bgmat48
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It seems that the quality of care for patients at MD Anderson by support staff has declined. After the second TACE I was supposed to get a call from the IR department 1 week after the procedure to check on how I was feeling then 2 weeks after was supposed to get a second call. Both calls were on my appointment schedule but never happened. I e-mailed customer service asking if the IR department didn’t have my correct phone number? Which was my way to notify them that I seemed to have been forgotten. I then saw a scheduled call on my appointment schedule for Thursday which again didn’t happen. They called me on Friday, didn’t apologize or explain.
Well, sitting in chemo. First one in over a month. I did ask the doctor about Xeloda and it said they only use it if the chemo does not work. He is the doctor that sees me once a month, not my primary oncologist. I must admit I think he his demeanor is a bit nonchalant when I see him. Thank goodness he checks with my oncologist before making any decisions. Hopefully the TACE will do the job.
Hope you are all doing okay.
By the way, I am back being patient and spoiling my dog. She is my sunshine in a somewhat cloudy time.After reading about TACE procedure, I understand why I am so fatigued, it could last a month or more. The success rate of that procedure seems very good so hopefully it will get rid of the 2 tumors. If some of it remains the doctor said they would do it again. My regular oncologist is keeping me on Gemzar chemo (starting it again next week), it seems as a precaution. Not sure about that as while on Gemzar one tumor kept growing, although slowly. My next scan is in August so will find out then if TACE killed the bad guys or not. It is hard what to think but they are the experts so need to trust them.
In the meantime, i have been getting annoyed easily since I got out of hospital (ask my dog)! I yell at her more than normal. I need to stop that!I had my second chemo embolization on Thursday 1 June. It went well and the doctor was very optimistic about the procedure. They finished the 2 tumors. The second one only had 1 blood vessel feeding it unlike the first one which had 4! They kept me overnight as I was in pain. Had pain killers but didn’t sleep as well as I wanted as they usually come into your room every 3 hours to take your blood pressure, temp and oxygen level. So, now have to wait until August scan to see the results.
They have me back on chemo on 13 June every 2 weeks as a precaution. I am very tired but overall not feeling too bad. So taking it easy for a few days. The staff was nice, very professional and kind.
Fingers crossed all will be well.Thank you for your support . I am scheduled for part 2 Thursday 1 June. They want me to stay overnight this time just to keep an eye on me. So I arranged for my dog to board at the kennel she usually goes to for play time and swimming. Will ask my neighbor to feed Max, my Betta fish. I also have the company I rent my washer and dryer from coming that Friday to pick up their machines as I decided to buy my own. But the apartment management will let them in if I am not home yet.
I will be glad when it is done. Hopefully they will be able to go through the artery in my wrist again and will finish the job this time. I hope it works but won’t find out until the next scan in August. They have me scheduled for chemo again on 13 June. I guess they will keep me on chemo as a safety precaution maybe to prevent other cancer cells from popping up. Not sure what the success rate of this procedure is. Don’t know if there is reports on the effectiveness on TACE.
Sorry if seem to be rambling on, but lately I have been up and down.I walk my chocolate Labrador every day even when I feel tired or sore and it does help.
She also keeps me smiling.Hi, sorry you are not feeling well. Can you go see a doctor to help with the pain management until your appt? You shouldn’t have to suffer. I hope they see you real soon for your liver. Take care.
I had the chemo embolization done on Thursday. I went in at 7:00 AM and they let me go home at 18:00 It was not as scary as I thought it would be. The 2 doctors were very nice and explained everything and the nurses were also very nice. It took 3 hours for the doctors to work on one of the tumors and I have to go back in a couple of weeks for part 2 to work on the second tumor. I was awake but dopey and didn’t feel a thing. They actually went through my left arm artery by the inside of my wrist, not my groin. They said it was a new procedure that works on patients who have good arm arteries and the recovery time is shorter. The only sign is bruising and a bit of swelling. They didn’t finish the first tumor as the little booger was feeding off 4 blood vessels, so they worked on 3 and will finish the 4th one when they go in to do the second tumor. They injected a strong chemo called DOXORUBICIN directly into the tumor and than closed the blood vessel which is what they will do to the second tumor. Side affect are minimal, I am tired, a bit achy and a my digestive system was a bit irritated and yesterday I couldn’t digest my food very well. Mentally, on Saturday, I felt a bit unbalanced and lost. So, went shopping with my daughter and wore myself out, so felt tired but “normal” when I got home. Not that I am usually normal! LOL
! I am hoping that this will let me go into remission and I can relax a bit for a while. Again, thank you all for your support . xx
BrigitteCatherine, Marion and Julie thank you for the info and encouragement. I will be glad when it is done as anxiety while waiting is a bit tough, but I will get through it. I will let you know how it went.
Julie you are an inspiration to me and I wish you all the very best and send you big hugs.
BrigitteSo happy to hear about your scan results! Hope your blood cancer gets better as well. Wishing you all the very best xxx
I am scheduled for TACE on 11 May. They said that I would be staying overnight in the hospital. I will let you know if it worked after I get my next scan. In the meantime, I still will get Gemzar chemo every 2 weeks.
Hi, I had a resection in July 2015, they took the liver left lobe out and I had clean margins and no cancer anywhere else, however I now wish they had done chemo as after 6 months clear, 2 small lesions showed up on the rest of my liver. I now have been on chemo for 14 months, 6 months on Gemzar/Cisplatin and now on Gemzar only. The oncologist calls it maintenance chemo. The lesions have stayed small with minute increase in one of them. Having a scan next Monday so fingers crossed it will be okay. Wishing you all the very best.
