Robin Status Update - 01/27/06

 
This is just a brief update on Robin since the end of her radiation treatments.

Robin visited her radiation oncologist, Dr. Hatch, on Monday, January 23rd. She experienced significant increase in pain over the weekend as more of the skin crumbled off exposing raw, oozing flesh. Dr. Hatch actually said that it looked very good, but that it would continue to get worse over the next week. She gave Robin a shot of morphine and prescriptions for antibiotics and stronger pain medication. The nurse showed me how to clean and medicate the burned areas. Basically, to avoid rubbing the raw areas, I was instructed to roll a gauze "log" over the area, allowing the debris to stick to the gauze. It seemed to work better, but required several repeats to clean the areas. Anyway, either the trauma of the cleaning, or the morphine (certainly, not my driving) nauseated Robin on the way home. Fortunately, we have learned not to go anywhere without our "barf-bags".

As of today, it appears to me that Robin's burns have turned the corner, and are starting to improve. The new pain medications are working; she either sleeps or smiles most of the time. The burns on her collarbone area are almost covered with new skin, and the chest areas are beginning to shrink. Her armpit areas never really lost the skin; it just turned dark brown (like chocolate) and is now starting to rub off. Her back never burned too badly, either. It was very pink (like a sunburn), but now is tanning. The back tan makes an interesting shape – it looks like a tan, capital Omega on her back – not your normal tan lines. Overall, it seems like the worst of the burning is over.

On Wednesday, we saw her opthamologist, Dr. Foster. Since Robin is not required to lay down for radiation treatments, her vision has cleared significantly. She can read large print, especially in the morning, but she still cannot read normal newsprint, for example. She still has floaters (globs floating in the vitreous of the eye) that get in the way. Dr. Foster could see that her eyes were much clearer. He did not want to use the laser yet, though, because he said he would need too much power, and that raised the chance of harmful damage to the retina. So we will return in about a month, and if there is not further bleeding, she should be ready for the treatment.

Please continue to include Robin, and all those afflicted with cancer, in your prayers. It is a difficult disease and no one deserves to go through all this. We are praying for all of you, too. Robin has a visit with her original oncologist, Dr. McClure, next Tuesday, and we should get a plan for post-treatment life.

Love,

Larry, Robin, and John