Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Doctor appointment update

So, I saw my Oncologist today to go over the results of my PET scan and to discuss the next course of treatment. My cancer is not in remission, so this means more Chemo for me. For the next three to four months, I will continue doing the Folfox treatment minus the Oxaliplatin with the biological treatment of Erbitux. She took the Oxakiplatin out because of the Neuropathy that I have been experiencing and she said I should start to feel much better.

My cancer has not spread or reoccurred in the Colon, but I still have several tumors on the right lobe of my liver. The inside of the tumors are going through Necrosis which means the tumors are dying on the inside, but there is still activity on the outer tumors. This activity has caused my tumor markers to go up. (Both the CEA and the CA-19-9 Colon cancer tumor markers). I had my blood drawn again today for these markers and will see the doctor again on March 9. She did give me the okay to still take my two week vacation to Minnesota in Feb and to "skip" treatment during this time. The doctors office should be giving me a call within the next few days to set up my treatment dates.

I am NOT taking all this information as bad news. I am looking at it in a very positive light. A lot of my tumors are now gone. They were at one time covering my entire liver. I had very large tumors with the largest measuring 13 mm on my liver. The largest one is now 10mm and is going through Necrosis, so this is good news. The Chemo is working. I just need a little more to get the cancer to go into remission. There is also the possibility of a liver resection if the cancer does not completely go into remission after treatment. I will have another PET scan in 3-4 months to see how this treatment is affecting the tumors. My Oncologist was very positive and felt that my treatment was going well.

I have been feeling pretty great and look at this is a positive sign that things are looking up for me. I am very Thankful for each day and have truly been blessed. Thanks everyone for the continued prayers and support. :0)


4 comments:

  1. So awesome to hear Vicki. You are truly an inspiration to all who read this! ~ Andrea

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  2. VickI ~ That is AWESOME news even if I do not understand it all. I LOVE that you are looking at the bright side of it all - the cancer is slowly going away and with another round of Chemo I have no doubt it will be gone!

    yeah for a mini vacation too - LOVE it! :D

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  3. :-) Keep the positive attitude, Vicki. It will go a long way!

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  4. Thank you, Andrea. That means a lot to me. I hope that others who read my blog realize hoe precious life is and that you can never give up the fight.

    Danica, the chemo is working and my PET scan in three months will tell the tale. I am very thankful that with the amount of cancer that I originally had that there has been no further spread. I will never give up fighting!

    Thanks :) I think a positive attitude goes a long way in recovery. I feel so good that I refuse to believe that I am truly "sick".

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