It's been a while...

I feel like nothing is going on and everything is going on at the same time.  Things have been mostly more of the same, going to IV's on a regular basis and spending a lot of time in doctors offices and clinics.  When I haven't been there I have been spending a lot of time with my family.  I have been so busy for months but it has been a good kind of busy and the past three months have just flown by.  I have been hanging out at dads quite a bit and I even caught my very first salmon!  Another check for the bucket list :)

Cooking breaky

I went on a road trip with my mom and aunt at the end of May.  Our whole trip was rock hounding in southeastern Oregon.  We found lots of agate and sunstones and some apache tears, the weather was nice and I always love camping.  I always sleep better in a tent in my sleeping bag than I do at home in bed or in a strange hotel with crunchy bed sheets and never enough soft covers.  A nice soft sleeping pad and puffy sleeping bag is always the preference in my book and feels like heaven.  One night we even got to sleep in a teepee!  It was awesome and now I totally want a teepee.  I felt like I was back in time sleeping next to the crackling fire in the teepee.  Does it really get much better than that?!  Way better than a hotel.

After my little trip it was back to the grind of chemo and C IV's.  I also had a CT scan in June.  I was really hoping that the results would say "What cancer?" and my plan was to hopefully take a break from chemo for a few months.  Lately, I have really been feeling the effects of the chemotherapy and scheming up a plan to take a break.  Every time I get it lately it feels a little worse each time, like it's starting to eat away my brain again, making me very tired and low energy for about a week afterward.  My blood counts are looking pretty good though (as good as they are going to on chemotherapy anyway) so I really am not complaining too much because things can always be worse.

Firemaker!

Soooo.....back to the scan.  The scan showed that there is a tumor that started growing again and it has actually grown 30% in the last two months, so it is something to be concerned about.  My oncologist  contacted my radiologist and together we determined that the best course of action is going to be to get internal radiation again (Y-90 or yttrium 90 radioembolization).  Remember the last time I got radiation?  It was last year on Valentines day and it unexpectedly wiped me out for months.  This time I am manifesting an easy recovery.  I know what to expect and I am pretty sure that I have my meds sorted out this time.  They are also going to only radiate one tumor on the right side of my liver.  Last time they radiated numerous tumors in the smaller left side of my liver which was right against my stomach and I feel that is what caused a lot of the pain and delayed my recovery.  The right side of my liver is the more "healthy" side and it has actually grown about 30% to compensate for the carnage on the left side of my liver.  I am thinking that because of these things this radiation surgery shouldn't be nearly as bad as the last one, right? Yes, right :)

Me and my mama in a beautiful canyon

This procedure is going to happen at the end of this month.  My mom and I are going on another road trip tomorrow to do some more rock hounding and some touristy sight seeing for a couple of weeks (more camping and late night stars!) and once I return I will be getting an angiogram surgery to map out my veins and blood vessels, and to measure how much of the Y-90 they will need to blast my tumor into the next dimension.  After they determine those measurements and routes through the superhighway of veins and blood vessels to the tumor I will have approximately 7 days before the radiation surgery happens.  By my calculations after I return from this road trip I am going to be busy for a while...However, I am going to heal fast, fast, fast!  Once I am all healed up from my radiation my father and I are planning another rock hounding adventure in Colorado and Utah.  I figured I might as well have something to look forward to in order to heal faster from my surgery and radiation.  The promise of hunting rocks and sleeping under the stars should do the trick :)

I'm hoping all of  you out there are having a wonderful summer and are all happy, healthy, and full of life!

Cancer Can Suck It!!!

The Low Down

It is turning into whirlwind city again.  BUT not enough to cause the magnitude of panic that hit me back in March of 2010 though and that is a good, good thing :)

I am a seasoned veteran now.  After nearly 2 years of chemo I am pretty sure I can handle what is coming my way in about a week or so.  I hope...

I should find out today exactly what day we are going to do this procedure.  I had my angiogram mapping procedure done on Tuesday.  They ran a catheter into my femoral artery in my groin and mapped out all of my veins, the tumors, how the tumors were supplied with blood, how many cc's my liver could hold, and just the general anatomy of my liver etc.  Looks like once again I am a bit unique. Apparently most peoples livers are supplied by one of three main arteries (I have totally forgotten the names something like duodenal, mesenteric, something gastric sounding) and I happen to be one of those people who are not like the others.  1 out of every 1000 people have a liver that gets supplied from a different artery (not bad or good, just different) and I am that 1.  I am guessing that if I ever became a candidate for a liver transplant it might be a bit hard to find a donor due to this....just a guess.

