Back at it again

Hi Everyone - It's Kev again taking over the post.  Sorry it's been a while since our last post, but I will try to get everyone caught up.

Last week, we visited with the doctor on Monday, and had a long discussion about the next steps in Patti's treatment.

She's been off the chemo for about 7 weeks now, and she was supposed to be feeling a lot better, but she really is not feeling a lot better.  She is very fatigued and unsteady on her feet, both side effects from the chemo and the cancer, and the doctor is concerned with her quality of life while trying to treat the disease, so there is a balancing act we are trying to achieve.  Aggressive chemo hasn't had great results as far as getting rid of the cancer, and Patti has struggled with the heavy chemo.

So, we went and had another PET scan - a baseline to see what the cancer is doing after 6 weeks off.  The results of the PET scan were that the cancer is still just about the same - liver and bone (primarily spine).  We took that as a positive sign, since the cancer was not a lot worse being off the chemo for a while.

The doctor has prescribed a new chemo drug that she can take in a pill form.  This is nice because she won't have to go to the chemo cafe to take it. The game plan is to take this for two months and then get another scan to see how it is doing.  We are hoping for a positive result as far as the cancer goes, but also for her to find some energy and be able to get up and around a little better.

She is going to physical therapy twice a week to manage the lymph edema which has improved quite a bit, and getting massage therapy weekly too which relaxes her.  She is going to counseling weekly as well.  These things, along with the cards, calls, visits, and prayers are keeping her going.  And, she has a wedding to look fabulous for!

We can't thank you guys enough for all the support - at this stage of the game it is just as important for her to be positive as to be in some sort of treatment, so keep up the good work!

Talk to you soon.

K