Even though I'm writing this instead of my Dad, he is reading your comments so please continue to feel free to respond. Your support is much appreciated!
We've had some pretty rough nights. One of Dad's problems is that he has always had back pain from being in bed for long periods of time. The epidural pain medication is amazingly targeted to specific area and it doesn't help the back pain at all. So occasionally extra medication is needed to make that tolerable.
The folks at MD Anderson are very focused on pain management and are always quick to respond. It's not pain free but at least it's manageable.
Dad has been up and walking laps around the patient area for several days now pushing along his tree full of IVs and monitors with wire and tubes everywhere.
Today they decided his blood oxygen level is high enough without supplemental oxygen that he no longer needs to use the supplemental oxygen. That's one set of tubes down! Actually, his oxygen saturation levels are better than before the surgery I think.
We've been taking turns staying in the room at night and typically you're lucky to get 30 to 45 minutes in between being woke up.
Every day Dad looks notably better then the last. The Surgeon came in today with an associate and told us that the lymph nodes and the "margins" (cutting area where they removed the tumor mass) were cancer cell free. That means it looks like a clean removal and that there wasn't any local spreading of the cancer. All very good news.
Now we try to get of the pain medication and wait for the digestive system to wake up so he can start taking liquid food by mouth. We'll have to watch the blood sugar and see how that works out too.
Cheers,
Scott
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Surgery update from MD Anderson [from Scott]
I'm writing this entry because my Father isn't able to yet, and we thought we'd better pass on some status.
Dad had to start fasting Saturday night and we checked into the surgery area around 5 AM on Monday morning. We were able to spend a little time with him, but it was a pretty busy room with about 12 people being prepped for surgery in this first group. They wheeled him back about 7 AM and the surgery started at 8 AM. First they used an laproscopic scope to look at the outside of his stomach to make sure the cancer hadn't spread. It hadn't so they proceeded with the surgery.
We received updates about every 2 hours and finally the surgeon spoke with us when he was done at about 6 PM. Everything went very well. Several biopsies they performed of other areas such as the liver turned up negative. The tumor itself was largely dead tissue from the previous radiation and chemotherapy treatments. They did have to remove a little part of one vein that the tumor was touching, but they were able to sew it back together without needing to reconstruct it with a vein from his leg.
The told us it would take 3 to 5 days for them to check the tissue they removed to make sure that there were no cancerous cells where they cut, which would indicate that they may have left some behind. They believe they had a clean removal.
Dad was in the recovery area receiving dedicated care until about noon the next day (today) when he was moved to a regular room. He's pretty uncomfortable, with a fair amount of pain, even with the epidural pain medication and he has a lot of tubes and wires hooked up to him as well. Right now they are mostly concerned with his breathing and recovering from the effects of being under anesthesia that long.
They hope to be able to get him on his feet soon to help with recovery, but he won't be able to start taking anything by mouth for another day or two.
Once he is feeling up to it, he may dictate an entry to me.
Cheers,
Scott
P.S. My Dad's insurance has decided that if he needs any more CAT scans that he should use the economy method (pictured as follows).
Dad had to start fasting Saturday night and we checked into the surgery area around 5 AM on Monday morning. We were able to spend a little time with him, but it was a pretty busy room with about 12 people being prepped for surgery in this first group. They wheeled him back about 7 AM and the surgery started at 8 AM. First they used an laproscopic scope to look at the outside of his stomach to make sure the cancer hadn't spread. It hadn't so they proceeded with the surgery.
We received updates about every 2 hours and finally the surgeon spoke with us when he was done at about 6 PM. Everything went very well. Several biopsies they performed of other areas such as the liver turned up negative. The tumor itself was largely dead tissue from the previous radiation and chemotherapy treatments. They did have to remove a little part of one vein that the tumor was touching, but they were able to sew it back together without needing to reconstruct it with a vein from his leg.
The told us it would take 3 to 5 days for them to check the tissue they removed to make sure that there were no cancerous cells where they cut, which would indicate that they may have left some behind. They believe they had a clean removal.