During the procedure they placed 5 coils (I was told they look like tiny caterpillars or pipe cleaners) that  block off certain veins supplying blood to the right and left lobes of my liver.  These coils will never come out.  They are made of platinum.  Who knows, I might just set off the detector in the airport now. These were placed in these positions in order to block off one side of my liver while they inject radiation into the other side.  They are planning to hit the left lobe first, then approximately a month later they are going back to hit the right side.  Apparently there are lots and lots of veins that supply the gut and liver and I was told that it is extremely hard to kill the blood supply to the gut.  So I am told that these platinum coils that never come out will never be a problem.  Its like bling in my insides! Kinda cool and a little freaky at the same time.

I have been a little sore from the mapping procedure.  They went in right in the crease of my thigh (imagine bikini line crease) and the spot where they went in is tender plus the leg and up into my gut just a little bit are achy.  I was told by my nurse friends that this is normal.  Needless to say I am not very comfortable being up on my feet for a length of time and I really don't like to walk too far or be in my car for longer than possible.  It makes things achier.  Don't get me wrong, it isn't painful really, just achy in a strange way that just feels different from anything I have ever felt before...but then again, except for a biopsy and port placement I have never had a surgery so this is all new to me.  On the plus side the incision is only about 1/4 inch long and it is barely visible :) Waay better than the port scar.  It is a little unnerving though having someone tell you not to cough too hard or lift anything heavy (over 5 lbs) because you might bleed out...can you say paranoia?!

I promised an updated list of supplements....I finally got them all together and organized.  I am waiting on the PSK (he has one that is supposed to be far superior in absorption on order) and butyrate to come in and those will also be added to this mix.  This is what I've got so far.  I will also include the names of the companies that make them if you are interested.  My ND and I went through all of my supplements and as much as I would like to find cheaper ones out there, he insists that these are the superior products and I should stick to these.  He did say that the Eclectic Institute Milk Thistle can be a substitute for the milk thistle listed here.  So far this is the only substitute that has been acceptable.  I think this may be different for preventative treatment vs therapeutic treatment.  Right now I need the GOOD stuff.

Here is what they look like :) Curamed is missing

Supplement list:

Resveratrol Extra by pure Encapsulations   1tab/3xday
COQ10 by Integrative Therapeutics  1chew/3xday
Ecomer Shark Liver Oil  500mg by Scandinavian Formulas   2tab/3xday
Ultra Potent C, by Metagenics  1 tab daily
Vit D3 & K2 liposomal spray by Protocol  2 sprays/day
Milk Thistle Extract 250mg by Vital Nutrients  1tab/3xday
EGCG Green Tea Extract 275mg by Vital Nutrients  2tab/3xday
Oncotonin by Cardiovascular Research  2 tab evenings
Artemisinin by Allergy Research Group  2 tab/3xday
Liver Support by Vital Nutrients  1 tab/3xday
Detox Formula by Vital Nutrients  1 tab/3xday
Benfotiamine 150mg by Doctor's Best  1tab/3xday
Pure Lean Nutrients by pure Encapsulations  1tab/3xday
Curamed by Terry Naturally, 2tab/3xday
Urea 28 grams daily in pomegranate juice
LDN 1.25mg 1 tab in evening
2 Quarts of green tea daily
PSK (on order)
butyrate (on order)

I will also be starting DCA after I am safely out of my last radiation treatment.

breakfast

I am also on a strict Ketogenic diet now.  NO sugar of any kind (no fruit, honey, etc) and NO carbs (grains, potatoes, etc.) I try to stay under 30g of carbs every day.  I have to say that after all of the other dietary changes I have done in the past three years this one has been the easiest for some reason.  I have really been enjoying my diet lately.  Truthfully the only time I have missed sugar at all is in my morning Earl Grey (I've been using stevia lately).  So far it's been a piece of cake...sugarless, carb-less cake :)