Radiation Ends Early

Rudy's lab work today showed his platelets were down even lower.  The radiologist said we could still continue radiation, but when he realized we were set to start immunotherapy next week, he decided to stop radiation now.  It's already done what we wanted - cut the back pain.  Rudy only had 3 days left anyway.  Radiation is rough on platelets so having the extra days for his body to heal will help.  

Dr. Hyde said immunotherapy is "the best thing since sliced bread"
and is more important for Rudy than having more radiation.

At CTCA, when a patient finishes chemo or radiation, they have a little celebration.  When the patient comes out they ring a bell.

Rudy was a little surprised at how much he enjoyed the celebration.

They gave him a t-shirt, a cupcake and a few other little goodies. 

We thought our celebration was set for Friday, so we were totally unprepared. Rudy and I were dressed like slobs.  Linda and Nancy just happened to be there. They come for all the doctor appointments, but usually, it's just Rudy and I for radiation.  A bunch of CTCA folks who happened to be nearby joined in.  

One of the ladies who joined in the celebration was a housekeeping lady that we have all fallen in love with.  This lady is truly a ray of sunshine to everyone she meets.

This is the radiation receptionist who has greeted us most days for the past month.  This is a terrible photo of her - she's cute as a button.  

Once home, we were both exhausted.  Neither of us have slept well the last couple of days.  I've had an attack of seasonal allergies.  I bought 24 hour Zyrtec yesterday and for 24 hours I was miserable.  I think it's out of my system now and I feel much better.  I was able to take a long nap and I feel like a new woman.  The allergies were easier than the Zyrtec side effects.

Rudy tried to take a nap, too, but wasn't so lucky.  His last radiation today triggered some hacking.  His 7 day Sancuso patch for nausea was ending and it takes a while for the new patch to kick in.  Bottom line - he's feeling yucky.  His pain is down though - he's trying out dropping down to 1 pill a day now.  It was 3 a day.

Around dinnertime, it got exciting.  We had quite a hail storm.  I sure hope there's no damage.   I took a photo of it, but the hail hardly showed up in the photos.  Most of it was around an inch in diameter.  They got a little larger for a short time.  I went to the porch and said, "Seriously, God?" and the hail stopped.  I'm not kidding.  I guess God knew I didn't have time to deal with insurance and replacing our roof again.

I'll be having a lot more conversations with God this week.  I really want Rudy's body to rebound so he'll be able to do well with immunotherapy.  If his platelets are not up, it may have to be postponed.  Even if it's not postponed, it just make sense that his body needs to be in good shape in order for his immune system to wage a war against those cancer cells.

Also, he needs to put on some weight. He's down to 172 pounds.  That just won't do.  His appetite it practically non-existent.  I'm not known for my cooking skills, but I'm doing the best I can to make things that will tempt him. I'm failing miserably.  If anyone has extras of something yummy that's not too rich or spicy, bring it on over!  Don't bring a whole casserole - just enough for one serving.  His taste buds are still way off from chemo and there are lots of things he used to love that taste terrible right now.  His current favorite food are fried eggs.  We haven't eaten fried eggs in years.  Gooey, rich casseroles - especially the kind with condensed soups - disgust him.  Once I find a food he likes, I run it into the ground because it's so hard to think of what to cook that might tempt him.  The dogs take care of our leftovers and they've never had it so good.

Speaking of pets, have I shown this photo already?  I can't remember.  Little George looks so sweet as he sleeps snuggling up to Sadie.

Here's another pet photo.  It's a bit dark, but that's Sissy sitting in Shirley's cow chair.  I put a big pillow in the chair hoping to keep it pet-hair-free for company.  Sissy pushed that pillow back and claimed her spot.  I guess I'm going to need to make a slipcover soon.

I know there will be lots of people praying along with us these next weeks. Prayers have helped us through so many hard times.  We are praying hard that immunotherapy will prove wildly successful for Rudy and for all the other patients who are fighting.

One day, 

maybe the word incurable 

will only be used in history books.

I liked that sentence so well that I decided it needed to be large and bold!  

Three Long Days

We are finished with our three long days of appointments at CTCA.  We're glad all that's over so we can get back to a more relaxing schedule.

Day 1 included the CT Scan.

Day 2 was the day I was most anxious about because we met with Rudy's lead doctor, Dr. Thompson.  I wrote a short post on Facebook about that yesterday while we were in the infusion room getting two bags of platelets.  Here's what I wrote in case you missed it -

Here's a fast update on today's appointments. The cancer has grown. That was not really a big surprise. We are stopping chemo and getting on immunotherapy. Nivolumab Is an immunotherapy drug that was just FDA approved 10 days ago. It has shown good results and CTCA is very familiar with it from participating in the trials.
Rudy will finish up radiation, work to get his platelets built up and start immunotherapy in early April. That's exactly what we were hoping for so that was our first smile. With immunotherapy, almost all supplements were taken off the list. Only two remain. That was our second smile. Rudy is so tired of pills.When activity was discussed, Anya, the naturopath, made it perfectly clear that if he felt like cutting grass, he certainly could. He can do most anything he feels like doing. That was our third smile.
Rudy's platelets are low so he's getting a transfusion. That should help his energy a little. As for the hack attacks and mucus, there's not a lot to be done, but pineapple and papaya both contain an enzyme that helps. Seltzer water or sparkling water can also help. We can also add the sparkling water to the Ensure drinks he likes best. That should make them a little less syrupy.

