Hi everyone, Mikell writing. Today I get to be with my Dad at HCI for his second chemo infusion. It has been great to see where he will be spending a fair amount of time throughout his cancer journey, as well as meet some of the people that will be taking care if him. It is a beautiful facility and I feel this will be a great place for him to heal when he can't be at home. Everyone has been so kind and taken the time to address how he has been feeling since his last treatment and answer any questions or concerns either of us have. His nurse this morning actually greeted both of us with a hug! I am so grateful to know that my Dad is able to receive treatment at a facility where he is surrounded by a positive and compassionate clinical staff. I think daily how lucky we are to have such close access to a cutting edge cancer hospital that is continually researching and improving new methods of treatment.
For those that are wondering, here is what a typical days events include on infusion days for my Dad.
*Check in
*Once brought back, weight and vitals are checked. Today Dad's BP was a tad on the high side. The nurse actually said that they see that a lot in patients when they first check in for chemo, but once they are up actually getting the infusion it tends to go back down! Not surprising!
*My Dad is then taken into a room where his port is accessed with a little needle. The port is implanted underneath his skin on the right side of his chest, The nurse takes the needle and quickly pokes it in through the skin accessing the port. Dad says it is quite painless! At that same time they do a blood draw to evaluate cell counts, etc.
*We are then taken to another room where my Dad meets with a member of his cancer team to do a brief physical evaluation, ask questions about the previous treatment, discuss any side effects, go over blood work, and make any adjustments to his current treatment that are needed. Dad's white blood cell counts were low today (which is to be very much expected while going through chemotherapy) and they were worried that if they continued with the same treatment they did last time that it would risk lowering his immune system too much, greatly increasing the risk for infection. At this point is when we learned about a thing called bolus! Bolus is an injection that my Dad gets while getting his infusion of chemo and other drugs. It basically magnifies the effects that chemo has on the DNA of his tumors. Another way it was described is that it saturates the cancer cells with chemo. Although this is a good thing, it's also one of the biggest culprits for a big dip in white blood cell counts. Cancerous cells are rapidly dividing cells, and not every cell is dividing at the same time. The use of bolus and sending my Dad home with a continuous infusion of chemo for 48 additional hours after his initial infusion is to target all the cells at the different times they are actively dividing. Unfortunately white blood cells are rapidly dividing cells as well, and well...chemo doesn't discriminate! I have found that a lot of cancer is fought with a double edged sword, but no matter what the weapon, we will fight! We were informed today that dropping the use of bolus is not uncommon, and that it very likely doesn't reduce the efficacy of Dad's treatment.
*After this we went and grabbed a quick snack and headed to the infusion center. He is assigned his "pod" for the day and a nurse. Each pod consists of a chair for the patient, chairs for visitors, a TV, and a lovely iv tower with a multitude of chemo concoctions. Once he is hooked up, it's just a waiting game until the infusion is done. By the end of all this my Dad has typically been at HCI for about 6-7 hours, and then is sent home with his chemo ball.
Although I wish the circumstances were different, days like today provide me the opportunity to spend time with my Dad that otherwise would have been spent working or tackling the busy tasks of everyday life. Unfortunately things like cancer make you slow down and realize what's really important. It sounds cliche, but I am guilty time and time again of having to be reminded of this. It makes you re-evaluate what you do with your time and how you spend it with your loved ones. Today was a delight getting to spend the day with my Dad. I am grateful that he has given me the opportunity to share in his cancer journey. His positive outlook has brightened my spirits and given me hope, when in all reality that's exactly what I should have been doing for him. His courage when faced with such a difficult trial has made me appreciate all the things that are still good in life.
Thanks for stopping by, and for all your kind doings, words, thoughts, and prayers. We love you Dad! Go, Fight, Win!
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Monday, February 8, 2016
Welcome to Cliff's Cancer Spot.
Not a very original name but whatever. My sister Leslie suggested Clifford the Big Red Blog. We like that but it doesn't reference the "C" word. And apparently that's the whole point of this! So... here we go.
Jan 2016
I had a colonoscopy on January 13 that revealed a tumor. Happy New Year. A CT scan two days later confirmed the presence of carcinoma. Through a series of events we also learned that it had traveled to my liver. That day was a bummer! Not only did we learn I had a serious issue, but we learned that Glenn Frey had passed away. It made me very sad that he's Already Gone.
On January 20 we took the first step toward a treatment plan at Huntsman Cancer Institute. On day 10 we got official diagnosis - stage 4 colon cancer. It is stage 3 in my colon, but metastasis to another organ constitutes stage 4. The tumors are both significant in size but appear to be contained, which makes them more treatable. No sign of cancer anywhere else.
The plan is four months of chemotherapy, then if it looks like I'm ready for surgery I'll have five high dose radiation treatments, followed by a few weeks to recuperate, followed by surgery. Colon and liver surgery may be done together or separately. Time will tell.
Chemo is onsite at HCI once every two weeks for 6-hour infusions. I then take a chemo "ball" home with me that infuses for an additional 48 hours. So here we sit today, Arvonne and I, in a chemo pod at HCI, getting my first chemo treatment. A tube runs from a drug tree into a port that was surgically placed in my chest last week. I'm on fire but only because it's so warm in here! Just met a therapy dog named Beijo. Cool dog!
Arvonne is sitting next to me writing thank you notes. Knowing that, THANK YOU for your thoughts, prayers, and other kindnesses. We literally feel the benefits and are grateful beyond words for your support. The doctors have given us reason to be optimistic so the fight is on! We're gonna make cancer look like the Carolina Panthers. Beaten into submission! Conquered and dismissed!
Now for my Public Service Announcement. I had a colonoscopy less than seven years ago. My oncologist says my colon tumor has only been there 2-3 years. I have no family history. Waiting ten years would have been devastating. So... if you have symptoms, get checked. If you've reached 50, get checked. If you're on the ten year plan, consider cutting that in half. Sure, you spend an evening having the worst kind of fun there is and you get to have a splendid procedure the next day. But really? It's not a big deal!!!
That's it for now. We will update as things progress.
-Cliff
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