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

Quick Hubby Update

Happy Friday everyone! This is just a quickie to let you know that all went well at the radiotherapist today. Our latest member of the oncology team seemed like a nice guy and seemed confident that he could help Hubby. He will be speaking to the chemo oncologist to work out a plan of action, but reckons that we will be going for 2 to 3 weeks of radio, then we will get stuck back in to the chemo.

Obviously we wont know any more until next week, and I will be sure to keep you posted when we have a plan!

We are looking forward to a nice quiet weekend now - the last couple of days have been quite scary and tough, but I am feeling more positive again today. Operation Peapod is back in business!! :-)

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends, whatever you get up to! Don't forget to hug your loved ones and tell them that you love them!

Laters .... x

 

Juice-tastic!!

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me an obscene amount of pleasure to introduce my latest kitchen friend - my shiny new Juicer of Joy! As per my own crazy assed tradition I will at some point give my new toy a name, but this time I have decided to let Hubby choose and he has not yet gotten back to me.

After hearing a glowing testimonial from one of our friends on Sunday about his new juicing lifestyle we wondered if it might be something that would help Hubby with his digestive issues. There are many occasions where he doesn't feel like solid food and I do really worry that he is not getting the nutrition that he so desperately needs right now.

For once, Hubby agreed with me so off he trotted and picked up a juicer along with lots of lovely fruit and veg to play with. For our first attempt we went with our friend's simple go to recipe - carrot, apple & spinach.

As you can see, the result did not look appetising but it was actually pretty bloody delicious! And when I realised that I had just downed more vegetables than I had eaten all week I decided that I was hooked!!

It was really quick and easy to make, although the clean up is a little trickier - despite being dishwasher friendly, it would appear my dishwasher is not juicer friendly as it doesn't bloody fit!! Never mind - a small price to pay for so much health and happiness in a glass!

Hubby isn't doing too badly today - he does feel quite grotty and is napping right now, but he is much better than he was after the first bone strengthener treatment so I am happy about that.

I am now off to search Amazon and the interweb for books and recipes on juicing and I will most definitely keep you posted on my future creations, as well as that all important name!!

Laters .... x

*** Hubby Update - Encore ***

Hello all. Hubby had round 4 of chemo today and unfortunately the news wasnt brilliant.

So, here's some context - a couple of days before a treatment Hubby has to get blood taken so they can check the cancer markers in his blood and see how he is responding to treatment. We were told that these markers would probably increase for the first 3 or 4 treatments before starting to drop off, but apparently the oncologist didnt expect them to be quite as high as they were today :-(

Now this could be the final flair up before they start to drop, which is obviously what we are hoping for, but it could also mean that the current chemo cocktail simply isnt working and we need to come up with something new.

We wont have any more details on that until the next treatment so it will be a tense couple of weeks while we wait to find out what is going on.

We also have a consultation on Friday with the radiotherapy department to see if they can help any with the pain being caused by the tumor(s) in his shoulder bones. I'll be honest - I dont know that much about this (it was a bit of an info overload today) but I will be sure to update you on Friday.

Aside from all that, he seems to be coping well with today's dose of chemo, which included the bone strengthener which knocked him out the last time, so that is something to be grateful for!!

Sorry that this is a shorty today - im not really in a chatty mood but i know you will all want to know the latest news. Hopefully I will have something better to tell you next time!!

Love 'n' hugs 'n' shit!! xxx

*** Hubby Update - The Sequel ***

Happy Thursday, friends! I am delighted to report that Hubby was well enough to get his chemo yesterday - hurrah! I am also delighted to report that he had gained 2lbs since his last visit - double hurrah!!

The chemo centre was very busy this time so we
 got to sit in the library, and we found a copy of ....
 I shit you not .... Chemotherapy for Dummies!

He seems to be feeling a bit better than after the last two rounds - as discussed, our oncologist reduced the chemo dose a bit, and he also didn't get the bone strengthener as this is something he will only get every 6 weeks. He was still fairly drained when we got back yesterday, but after napping for a few hours he got up and ate a hearty dinner and didn't seem to be too worse for wear. Fingers crossed that that continues!!

The spectacular view from the patio

In other news, we were incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to go stay with friends of friends in Sonoma this week to watch the Perseid meteor shower. We had met our hosts, Bob & Sharon, at a party earlier in the year and had obviously been well enough behaved that when they invited John & Teo to stay they extended the invitation to us too.

Hubby making his pizza

They live in a beautiful house at the top of a hill with the most spectacular views and their own little vineyard where they grow the grapes to make their own wine (which was deeeelicious!!) We had a wonderful evening making our own pizzas in their wood fired pizza oven, drinking from a fantastic selection of wine, and eventually getting wrapped up warm and waiting for the meteors.

John & Bob with the finished pizzas 

I must confess, I was expecting the sky to be full of meteors all night long! That was most definitely not the case, but when we did see a meteor it was pretty spectacular!! Hubby and John both had their cameras out trying to capture one on film but sadly they were just too damned quick!!

Me, Teo & Sharon 

I must send a huge thank you to Bob and Sharon for having us to stay and being such wonderful hosts!! We both enjoyed ourselves immensely and and it was a perfect break and distraction for both Hubby and myself!

I like a table with 5 open bottles of wine! :-)

We also had an out of the blue visitor this weekend in the form of Hubby's childhood friend Dave, who now lives in Michigan. Dave called on Friday to try and plan a visit and it turned out that the only suitable time for the foreseeable future was ... well ..... the next day!!

Dave & Hubby

The boys hadn't seen each other for many years, and it was the first time I had met him - although I had heard many stories about the infamous Dave before! We had a lot of fun having him to stay, and I really enjoyed getting to meet him, and look forward to him coming to stay again!!

We have more visitors coming out next week - Hubby's parents have understandably been concerned about their boy and have decided to move the trip that they had originally booked for the end of September up by a few weeks! This will obviously be a different kind of trip than we were all originally planning, but I'm sure we will still be able to manage some mini outings and fun times!!

And finally ..... my first driving lesson has been scheduled for Friday of next week so I would highly recommend that anyone in San Jose area stays off the roads between 12.30 and 2.30 pm!!! I will, of course, let you know how that goes as I am sure you could all do with a laugh!!

On that note, I'm off to check on the patient. I'll keep you posted on how he is doing this week

Laters ... x