Thursday, May 28, 2009
Vegas Trip
Sorry for the very late notice - but, I just finally booked the hotel this afternoon for the JCK show in Vegas! We'll be staying at The Venetian instead of TI! I think Lou is excited - he's packed and ready to go! :) So, hope we'll see many of you there! Safe travels to all!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
MRI Updates 5/27/09
Lou finally was able to stay in the machine for the 4 hour testing on Monday, May 18 - but...only after having 2 Valium capsules! And...right before the test, he found out about some relatively new "glasses" (at least at this facility!) that he was able to use while he was in the machine allowing him to see "outside" of the machine! The glasses along with the Valium definitely helped he said!
We did hear back on Thursday last week from the chemo Dr.'s office - but....details were kind of "slim" - the news was basically that things looked "good and stable and no new areas of concern". Of course, that was good news - BUT...we really wanted more details. So, we made an appointment with the radiation Dr. since the MRI is dealing more with the brain tumors and the spinal tumors - and those are the areas that he radiated! We saw him yesterday - almost evening - appointment was at 3:30 but...we didn't get in to see him until 5:30! But...he did review all of the films - compared them to the originals, etc. and overall - the news is quite good. The larger brain tumor has shrunk and appears to be stable the smaller brain tumor hasn't really changed in size - didn't get any larger - but isn't any smaller either - so....the "assumption" is that it's not alive any more - but...of course, all of these areas will continue to be watched every three months! The spinal tumors of concern are smaller also and / or the same - again meaning "stable" - and hopefully dead - but...again - just have to watch to make sure they continue to remain same size or get smaller over time! AND....confirmed again that there are NO new areas of concern showing up anywhere else! We both thanked God and took deep breaths - sighs of relief for the good news!
The trip to Vegas is still on! Hope we will be able to see many of you there! I still haven't booked a room yet! So....not sure if we'll be at Venetian or Treasure Island! Will try to post which one before Friday! Please get in touch with Lou - he'll have his cell phone on and with him and I think he'll be hanging at the pool much of the time!! 972/839-8271
A huge thanks again to all of you for your continued prayers and support! Lou IS a walking miracle right now!
Blessings!
Deb
We did hear back on Thursday last week from the chemo Dr.'s office - but....details were kind of "slim" - the news was basically that things looked "good and stable and no new areas of concern". Of course, that was good news - BUT...we really wanted more details. So, we made an appointment with the radiation Dr. since the MRI is dealing more with the brain tumors and the spinal tumors - and those are the areas that he radiated! We saw him yesterday - almost evening - appointment was at 3:30 but...we didn't get in to see him until 5:30! But...he did review all of the films - compared them to the originals, etc. and overall - the news is quite good. The larger brain tumor has shrunk and appears to be stable the smaller brain tumor hasn't really changed in size - didn't get any larger - but isn't any smaller either - so....the "assumption" is that it's not alive any more - but...of course, all of these areas will continue to be watched every three months! The spinal tumors of concern are smaller also and / or the same - again meaning "stable" - and hopefully dead - but...again - just have to watch to make sure they continue to remain same size or get smaller over time! AND....confirmed again that there are NO new areas of concern showing up anywhere else! We both thanked God and took deep breaths - sighs of relief for the good news!
The trip to Vegas is still on! Hope we will be able to see many of you there! I still haven't booked a room yet! So....not sure if we'll be at Venetian or Treasure Island! Will try to post which one before Friday! Please get in touch with Lou - he'll have his cell phone on and with him and I think he'll be hanging at the pool much of the time!! 972/839-8271
A huge thanks again to all of you for your continued prayers and support! Lou IS a walking miracle right now!
Blessings!
Deb
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The BEST News Thus Far!!!
Since the last posting, Lou went for a CT scan and we "tried" to do his 4 hour MRI but.....he just couldn't go in and stay in the MRI!!! I gave him some medicine to try to help for anxiety - however....it just didn't work and he had to come out of the machine - he literally crawled out at one point!!! Unfortunately, for the tests they need on his brain and spine - the Dr. wants / needs the MRI scans to be in the "closed" not "open" MRI! Even though Lou has had several of these to date - with same medication for anxiety - it just didn't work! So....next Monday, we'll attempt to have those scans done again - this time with Valium ahead of time to try to help him relax and be able to tolerate the 4 hours in the machine!
