Love and life
 

Wrangler, I had nine years of silence.
Have you been able to talk to anyone about your Mom, other than the oncologist? Modifying dosing treatments for her. Has radiation been done, or not effective for her situation? Do you have a local cancer organization, or hospital support group, so you can talk and hear about others successes.

I had endometrial cancer in 2004, radical surgery, then a recurrence in 2013. I underwent 28 radiation and brachytherapy treatments versus chemo which was not effective for my type of reoccurance.

Being tired and sick of the treatment is so difficult. I feel for you, and understand where you Mom is coming from. But, please look into talking , and options, and others who have been there. Don't need to be alone. Warmest regards. Tommi

hello everyone
 

Well been through hell and back. Tough part over and back to work a few weeks now. I want to hopefully get 1 more year then retire. Working gets my brain firing and that is what I need now. Doing what the doctors told me to do. Feeling better and I still have a long way to go. Thank you all for your support and you all know you have mine. I love you all very much.. Rustedrims Sheila

I am doing real good and back at work. Things are going well at work and remembering my job. I am glad I am back. It is my therapy and gets my brain a cracking and snapping. Forget about the surgery the thing is I haven't worked in 9 months. Feels good to get out and feel like I did something with the day. My hair is growing back. It looks a little lighter and baby soft. I love being home with my kitties. One of the sisters wont leave me alone. I was gone a long time. January is my reality of what I deal with every day. Getting my MRI and CT scan. The six month check on things. The last check nothing bad showed up. A good feeling. Sometimes I am still afraid to go to sleep. I still get scared. Sheila

Had my annual bloodwork today. Almost three years since finishing chemo/radiation/surgery madness. My lord the anxiety leading up to those appointments. Anyway, I got a perfect all clear, better than what they usually even see in the perfect realm of blood work. Celebrating. That appointment was weighing hard on me. There's been so much disturbing in the world and I was supposed to go last week but it turned out I had to bury my cousin that day and reschedule. The anxiety just built and built while I waited for a reschedule. Thankfully someone cancelled. Otherwise I'd have had to wait for the next appointment in December. Not cool. Celebrate with me tonight!

I am so happy to hear this!!!! Definitely celebrating with you!

I am so glad for you, I can imagine your relief, its great news ! (f)

I am doing good and feeling stronger. The first of January I go in for a MRI and CT scan. Gotta get checked out for my 6 months. I know my friends mean well but I just hate to hear them say Hey good luck with your MRI. I am not going to Vegas or racing in the Kentucky Derby. I am getting my head checked to see if there is any cancer. Have been getting good scans. I pray for everyone in here to feel good and get better. We all gotta fight the fight together.

Tomorrow I go in to have my medi-port put in.

Hopefully soon after that we will start treatment no matter what it is.

Every have a cancer free day or as close to it as possible

Surgery went well just a few bumps in the road. Blood sugar bottomed out and so did blood pressure.

They gave me some orange juice they put sugar in however they didn't stir the sugar in to dissolve so it was real nasty tasting. That was enough to bring my blood pressure up.

I start chemo on Monday since we dont have the DNA results back yet. Keep your fingers crossed we get them soon.

Teddbear, How are you feeling from the port being put in? Hopefully you're not too uncomfortable. Mine hurt a lot. Fingers crossed you get the test results soon and that Monday goes as alright as it can. Do you know how long your chemo takes to administer?
I suggest bringing something like ginger chews or mints. When they flush your port between things, you can taste the saline and it's gross. I always put a ginger mint in my mouth before they did it to block the taste. Will be thinking of you.

~
 

at first my port was easy to deal with ~ then during one chemo treatment a nurse pulled the needle out fast and hard ~ I of course yelled out OUCH she responded with don't be a baby that didn't hurt . It bed for 2 day ~ bruised inside and out ~ and twisted. Every treatment after that the head of nursing at the cancer center had to put the needle in place ~ to this day it hurts, even when the shower water beats down on my skin. (((((( Teddy, easy going, rusted rims, )))))))) 2019 will be a better year.

ooops bled for 2 days.

Oh ouch. I can feel that and it didn't even happen to me. I'm sorry that was your experience and that you have ongoing pain from it.

I am good. The surgeon put what looked like super glue on it instead of stitches. It came off yesterday just like glue would.

I have been good and not lifted or pulled anything so it feels ok.

