Sleepy Hubby Update

Hello! Please forgive me if this post lacks my usual panache but today has been the longest day ever and I am absolutely exhausted!! Nevertheless, Hubby wanted me to get the latest news out so here are the bullet points of our day:

Today Hubby had his final blast of radiology and started on his shiny new chemo regime. 

We got the results of the echo cardiogram this morning which showed that his heart was healthy enough to take the proposed new treatment, and we also got the PET results which showed that while there was improvement in one area, as suspected, most of the tumours have grown. 

We had been warned that the new chemo drug would be more potent and have more nausea and side effects, but I am pleased to report that so far he doesn't seem any worse off than the previous treatments. He said he felt tired and weak but doesn't seem to have had any nausea and even managed to scoff down a sizable portion of Mexican food for his dinner - which would be considered an achievement even on a good day right now!!

So that's about all I can coherently put together right now. We will keep an eye on him overnight, and then we are back at the chemo centre for a couple of hours tomorrow for further hydration, and I will check back in with you in the afternoon and update you on his progress as well as fill in any blanks from today.

For now though, I am off to my bed! Nighty night!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......................................

A Cheeky Wee Hubby Update

Hello friends! Thought I would check in and give you a wee update on the Hubby.

He finished his second week of radiotherapy today and there have been mixed results. They were targeting two places - his hip and his chest - and while he feels that the pain in his hip has improved a bit, the pain in his chest has been significantly worse.

He reported this to the doctor who thought that this *could be a flair up from the radiotherapy which could mean that the treatment is working and prescribed Hubby a short course of steroids to help with the inflammation, which he finished today.

(* a bit vague, I know, but he also ran through a list of symptoms that would give him concern which Hubby had not experienced)

We're not sure how much good the steroids have done - he has reported a slight reduction in pain, but doesn't know if it is due to the steroids or because he has been taking more of the stronger painkillers. We will monitor him over the weekend, and if he continues to be in a lot of pain the doctor says he will prescribe a longer, stronger course of steroids.

Speaking of painkillers, there seems to have been a lot of concern recently from friends and family about Hubby's pain levels and him not being able to get the painkillers he needs and I thought I should clarify. Yes, he has been in more pain than either of us are happy about, but the problem has been more about finding something that Hubby is comfortable with rather than something that deals with the pain.

We have at least 3 doctors who are monitoring his pain levels closely and are happy to prescribe pretty much anything that he thinks might help! Unfortunately Hubby has a very low tolerance for narcotics and more often than not, the side effects of the stronger medications, such as severe digestive problems and feeling dizzy and nauseous, cause him more problems than the original pain, which is why he prefers to manage the pain with over the counter meds whenever he can.

We are trying something new today though - our latest doctor suggested liquid vicodin which will be easy for him to take in reduced doses so hopefully he will be able to find the right balance between pain relief and tripping out of his skull!! We will continue to keep an eye on this and do whatever we can to keep Hubby comfortable until we can start blasting these bloody tumours away!!

Hubby also had his echo cardiogram today to make sure that his heart is strong enough for the new chemo next week, and I can confirm that he does indeed have a heart - hurrah! We will find out on Wednesday what the results are.

Well, that's all the news for now. He has a PET scan tomorrow morning and I will let you know how he gets on with that, but again we wont actually have any results or real information until we meet with the oncologist on Wednesday.

Until next time ,,, x

Two hubby updates for the price of one!!

Hi guys! Here is the latest news from Hubbyland:

This morning we met with the chemo dude to get the results of the latest blood tests and unfortunately the cancer marker number had risen again :-( This was not really a shock as he has visibly been in more pain recently and we kinda knew that the chemo hasn't been working.

So we have a new regime starting in a couple of weeks, and this one appears to be a bit more aggressive. In fact he has to go and have an echo cardiogram to make sure his heart is healthy before they will start the treatment.

If all goes to plan he will be on a 3 week cycle instead of 2 weeks, with a longer first day at the chemo centre (as the new stuff is a lot stronger it has to be given slowly and with extra hydration), then a couple of hours back at the chemo centre on the second day for further hydration, followed by chemo pills for the rest of the cycle. He will continue to get the bone strengthener on every 2nd or 3rd treatment. We will do this for 4 treatments, then get a PET scan and see how we are getting on.

There is a higher chance of side effects with this treatment, but we are hopeful that they wont be too bad as Hubby didn't seem to be too badly affected by the previous treatments (his problems stemmed from the strong painkillers and the bone strengthener rather than the chemo drugs themselves)

As always I have spotted the faintest glimmer of a silver lining - with this regime Hubby wont have to be hooked up to the take home chemo pump for two days which was always a grotty pain in the arse!

The other update is that Hubby started his radiotherapy today - hurrah!! There isn't really much to report other than that the radio dude was happy with how it went, and aside from the machine making scary noises and feeling a warm tingling at one point Hubby did not seem any worse for wear after the session. 

We have no idea how quickly he should start feeling a difference, but he is scheduled for another 9 or 10 sessions over the next couple of weeks and we are very hopeful that things will start to improve soon.

In other news, my driving is coming along slowly but surely! I haven't scheduled any more lessons yet as I was waiting to find out what the radiotherapy schedule was going to be, but thanks to a practise run with a friend's mom (thanks Kris!!!) I am now able to run Hubby back and forward to the medical centre where he gets most of his treatment - hurrah!! And while I am not confident enough to be taking him to the next chemo appointment, as long as he is still on the ball there's no reason why I cant take him to the radio sessions, as well as the cardio and PET scans we are scheduling for next week, thus giving me a good few practise drives. 

Well, that's all the news for now. It's been a long day, Hubby is having a wee nap for a couple of hours, and I am off to enjoy a glass of wine on the porch and catch the end of the sun :-)

As always, I will keep you posted. Laters ..... x