Robin's Sixth Chemo - 4/28/05

 
At my last writing, Robin had just completed tests for blood clots, and her chemo was rescheduled for April 5th. Dr. McClure also ordered additional tests: Echo Cardiogram, Bone Scan, and CT Scan. They were all completed on Monday, April 4th, and (amazingly) Dr. McClure had the results the next morning.

On April 5th, we started the normal course. Robin's blood counts were good and the doctor could not detect the lumps by touch. Dr. McClure reviewed all the test results from the day before, and said everything looked very good. All the tumors had shrunk more. The lymph node between the heart and trachea was not visible on the CT-Scan. There was some fluid buildup in the chest, but it was considered coincidental and unimportant. We discussed the surgeries and we were told to start scheduling them.

I stayed for the chemo this time. It was a sort of celebration for us since it was the last (for now, anyway). I had arranged for flowers to be delivered, and they arrived just as we were moving back to the chemo room. I was the hit of the chemo room. All the "little old ladies" ooo'ed and aaahh'ed over the flowers. The chemo was uneventful otherwise. I had purchased a hat for Robin that says, "Cancer Sucks" and a bunch of buttons with pithy sayings on them. One of the other oncologists saw my "Cancer Sucks" button and asked where we got them. I told him (www.choosehope.com, in case you are considering great gifts for a person with cancer), and I gave him my button, which he said he would wear (but not at work). We kept a couple of each button, and gave the rest to the nurses in the chemo room. We figured they could cheer some folks up with these.

While Robin slept, I explored the cancer education room and I found some materials about Inflammatory Breast Cancer (a.k.a., IBC). The materials stated that the normal course of treatment for IBC is to follow surgery with four more chemo treatments and six to eight weeks of radiation (five days a week). Needless to say, this was not pleasant news, and we were disappointed that Dr. McClure had not discussed this with us. On reflection, though, we guessed that maybe this is not cast in concrete, so Robin's therapy may differ. (Keep praying).

The after-effects of the chemo were more pronounced and longer than before, lasting eleven days. On Saturday evening, April 16th, she finally started to get better, and she seemed normal (except for her digestive system) on Sunday. Her digestive system has been in an uproar, with problems at both ends. Dr. McClure had tests done to make sure she didn't have an infection, then prescribed some stronger medications. They have helped, but Robin doesn't take them until she has a problem (too late), and that isn't pretty. Just in the last week or so, the leg swelling has come back, but other than these two problems and her total lack of strength, she seems to feel pretty good.

On April 12th, we met the thoracic surgeon, Dr. K (nobody can pronounce his Greek last name, so everyone calls him Dr. K or Dr. Katz). He reviewed the pictures from Robin's scans and discussed the procedure. He will make a one-inch incision just above the collarbone and run the probe down along the trachea. He will snip a piece from the lymph node and they will do a "frozen section" (cancer test) immediately. If it comes back negative, he will try again a couple more times. If all are negative, they will declare it non-malignant (good). If it is positive for cancer, he's done. They will not remove the lymph node. Instead, it will probably be treated with radiation and more chemo.

This week, he scheduled the biopsy for May 5th, and once that date was known, Dr. Mason scheduled Robin's mastectomies for May 12th. Since I am getting laid off on April 29th, I will have plenty of time to take care of her for the pre-op festivities, through the surgeries, and into the post-op. Wasn't it thoughtful of the company to give me all this free time? ;-)

May is clearly going to be an exciting month. Besides the medical stuff, my first day of unemployment is May 2nd, John will be in the State Track Meet on May 5th for Pole Vaulting, Robin's parents, Hal and Johnnie, will arrive on the 12th, we celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary ("Twenty-nine years of living HELL," as we call it) on May 16th, John goes on his "Senior Trip", and he graduates May 27th. Whew!!!

I think that's all I have for now. I will write again after the results of the biopsy are known on May 5th and again after the mastectomies on the 12th.

Keep us in your prayers for the month, especially during the first two weeks or so. We really need it!!!

With love and thanksgiving for all the prayers and support,

Larry and Robin

P.S.: By the way, one of our favorite people at St. Luke's sent us a website that is dedicated to Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

If you are interested, the website is:

http://www.ibcresearch.org/

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Robin's Fifth Chemo and more - 4/3/05

 
A week or so after the fourth Chemo on February 15th, Robin had fairly severe after-effects. She was having severe yeast infections, worse nausea, and she was diagnosed as full blown Diabetic. They finally got her blood sugar doing fairly well, but she must inject insulin at every meal and before bed. This was a big change in lifestyle. She also started having fairly significant swelling in her feet and lower legs, but putting her feet up at night seemed to help.

Robin had her Fifth chemo on Tuesday, March 8th. Her blood counts were good and the doctor could not detect the lumps by touch. We discussed the plan with her from this point. Dr. McClure said Robin would have another chemo after March 8th, then surgery about three or four weeks later. She said the enlarged lymph node between the heart and trachea needed a biopsy to find out how far the cancer had spread. She also needed both breasts removed. She discussed reconstruction options, and we felt that we should wait until later to think about that. A couple of things that came out that surprised Robin: First, her cancer is stage three for sure, and stage four if the lymph node near the trachea is malignant. Second, she has "Inflammatory Breast Cancer" which is somewhat rare, and very aggressive.

After the examination (and our cross-examination of Dr. McClure), Robin had chemo. Our son John was on Spring break, so he stayed with Robin during the infusion and drove her home afterward.

Robin seemed to do well for a few days, then got sick on Friday, as usual. Her anti-nausea pills didn't seem to help much, but she didn't really take them preemptively, as the doctor suggested. The second week seemed like she was improving (normally). Robin looked up "Inflammatory Breast Cancer" on WebMD.com and found articles that said that most people do not survive five years after diagnosis. Of course, she freaked out. She called me and I looked at the articles. I could see from the text that it was written in 2001, which means that the data used for the statistics was several years old. Clearly there have been and continue to be better therapies and more research. In fact, her treatment using chemo first and then doing surgery is fairly new. She calmed down a bit; after all, it is just probabilities.

We visited her surgeon (Dr. Mason) during that week and he explained what he would be doing and what the recovery would take. He said the trachea node biopsy would be done separately by a thoracic surgeon, probably a week or so before the mastectomies. We have an appointment scheduled to meet the thoracic surgeon on April 12th, and we will revisit Dr. Mason after that.

The third week after Chemo 5 Robin's feet were swelling worse than before, to the point that she couldn't wear regular shoes, and the swelling was painful. Her doctor prescribed a diuretic, which didn't seem to help. Her blood sugar has been good throughout these weeks, though. In general, she has been much weaker this time and has felt worse than ever before.

On March 29th, Robin was supposed to receive her sixth (and final, until after the surgeries) Chemo infusion. Her blood levels were good, but the Doctor was concerned that the leg swelling might be caused by a blood clot, so she sent us to the Hospital for a "venous Doppler" exam. The technician saw no blockage (good news?), so the doctor gave her another diuretic. Dr. McClure also ordered additional tests: Echo Cardiogram, Bone Scan, and CT Scan. The first two are scheduled for tomorrow (Monday) and the last is scheduled after Tuesday's Chemo treatment.

I will write again after the results of the tests are known.

With love and thanksgiving for all the prayers and support,

Larry and Robin

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