Dad was in the recovery area receiving dedicated care until about noon the next day (today) when he was moved to a regular room. He's pretty uncomfortable, with a fair amount of pain, even with the epidural pain medication and he has a lot of tubes and wires hooked up to him as well. Right now they are mostly concerned with his breathing and recovering from the effects of being under anesthesia that long.
They hope to be able to get him on his feet soon to help with recovery, but he won't be able to start taking anything by mouth for another day or two.
Once he is feeling up to it, he may dictate an entry to me.
Cheers,
Scott
P.S. My Dad's insurance has decided that if he needs any more CAT scans that he should use the economy method (pictured as follows).
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Pancreaticoduodenectomy
This is what is going to happen to me! If I had known this I wouldn't have come!
This means they are going to do a surgical procedure to remove part of the pancreas and part of the small intestine. They may also remove part of the main artery if they find cancer has spread to it.
They gave me a booklet to tell me what was going to happen. It is a good thing they gave me the booklet at the end of the program instead of the first part. It says; "You will have tubes placed during surgery, a jetunostomy tube (J-tube) and a gastrostomy tube (G-tube). A J-tube is a feeding tube that is inserted through the abdomen and into the small intestine. The J-tube is used until you are able to get enough nutrition by mouth. (I don't get any food until the fourth day and that will be clear liquids. My "last supper" will be Saturday night, so that means no food from Saturday night until clear liquids on Thursday. I can hardly wait!) The G-tube is inserted into the stomach and acts as a vent to help control nausea and vomiting. An epiduran lines or tube will be placed in the lower back to give a continuos dose of pain medicine and a tube will be put down my throat to assist in breathing. I will look like a Christmas tree with all these cords hanging from my body - but no lights. I sure hope there is an Angel on the top of the tree.
Most patients stay in the hospital 6 to 14 days. I wonder why?
In addition to this booklet that scares the living daylights out of me, I had to read and sign a form that says I understand all of the potential complications and side-affects, including death!
I thought I was coming down here this time for a visit with the Surgeon prior to surgery. I thought I was going to either be bored stiff or get into a lot of trouble with six days to kill between seeing the surgeon and the operation. No such luck! Today - Friday, is the first day I have had off. I have spent six to eight hours at the hospital each day this week. I had to meet with the Internal Medicine doctor, I had to meet with the Anesthesialogist, I had to make two trips to the lab for blood work and then yesterday I had to spend two hours getting a doplar exam so they could check out and measure all the veins in my legs. They are going to harvest these veins to replace veins they have to cut in my abdomen.
I had forced myself not to think about this surgery and I am glad I didn't have all this information before or I might have gone South. But, I am a tough old ugly guy - so not too much will change I guess. I will still be old, I probably won't be as tough for awhile, and I can't get much uglier - so not too much to change.
I guess I won't be communicating too much in any form for a few days, so I want to thank all of you once again for your support during this past ten months or so. Your friendship has been the best medicine I could ever ask for.
AL
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
READY FO SURGERY
This will be a quick note just to bring you up to date, and will probably be my last Blog entry for thirty days or so.
Finally got everything cleared. The vascular surgeon here in Albuquerque said there is no problem with my aneurysm as far as surgery is concerned. He feels surgery for the cancer is over-riding any potential problem with the heart. He has conveyed this message to MD Anderson and everything is ready to go - unless we run into another snag of some sort.
I will go to Houston next Tuesday, the 16th, meet with the surgeon the 17th, meet with the rest of the team for prep on Thursday and Friday and go into surgery Monday the 22nd. It is anticipated that I will be in the hospital for ten days and need to stay in Houston until around November 6th. I will come home for a period of recovery with at least one trip back to Houston for follow up sometime in November.
I made it through the radiation and chemotherapy and other procedures with some discomfort, but nothing major. I avoided thinking about the surgery and will continue to try to not think about it. It doesn't sound like it is going to be a pleasant experience, but I know some of you have gone through this kind of thing - and much worse in some cases. I am really not a baby - just a coward!
