to 34 surgery June 2010 pictures and some post surgery shots.
» 5+ liver tumors -- largest is 7 cm by 5.2 cm (70 x 52 mm), Gold tracers inserted Nov 21 for CyberKnife x-ray 3D movement tracking. Thu Dec 1st,2011, CyberKnife planning. Dec 16th, treatment 1/3 done to whole liver. Dec 19th, treatment 2/3 done to whole liver. Dec 21st, treatment 3 failed, couldn't get tracer alignment. Dec 22nd, treatment 2.5/3 done using 2 of 4 tracers. Final 0.5 treatment was to be done Tue Dec 27th. Cancelled due to complications and hospitalization.
» 12 lung tumors -- largest is 8 mm in size (0.8 cm)
» 1 lymph node tumor -- near left renal vein & artery of left kidney (1.4 cm). Nov 14th: Ultrasound done of both kidneys and bladder area, all 3 areas are cancer free.
» 3rd-8th brain tumors -- 6 new brain tumors. Sizes all less than 5mm(0.5cm). Some as small as 2mm(0.2cm). Full brain radiation or CyberKnife TBD in Jan after 2nd MRI to see speed of growth.
Inactive Tumors:
» 2nd brain tumor -- Killed via CyberKnife Sep 29/2011, 5 mm in size (0.5 cm).
» 1st brain tumor -- Killed via CyberKnife May/2011, was 20 mm in size (2 cm). Nov 21st, still showing brain tissue swelling, but not active.
» Original Esophogeal Cancer tumor (source of everything) -- Surgically removed June/2010 by 3-field Esophogectomy. Was roughly large egg sized.
[ Note: 2.54 cm = 25.4mm = 1 inch ]
 | 5 pictures included in album | ||
| 2011_11_16, Shane in BIG CHAIR |
Link to 34 surgery June 2010 pictures and some post surgery shots.
Latest Picture
Shane - 2011_11_27, Photo Shoot lighting prep
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Good news, finally...
MRI from last week Thu June 9,2011 was reviewed this week Mon. The results showed that the zapped tumor is now half its size (which surprised them as it usually doesn't shrink so fast after zapping). So that's good news. Secondly, there were no new tumors showing on the scan. Yay, no new brain radiation required right now! Next MRI scheduled in 3 months time.
Chemo started last week Tue June 7th, 2011. The plan is to have chemo for 2 months interrupted, once per week as a Tue injection. The hope is to reduce the larger liver tumors. If that doesn't happen then a new drug will be used, or radiation surgery will be considered. The chemo drug is Paclitaxel. A CT scan is scheduled for the end of the 2 months of chemo so that we can tell if any progress has been made.
So I'm off to chemo today. Paclitaxel is a drug that doesn't seem to have visible side effects for me. The only side effect is reduced white blood cell counts, so I have to be careful with people contact. But no nausea, I can do complex brain thinking without distractions, etc.
Regards,
Shane
Chemo started last week Tue June 7th, 2011. The plan is to have chemo for 2 months interrupted, once per week as a Tue injection. The hope is to reduce the larger liver tumors. If that doesn't happen then a new drug will be used, or radiation surgery will be considered. The chemo drug is Paclitaxel. A CT scan is scheduled for the end of the 2 months of chemo so that we can tell if any progress has been made.
So I'm off to chemo today. Paclitaxel is a drug that doesn't seem to have visible side effects for me. The only side effect is reduced white blood cell counts, so I have to be careful with people contact. But no nausea, I can do complex brain thinking without distractions, etc.
Regards,
Shane
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
CT scan results back.
Status:
End result... I'm not happy... The 1 month off due to radiation is why I didn't want the liver ones just killed from the start. It means things like the lung one can take hold. We stopped for the brain radiation and guess what... they all grew.
-- Shane
- Good: Pneumonia broke Sun afternoon. "Healthy" once again. yay.
- Good: Ok to resume chemotherapy. Had my once per week injection today.
- Bad: 1 week off because of low blood cell count + 1 month off for brain treatment + 1 week off for hand infection + 1 week off for pneumonia = I was only on chemo for 4 weeks spread out.
- Bad: As a result of minimal chemo, Liver tumors have all grown about 1 cm.
- Bad: Also as a result of chemo neglect, new tumor in lung has grown from 4 mm to 7 mm. Wasn't considered a tumor before, but its growth indicates it is likely an active cancer lesion.
End result... I'm not happy... The 1 month off due to radiation is why I didn't want the liver ones just killed from the start. It means things like the lung one can take hold. We stopped for the brain radiation and guess what... they all grew.
-- Shane
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