We didn't get home last night til after 9pm.  We were wiped out.  Even so, I was relieved.  Dr. Thompson is wonderful.  I can't figure it out exactly, but she has a calming presence when she enters the room and you just feel cared for.

Today, we headed back out for a full day, but nothing as long as yesterday.  We met with 3 doctors today.

The first was Dr. Hyde, a radiologist.  The most interesting thing from that appointment was the news that radiation helps immunotherapy.  The radiation makes it easier for your immune system to target the cancer cells.

The next meeting was with the pulmonary doctor, Dr Parks.  He showed us Rudy's lung scan and explained it bit by bit.  He also gave Rudy an inhaler that will work on the mucus issue.  He's taken his first dose and so far is liking the change.

The third doctor was Dr. Boomsaad, the pain management doctor.  He told Rudy how to wean off the pain meds when he's ready.   We hope he can do that soon.  The doctor thought Rudy might want to wait til after radiation was over, but he's leaving it up to Rudy.  And of course, if he starts weaning off and finds he still needs it, he can just go back to 3x a day.    It's the lowest dose possible, but it's still pretty mood altering.  It definitely eliminates the pain, but at times, it makes Rudy agitated, irritable, and unable unwilling to censor his displeasure.  Thankfully, it's not all the time.  He's been happy as can be for the last couple of hours.  Earlier today, especially while talking to the pain department nurse, he "demonstrated" exactly how easily he could become agitated.  It wasn't all that bad, but when she writes her notes on that meeting, I'm sure exclamation marks will be included.  :-D   Warning: If you happen to call while he's still on that medication, don't take it personally if he acts up.

I've been wearing my hat like this alot.

Things can change on a dime, so I'm reluctant to say this, but...  tonight he seems to be feeling good.  He's very tired - he didn't sleep much at all last night, but still he's perky and relaxed and improved.  Must be those platelets he got yesterday!

Nervous as a CAT SCAN

I'm getting a little nervous about our appointments this week.  Rudy has a cat scan one day, then the next two days, he'll see four different doctors - his oncologist, his radiologist, his pulmonary doctor and his pain management doctor.  The most important meeting will be with his oncologist, Dr. Thompson.

Dr. Thompson will tell us what she thinks after seeing the results of the scan.  I'm praying for good news, but truthfully, I don't even know what exactly to hope for.  If his scan shows improvement, that's good, but it might keep him from going into the immunotherapy program. (I don't know that for sure.)  On the other hand, if the scan doesn't show improvement, then that means Rudy is getting worse.  I couldn't possibly wish for that, right?  But is that what we have to have in order to get into the immunotherapy program?  And don't even get me started about the worry of somehow missing out on that program altogether!  What if he can't get in?  What if it's closed?

With every big appointment we've had on this journey, I've tried to have an upbeat attitude.  I've worked hard to squash down fears and let positive thinking rule.  Almost every time, I've had the rug pulled out from under me.  My new strategy is avoidance.  I try not to think about it.  Nothing I think will change the outcome.  I haven't been able to anticipate most of the things that have happened.  It seems something crazy and unanticipated is always waiting around the corner.  I've come to terms with the fact that, in this situation, I have very little control. We're being swept off by a tidal wave and I have no idea where we'll end up.  By the way, I've referred to me through this paragraph because Rudy has acted incredibly strong.  If he's worried, he's doing a great job of hiding it.

We could really use lots of prayers.  Please pray for a good outcome, whatever that is.  We really could use some HAPPY!  I don't want us to come away from our appointments scared or disappointed, or worse, in shock.  We've had enough of all of that.

Now, I'll quit thinking about it and switch to happier topics.

Our sweet friends, Susan and Rick Holcombe gave us a bucket of fun!  Just look at all the fun things they packed in that bucket.  There's certainly plenty there to distract us!

Hack Hack Hack update - Claritin to the rescue.  Rudy's hacking and gurgling issues were way beyond acceptable. I used to have horrible allergies and many bad winters with bronchitis and I've never seen anything like this.   I have been particularly concerned about how he'd be able to get through the 3 long days of appointments this week.  We decided to try out the Claritin today.  He usually gets that around chemo time, so it should be just fine.  He only took it 3 or 4 hours ago, so I'm not ready to declare it a success, but he sure has improved so far!  Of course, we'll discuss it more with our doctor this week to see if that's the best thing to do.