Right now I have to remind myself that the most unpleasant fact I have to deal with is the fact that too many people know I am a Denver Bronco fan. How embarrassing! However I have found a solution to this problem. When people give me a bad time about being a Bronco fan, I just say; "Oh - I thought you asked if I was a Rockie fan." How about those Rockies!!!!
Anyway - there is no turning back now. Whatever happens is going to happen and I am ready for it. Thanks to all of you for your fantastic support, your thoughts and your prayers and love.
I love you all and will be back to see you soon!
AL
Finally got everything cleared. The vascular surgeon here in Albuquerque said there is no problem with my aneurysm as far as surgery is concerned. He feels surgery for the cancer is over-riding any potential problem with the heart. He has conveyed this message to MD Anderson and everything is ready to go - unless we run into another snag of some sort.
I will go to Houston next Tuesday, the 16th, meet with the surgeon the 17th, meet with the rest of the team for prep on Thursday and Friday and go into surgery Monday the 22nd. It is anticipated that I will be in the hospital for ten days and need to stay in Houston until around November 6th. I will come home for a period of recovery with at least one trip back to Houston for follow up sometime in November.
I made it through the radiation and chemotherapy and other procedures with some discomfort, but nothing major. I avoided thinking about the surgery and will continue to try to not think about it. It doesn't sound like it is going to be a pleasant experience, but I know some of you have gone through this kind of thing - and much worse in some cases. I am really not a baby - just a coward!
Right now I have to remind myself that the most unpleasant fact I have to deal with is the fact that too many people know I am a Denver Bronco fan. How embarrassing! However I have found a solution to this problem. When people give me a bad time about being a Bronco fan, I just say; "Oh - I thought you asked if I was a Rockie fan." How about those Rockies!!!!
Anyway - there is no turning back now. Whatever happens is going to happen and I am ready for it. Thanks to all of you for your fantastic support, your thoughts and your prayers and love.
I love you all and will be back to see you soon!
AL
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS
GOOD NEWS: My last Blog entry was full of good news as far as I am concerned. My cancer is very much under control and I am in a position to have the affected part of the pancreas removed. In addition, it is GOOD NEWS as far as I am concerned that MD Anderson functions the way they do. They gave me radiation and chemotherapy up front to kill as many cancer cells as possible so cancer cells wouldn't spread when they operate. Also, I have talked to many who had surgery before chemo and radiation treatments, and they were too weak to undergo the chemo and radiation treatments after surgery. I am a tough old guy and it was difficult for me to make it through these treatments. I can't imagine doing this while trying to recuperate from surgery. Another element of GOOD NEWS once again relates to the MD Anderson method of doing business. They hold committee meetings with all the people potentially related to the problem to discuss the case. My case came up in the committee meeting, and I was told there were approximately sixteen to seventeen people involved, including five or six surgeons.
The BAD NEWS is that during the committee meeting everyone was quite excited and pleased with my progress and condition as far as the cancer issue is concerned. However, the CAT-Scan revealed that my aortic aneurysm had increased in size and there was a presence of at least one small blood clot. I was supposed to leave for Houston today to visit with the surgeon and prepare for surgery for the cancer. Obviously the trip has been cancelled and I now have an appointment on Thursday with a vascular surgeon here in Albuquerque. The aneurysm must be taken care of before the cancer surgery can be considered and I have a short window of approximately ninety days maximum to get this done.
Another piece of GOOD NEWS was a letter I received yesterday in response to the appeal I filed on the visits that Presbyterian had said they were not going to pay - because "They were not in the system". The appeals people said they were closing my case because Presbyterian had gone ahead and paid all charges. I am sure this is because of the lady who is acting as my Advocate, because Presbyterian's attitude has totally changed. Anyway - that is very good news to me also.