My treatments are 6 hours the first day then they send me home with a pump for 42 more hours. Then back in 2 weeks if I stay on chemo. If I go to immunotherapy it is once every 3 weeks.

I will be on this the rest of my life which I plan on it being a LONG time

I probably would have been in bed for 2 days

Sending healing vibes to all who are caregiving, going into treatment or recovering.

It’s beeen awhile since I have posted an update.

First off I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have a happy New Year.

Me and the chemo are not Compatible. If my insurance company hadn’t denied the immunotherapy back in November I don’t believe I would’ve suffer what I have suffered. I missed 2 treatments before they told us it was denied. Then another 2 weeks to get me back on the schedule.

Thanksgiving day I was at the Er due to now having 2 PE’s. Let tell y’all that was painful. I thought I was having a major heart attack. They fixed me up really quick and sent me home. So far no more blood clots.

Then Christmas Eve I woke up with a small knot in the middle of my chest. On Christmas Day it was bigger and drained some nasty stuff. So the day after it was even bigger and sorer then the last 2 days so I went to the cancer center to see if I needed to go to the Er again they looked at it gave me some instructions and sent me home. I followed the instructions to the T.

I ended up going back yesterday because now it is bigger at least 5 times. They looked at me and it has turned into cellulitis and again I was dehydrated even thought I had drank more than 60 bottles of water in less than a week. So back up in the infusion center for fluids and antibiotics.

Today I have the energy I have after about 4 days post treatment.

While running labs most came back good except the cancer markers test. In less then 3 months they have increased by 120 points. Which isn’t good. Normal range is less that 40. My first test was 335 and now it is 457. Hopefully the new insurance company will go ahead an approved the immunotherapy.

I will fight this. I will do everything possible to beat this. I have everything I have ever wanted and I know it couldn’t have taken me this long to find not to have it last a long time.

I hope each one of y’all are having better luck then we are having with this.

This is a hard post to write. So I haven’t taken a cancer treatment since 19 December was put in the hospital on the 30th because of said cancer treatment and had to have surgery on the 31st.

My insurance company the new one has been delaying giving me approval for my new treatment. We were told to weeks ago that my cancer is back active and that we need to start a treatment soon.

Thursday of last week I was rushed back to the ER and was given fluids and sent home because of some lab work. I spoke to my doctors on Friday who said I needed to come back into the hospital and get some more fluids at the infusion center. While there I suffered a pain attacked it almost doubled me over when I was sitting in a chair my doctor came up and talk to me to tell me that my liver which has cancer in it also is inflamed and that we’re almost at the point to where If we don’t start treatment soon we are going to be too far gone to have to be able to do anything.

This is been a very emotional weekend for me and my wife. We had to have that talk of what if it doesn’t happen I don’t start new treatment and I suffer the ravages of this disease. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life coming face-to-face with my morality and the fact that I may end up leaving her alone which is the one thing I don’t want to do.

I had written a nasty gram on my insurance website last week to To which they responded the following morning but because I was back in the hospital I had no chance of answering them until you know close to five as in what information they needed they informed me they couldn’t work on it until Monday I told them they would have their information when I came to work Monday because we all know Facebook gets hacked so I didn’t wanna put anything out there to hang around too long. So they came to work at 8 and at 805 I got a message from them of who was going to be handling my case. At 10:33 I received a call from said person who is handling my case to explain to me exactly what all they needed what all they had and what steps were going to be taken to expedite the approval process. A little over an hour later she called me back to let me know she had everything that she needed and that now the process begins to get approval and then I should have approval by Wednesday afternoon.

Please understand I appreciate everyone’s prayers thoughtfulness healing thoughts white light everything that you’ve sent my way during the last six months that I’ve been battling with this and I asked that you continue that but you also now add my wife for peace and calm Ness during this time as we walk our way through the insurance but our I appreciate everyone’s prayers thoughtfulness and healing thoughts WhiteLight everything that you’ve sent my way during the last six months that I’ve been battling with this and I asked that you continue that but you also now add my wife for peace and calm Ness during this time as we walk our way through the insurance bs.

Thank you for letting me vent thank you for listening and all my love to all of you you are part of my family

My mom was unable to get her chemotherapy today due to extremely low neutrophils and potassium.

Tomorrow, I will be taking her to get her head shaved because her hair is falling out.

She's feeling pretty low right now. :(

Sending good vibes your mom's way!

