lainy
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Hi Gavin! So glad to hear about your dad’s progress. The hardest thing is to let go again but so necessary for dad’s recovery! Keep us posted and you are a terrific son and your parents are so blessed to have you!
AHA! Good one Rick. Being in Phoenix I just have to say, what is winter????
We do love the Fall reminder though!Thanks Heather and I do feel more myself today. I think when the stress was decreased with the good report I let go of that and let the daily “stuff” start seeping in again. See, I also am the care giver so to speak for a 92 year old mother. We should all be as healthy as she is at 92. No glasses or hearing aid.
Very healthy! At any rate last Sunday was my peak of weirdness. I had 3 couples over to use up a ton of pork tenderloin in the freezer. I made it and sliced it and made a beautiful gravy and put it all in my Pyrex dish. While taking it to the oven my fingers opened up and the dish and pork and gravy went all over the kitchen floor. Teddy went to the store while I cleaned it up. Then the 3 other couples sat down to eat and all of a sudden all their hands were turning gray! I had polished my silver and evidently did not get the polish all off the handles. Embarrassing! I felt like Erma Bombeck. So, still waiting for you to pick a date to meet. We could meet half way or you are welcome to come here to Sun Lakes. By the way I can do without another marathon!!!Thanks, Stacie, why don’t you send me some of your cards. You can look up his “stuff” under Dr. John Kresl Phoenix.
Hello Gavin. I was just thinking about you this morning and that we had not heard from you and here you are. What a wonderful son you are, your parents are truly blessed with you! We are WISHING for a good scan result!
YES< YES< YES! Also, Stacie, I mentioned and apologized to Teddy's Radiology Oncologist who is the cyber knife doctor at St. Josephs here, that I forgot to being some brochures I have for his office on the CC ORG. He was very interested and told me to bring them mid-December when we come for the Cyber knife and after looking them over he may contact you to see how he may help! This man is a Cancer God!
To Jeff, Charlene and Maryanne: I have been strong on this site until today when I see that tears and real feelings do not show on a computer screen. I so wish I could help relieve all your pain and ease your journeys.
Jeff, I have so enjoyed your posts and you and your bride are so very blessed to have known the love you have. That will surround you both for eternity. What more can I say except I know you have a big job ahead of you watching out for all of us! I am so proud to have “known” you and to call you friend. So, until we meet again, Teddy and I send our love and prayers your way.So, sorry to hear that, Jan. You just might want to ask the doctor about cyber knife IF it cancer is contained. They probably will be able to tell you more and give options after the PET Scan. Please keep us posted.
Hi Jan, I had responded to you prior about Teddy who is 76 now and had a Whipple 3 years ago. The CC returned where his duodenum used to be last April. He went through 5 weeks of radiation and will now have cyber knife in December to get rid of the rest of the cancer. The radiologist has told us he WILL be cancer free in January when he has his next PET Scan. He has never had chemo as 5 doctors have said it will not help and will only bring him down.
Everyone’s case is different and that’s about the only thing we can count on with CC. I guess I am not understanding what spot your husband’s CC returned to. For Teddy the only physical signs were tiredness and a CA9-19 count that started to climb. He is watched by his Oncologist and every 3 months has a visit to him with LAB work which includes CA9-19 and Bilirubin. Then every 6 months he has a CT Scan. This vigilance is what caught the second bout so quickly. Before the Whipple he totally jaundiced and that was the only symptom. This is why we call this a monster disease.So very sorry to hear about Joe. He is very lucky to have you and his children to help him through this part of his journey. This will be a time to cherish the memories you all have made and it sounds like you are making all sound and kind decisions. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family.
Hello Gary and welcome to the best club in the world that no one hopes to join!
At last another Whipple!!! You can look up all my posts on Whipples that my husband Teddy had 3 years ago. Look under Lainy) We were on vacation in Milwaukee when he got sick and our 2 week vacation turned in to 3 months! First Whipple was aborted after 4 hours because his pancreas was destroyed form dye that leaked on it from his endoscopy and the doctor needed to cut the head of the pancreas and could not. His cancer was in the bile duct valve. Then while the pancreas was healing he contracted a double e coli infection and was in the hospital for 9 days, the doctor then decided to do the Whipple again and this time after 8 hours it was a complete success. He had 2 tubes for drainage and on our way home a month later both tubes blew out in the plane. What a mess!!! After 2 weeks home he developed a tiny hole at the resection and went in to rehab for 1 month on nothing but an IV and the hole did heal. He was 73 and resumed work and golf! Than last April the CC returned where his duodenum used to be. He had 5 weeks of radiation and is now going to have cyber knife surgery in December to get the rest of the mass. Whew! I tried to shorten a very long story! All of our doctors had told us chemo would not work on this kind of cancer so we had decided then not to ever do that route. Radiation has worked well and the cyber knife should do the trick this time. Teddy did have a tube from the bile duct for 8 months. Nasty thing isn’t it? What is your CA9-19?
Hope you are doing good, and oh yes he has had hernia surgeries in the past. Please feel free to e mail me if you wish and again welcome, you have come to the right place.Hello Lynn and welcome to the best little club in the world where no one wants to really be a member. The only thing we know for sure about CC is that we know nothing. I believe you should keep going for answers until you are absolutely satisfied in your own mind, not everyone else’s. Somehow us caretakers seem to make the right decisions and we just go with our gut feeling on this. When my husband Teddy was diagnosed we were out of town, it was an emergency and we just lucked out on all counts. You will see people on this board who were told they have 3 months and its now 2 years later. Read all you can, this site is excellent for information, and also look through some of our past posts. The people here are so wonderful so feel free to throw out any questions you have and you will get answers. No one can tell someone else what to do as each case is different but there is a ton of guidance here. Please keep us posted.
Hi Walk. On the drinking ….In Teddy’s other life (before we met 15 years ago) he was a heavy social drinker. He actually stopped just before we met, but after his Whipple Surgery EVERY doctor told him no alcohol (his surgeon and 3 different oncologists)! He has not had a drop for 3 years now. One of our doc here who is Director of Liver Transplants at St. Josephs Hospital said one beer here and there will not hurt anything, however his first oncologist after surgery said not even non-alcoholic beer! I think it is a decision you have to make. My daughter’s fiance is in remission with Lymphoma and he is also going the Naturalpathic way with IV of Vitamin C and organic stuff. He is very up on it and pretty regimented in it and he is drinking beer now and then. Personally I feel if it is supposed to be that detrimental then it is a small price to pay giving it up, to stay healthy. But, then I am not a drinker. Its like, on this hand and then again on the other hand.
Here is another one to believe! Yesterday Dr. Kresl (oncology radiologist) said he would call our new ONC and he already did this morning! This man is unbelievable! Jeff, I wish I could send these guys to you and they would come back and say the same things! We think about you all the time. Hey, or hay! I finally put our mugs on the Faces page! The pretty one is my daughter!!! Love you Jeff!!!