The VERY EXCITING / BEST news we've had since this whole odyssey began though was from the CT Scan last week! The Dr. informed us today that the tumors in Lou's liver have shrunk by 50% since the scan done in March! The Dr. was very excited and of course, we're elated with the news!! With this good news, the course of action with his chemo treatments will shift for now and he'll be off the Oxaliplatin for at least a while!!! This is the chemo drug that really is aggressive in fighting the metastatic colon cancer to the liver and elsewhere - but....it is also the one drug that creates several negative side effects that accumulate over time. Lou's main side effects have been the neuropathy to his hands and feet, ultra sensitivity to cold (no ice in drinks, nothing directly out of refrigerator, etc.), hair thinning, and a tightening in his jaw that bothers him for chewing, etc. Hopefully, these will all improve while he's off this one particular drug!
We Praise and Thank God and give HIM the glory and honor for this miracle!!! And we thank all of you for your love, support, and prayers - we couldn't and wouldn't have made it this far without you! And, a very special thanks to the Healing Hands Group from our church who continue to faithfully come to our home every Saturday to pray and lift Lou and his health up to the Lord. It truly is a highlight of the week for us each and every week as they come and pray with us!
Lou will continue to go for chemo every other week - we're not through and may never be through - but.....for now, everything seems really good! With continued prayer, we hope to have additional good news next week after the MRI tests that the brain tumors are dead and shriveling and that the spots on his spine are either gone or shrinking! And...of course, we pray for NO new tumors to be found anywhere!
If nothing changes in the next two weeks and if swine flu is not still on the rampage - Lou is going to leave home for the first time to go with me to the Las Vegas Jewelry show the weekend of May 29th. For those of you who may also be going to Vegas, I hope you'll get in touch with me or Lou - we would love to see you! He has really enjoyed hearing from so many of you - having the opportunity for a face to face visit would be great!
In the meantime, we again cannot thank all of you enough for your prayers and support during this extremely difficult time! We hope you will continue to lift Lou up in prayer - we're looking for more miracles to come!!
Blessings to all!
Deb
The VERY EXCITING / BEST news we've had since this whole odyssey began though was from the CT Scan last week! The Dr. informed us today that the tumors in Lou's liver have shrunk by 50% since the scan done in March! The Dr. was very excited and of course, we're elated with the news!! With this good news, the course of action with his chemo treatments will shift for now and he'll be off the Oxaliplatin for at least a while!!! This is the chemo drug that really is aggressive in fighting the metastatic colon cancer to the liver and elsewhere - but....it is also the one drug that creates several negative side effects that accumulate over time. Lou's main side effects have been the neuropathy to his hands and feet, ultra sensitivity to cold (no ice in drinks, nothing directly out of refrigerator, etc.), hair thinning, and a tightening in his jaw that bothers him for chewing, etc. Hopefully, these will all improve while he's off this one particular drug!
We Praise and Thank God and give HIM the glory and honor for this miracle!!! And we thank all of you for your love, support, and prayers - we couldn't and wouldn't have made it this far without you! And, a very special thanks to the Healing Hands Group from our church who continue to faithfully come to our home every Saturday to pray and lift Lou and his health up to the Lord. It truly is a highlight of the week for us each and every week as they come and pray with us!
Lou will continue to go for chemo every other week - we're not through and may never be through - but.....for now, everything seems really good! With continued prayer, we hope to have additional good news next week after the MRI tests that the brain tumors are dead and shriveling and that the spots on his spine are either gone or shrinking! And...of course, we pray for NO new tumors to be found anywhere!
If nothing changes in the next two weeks and if swine flu is not still on the rampage - Lou is going to leave home for the first time to go with me to the Las Vegas Jewelry show the weekend of May 29th. For those of you who may also be going to Vegas, I hope you'll get in touch with me or Lou - we would love to see you! He has really enjoyed hearing from so many of you - having the opportunity for a face to face visit would be great!
In the meantime, we again cannot thank all of you enough for your prayers and support during this extremely difficult time! We hope you will continue to lift Lou up in prayer - we're looking for more miracles to come!!
Blessings to all!
Deb
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