In addition to the GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS related to my health, I had some something else happen which I will put into the GOOD NEWS category. My cousin Bill and his wife Jean went out of their way to come through Albuquerque yesterday to pay us a short visit. Bill and I are the same age - which also means he is a young man, and we were in the same class all the way through school starting in about the third grade. They live in the state of Washington and I think I have probably only seen Bill twice in the past thirty years. It was really good to see Bill and Jean, even though the visit was short. I am afraid I wasn't much of a host because of everything else that was going through my head, but it was a good visit anyway.
Our grandfather Hurt was dead before either Bill or I was born, so neither of us knows too much about him. He was a prominent man and listed in the "Who's Who" for the state of Colorado. He was supposed to be very wealthy and lost most of his wealth on his death bed, as he died during the great depression. He owned a lot of land in Colorado and he had a ranch in New Mexico. I had planned to visit the old ranch site which is down around Elephant Butte, but never got around to doing it. Bill went on the Internet trying to locate the present owners, the location, etc. Bill discovered that the new Space Port, which is partially owned by the owner of Virgin Airlines, is located on the land that was our grandfather's ranch. Kind of interesting, but I am not going to ask for any favors - like a ticket on a space flight. On the other hand, my wife would probably be willing to pay top dollar for such a ticket - for me - as long as it was a one way ticket.
Who knows what will happen next. I suppose I could get an ingrown toe nail, or need to have my tonsils removed for a second time, or even develop hemorrhoids which would further delay my cancer surgery. I really do want to get this thing over with - it will be a year in February. But, the GOOD NEWS items in this report are far greater than the BAD NEWS items, so I think we are going to be okay.
ALBUQUERQUE AL
The BAD NEWS is that during the committee meeting everyone was quite excited and pleased with my progress and condition as far as the cancer issue is concerned. However, the CAT-Scan revealed that my aortic aneurysm had increased in size and there was a presence of at least one small blood clot. I was supposed to leave for Houston today to visit with the surgeon and prepare for surgery for the cancer. Obviously the trip has been cancelled and I now have an appointment on Thursday with a vascular surgeon here in Albuquerque. The aneurysm must be taken care of before the cancer surgery can be considered and I have a short window of approximately ninety days maximum to get this done.
Another piece of GOOD NEWS was a letter I received yesterday in response to the appeal I filed on the visits that Presbyterian had said they were not going to pay - because "They were not in the system". The appeals people said they were closing my case because Presbyterian had gone ahead and paid all charges. I am sure this is because of the lady who is acting as my Advocate, because Presbyterian's attitude has totally changed. Anyway - that is very good news to me also.
In addition to the GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS related to my health, I had some something else happen which I will put into the GOOD NEWS category. My cousin Bill and his wife Jean went out of their way to come through Albuquerque yesterday to pay us a short visit. Bill and I are the same age - which also means he is a young man, and we were in the same class all the way through school starting in about the third grade. They live in the state of Washington and I think I have probably only seen Bill twice in the past thirty years. It was really good to see Bill and Jean, even though the visit was short. I am afraid I wasn't much of a host because of everything else that was going through my head, but it was a good visit anyway.
Our grandfather Hurt was dead before either Bill or I was born, so neither of us knows too much about him. He was a prominent man and listed in the "Who's Who" for the state of Colorado. He was supposed to be very wealthy and lost most of his wealth on his death bed, as he died during the great depression. He owned a lot of land in Colorado and he had a ranch in New Mexico. I had planned to visit the old ranch site which is down around Elephant Butte, but never got around to doing it. Bill went on the Internet trying to locate the present owners, the location, etc. Bill discovered that the new Space Port, which is partially owned by the owner of Virgin Airlines, is located on the land that was our grandfather's ranch. Kind of interesting, but I am not going to ask for any favors - like a ticket on a space flight. On the other hand, my wife would probably be willing to pay top dollar for such a ticket - for me - as long as it was a one way ticket.
Who knows what will happen next. I suppose I could get an ingrown toe nail, or need to have my tonsils removed for a second time, or even develop hemorrhoids which would further delay my cancer surgery. I really do want to get this thing over with - it will be a year in February. But, the GOOD NEWS items in this report are far greater than the BAD NEWS items, so I think we are going to be okay.
ALBUQUERQUE AL
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