Maybe surprise mom tomorrow and get your own head shaved to show solidarity?

Just for today
 

I was diagnosed in March of 2004 with endometrial cancer. Had the radical surgery, and went on with life. In 2013, I had a recurrence, adenocarcinoma of the vaginal cuff (not identifying with that) , had internal and external radiation. Met the love of my life 2 weeks before that diagnosis. We married May 2, 2015.

I realized that I no longer think much about cancer . Anniversaries, trigger me, like going in for my annual EXAM from hell.
My wedding anniversary is next month, and I'll schedule my annual exam for sometime after that.

So, Just For Today, I listen to the birds, enjoy the flowers in my yard, and am thankful for...today.

Hello caregivers and survivors

I wanted to give an update since I haven't been on much in the last couple of months. Here is a brief recap and update

In September I was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. I didn't just have one type of cancer but two different types. We were devastated to say the least. More testing to be done to find out if I had broken DNA. I do not one broken gene but two.

I offered Norma a way out. We could call it quits if she couldn't handle this. We had been told I would be on whatever treatment the rest of my life. I am a fighter and told my doctor that I wasn't convinced he was. He proved me wrong I am so happy to say.

I started chemo in October. It was killing me. Daily I prayed for strength and that GOD would show me the way. Norma wasn't going anywhere so I asked her to marry me. She agreed. I am sure she may regret that some days.

Thanksgiving came and what do I get instead of turkey TWO!!!! blood clots in my lungs. Thank you LORD they were small and treated quickly.

Christmas came and what we thought was a pimple turned out to be an infection that required surgery and 10 days in the hospital. Another week out of work once I was released. Norma became my nurse. I am so thankful for her and her courage during this time.

New Year and a new treatment, but we had to fight for it and boy did we. I knew GOD was strong then cancer, stronger then anything the devil would throw our way.



In the last month I have had my cancer markers tested they are now 58 verses the 312 in September and 900+ in December and before the new treatment started in February they were at 1395. My A1C is down to 7.4 verses the 17+ (of the chart) in September.

I had my PET scan done the end of April which shows that my liver is now has less then 10% tumors verse 75-85% in September last year.

My doctor told me that this is very rare and shows that the Keyturda is doing its job. I will probably be on it the rest of my life and I am ok with that if it keeps the cancer away.

Wrangler and your Mom are in our prayers for treatment to be resumed and that she will get results yall are wanting.

I am praying for each of us as we are on this journey for peace and healing and understanding if we are the caregiver that this journey can be overwhelming at times for even those who are not the caregiver.

Thank you all for your support during this time. It has been a great source of peace for Norma and I

Had my 6 month scans the other day. Made sure I drank all that jacked up water they give me. The girls that do the pictures are good at what they do. Non threatening and safe. Feeling good and some light pain in my surgery area when I overdo a little. My thoughts are with everyone that is fighting the fight.

hello everyone
 

Things are going well for me finally. Its been a long hard road. Saw my Doctors a few weeks ago. The pictures looked good. Nothing came back. Because of that I get pictures once a year now. So gratefull and thankfull for that. Thank you all for being supportive. We gotta fight this fight together.My thoughts and prayers go out to all of us.


Thank you for reading and caring.


s

On August 5th, my mother had a CT scan that showed her cancer is shrinking. Her oncologist said 3 more cycles of chemo (which equates to 3 months) and then she'll get another scan.

The downside is that due to the chemo Avastin she has a bladder infection and mouth ulcers. She is on two different meds for these two issues now.

Yesterday after chemo we went to lunch. I dropped her off at the door of the restaurant and parked a couple of spaces down. When I get out of the car I see that she is all the way down at the end of the parking lot. I yelled for her a few times. I asked her what she was doing and she said she didn't realize she walked past the door. Then inside she forgot where the bathroom was. This is worrisome but I am going to chalk this up to chemo fog at this time.

Hello.. Been working my yards and I get tired easily.. Sometimes I need to stop and think what I went through.. My cousin called the other day.. He started the conversation off with I gotta tell ya something. Yeah he has it now.. Its pretty serious but things look good for him after surgery. This sh#t doesnt stop.. Some day there has got to be an end..

Thank you for reading and again caring..

Mom was unable to get her chemotherapy today due to most of her numbers being low. Her CA125 has gone back up a bit. I updated them on everything that happened last week.

Her temperature was normal. They told her if she ever has a fever again that we are to call them immediately.

Her oncologist believes the fever/confusion was a result of the bladder infection. Avastin also causes sinus infections and she has one of those as well. He said they will monitor her closely. They do a urinalysis every other week so they will check to see what that says. Finally, they gave her potassium because she's been having severe leg cramps and her's was very low.

Again, thanks to everyone who sent me messages and well wishes for my mother. The kind words and support you have offered mean the world to me!

Someone I've known since my teens, long enough and well enough that she's like family to me. She went in for a biopsy and now we're just waiting for the results, the suspicion is esophageal cancer.

Oh I'm glad they caught the bladder infection! That does make sense. When my grandmother would get bladder infections it would do the same thing, make her way off character and out of it/forgetful. We learned through treating her that that is often how bladder infections impact seniors. Also super glad you have an answer to the confusing behavior. One less thing to worry about if they are going to monitor her so closely.

Update
 

First off Wrangler sorry to hear about your mom and the chemo fig. I get it even on immunotherapy. Rustyrims sorry about your cousin and their now battle. FiresignFemme prayers for your friend during this waiting period

So last month I had another colonoscopy just to find out a cpl of things. Why I was bleeding, and how the colon looked now almost a year of either chemo or immunotherapy. So it showed one tumor completely gone the other responding very well.

Second PET scan was done the following week and it showed...... drumroll please. All tumors in my liver are gone. The first PET scan showed my liver had 75-85% full of cancer tumors.

I have had 3 iron infusions due to my blood counts being so low I was bordering on needing blood instead of just iron.

I have been taken off blood thinners due to bleeding. I am sure come Monday they will ask me to come in to have more blood work and probably other testing.

I have to admit I am worried about this loss of blood. I ask those of you who have had me on your prayer list to pray we find the reason for this. I also want to thank everyone who has prayed, sent healing thoughts and good vibes. I couldn’t have done this journey without any of yall

Oh so much going on. Good news first. Had my markers checked last week we are now at a 2 compared to 1391 in Jan.

I found out this past couple of weeks I have developed Cushing syndrome. This due to the tumor and the treatment.

I am finally going to have surgery to remove my colon on the 15th. This is an improvement over last year when they said it was inoperable. The chances are 50-50 I won't have an ostomy bag. We are prepared for whichever way it goes.

I continue to pray for each of you who are in the battle either as care giver or as a front line soldier. Not that a care giver isn't a front line soldier, I honestly think they are deeper in the battle then those of us who have the dreaded disease.

I rode Tour de Pink this past weekend and was honored to ride with 70 other survivors of breast cancer. There were also about 150 co-survivors/family members/parents and children of people lost to cancer. The conversations we had while riding were powerful and meaningful. The moments fighting our way up a steep hill and being able to say... it's not as hard as chemo was... just so nice to be in a community of people who completely understand your journey but to be doing something empowering and powerful together instead of just meeting randomly at hospitals and oncology appointments. At the end of the 200 miles we were on a beach front and all ran into the water and hugged it out. My heart is full.

UPDATE
 

UPDATE!!!!!
 

Good afternoon Peeps

So its been a little over a week since I had surgery. I had a total colestomy. Other then feeling like I am doing a million plus crunches a day I am doing well.

The doctor wants me to shoot for no more then 5 BMs a day. Some days its ore like 5 an hour.

The path report showed out of 25 lymph nodes only 3 showed signs of cancer. Only 1 tumor left in the colon and had shrunk to around 5 cm. Liver looked good.

I start back on treatment on Nov 4. Cant wait to find out how long I will now have to be on it.

Prayers and healing light to all.

So a month ago at this time I was being prepped for surgery. In the last month I have lost a little over 30lbs not that I didn't have it to lose.

Still trying to figure out what I can and cant eat. I also have figure out in what amounts I can eat. I maybe able to eat a whole 8 oz steak today and tomorrow barely able to eat a third of that.

Started back on Keytruda last week. Usual side effects but I would rather have them then what I had on chemo.

I am back on the every 3 week rotation with treatment and according to my dr that is going to be the schedule for some time.

Ms Norma and I will be heading to Ga for Thanksgiving in a cpl of weeks. This will be my longest road trip since surgery and since last March. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers during this time that my health will not be a factor like it was last time we went home.


Hope everyone has a great day and holiday season if I am unable to post before then