Last Monday i received my 3rd from the last dose of Avastin. The penultimate dose will be Feb 28, and the last dose March 21. Great to be nearing the end of the protocol.
With excellent timing, a friend sent me another news release from Roche (the manufacturer) stating that Avastin combined with chemotherapy has now been shown to significantly increase disease free survival in 3 large stage III trials. Stage III are the final trials where safety and efficacy have been established and these enroll large numbers to see if the efficacy findings hold up and the safety profile remains stable. This is excellent. There was discussion in the news clipping about whether Avastin would get FDA approval for the indication of ovarian cancer, because it is expensive and while it has been demonstrated to prolong disease free survival (the duration of time before disease recurs or comes back), it has not apparently been demonstrated to clearly extend overall survival.
For me, I know what I would argue for if the FDA wanted to bring me in as a patient representative. What I am focused on is disease free survival, as I continue to wait for my chemotherapy-induced neuropathy to receed and my strength to return. I don't think in terms of time to death or wonder how long I will survive. I think in terms of time until recurrence and wonder how much time I will have before I have to return to chemotherapy again. And I hope it will be long enough to regain my strength, complete the organizational, planning and other tasks that I need to prepare, have my neuropathy go away at least enough to allow me to travel and maybe dance and scuba dive again with out excessive limitations. There were many blessings and lessons contained within the experience of chemotherapy. But I think I learned them the first time around and am less optimistic that a second round will be a time of learning and progress rather than a time of ... marking time and resting because i can do little else. The ability to be productive, to travel, to take care of business or to just go out to have fun that I measure is the time between now, when I have finally reached a physical point where I can begin to do intentional exercise (half hour at a time and very very mild, but still...) and the point where disease recurrence will push me back onto chemo. It is not the time between now and the point when I cease to breath.
So I would argue that an increase in disease free survival is more meaningful than an overall increase in survival, if FDA wanted to ask.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Counting down
Dose 19 of Avastin today, along with laboratory testing (since I was snowed in last Thursday and could not get out for testing) and physical exam.
That is dose 19 of 22 - so only 3 left in the investigational trial - currently scheduled for Monday February 7, Monday February 28 (along with a doctor's exam) and Monday March 21 - And we will be done!
So I decided we were close enough to the finish line to ask about monitoring after I finish the treatment course of Avastin. It will consist of an physical exam and CT scan after then completion of the Avastin course, followed by physical exams every 3 months plus CT scans every 6 months for the first 2 years. Then followed by physical exams and CT scans every 6 months for the next 3 years. Then, assuming I have gotten that far without evidence of recurrence, the follow up required by the GOG clinical trial will be completed. I did not ask about follow up not required by the clinical trial. I will be happy to make it to these first milestones, then figure it out from there.
For the first time in more than a week the roads are clear and the snow is largely melted and gone. I say largely because large pockets of my yard (the shady areas) still have clumps of snow waiting for the weather to stay warm long enough for it all to melt. But yesterday it was warm enough to enablt me to chip away at the remaining snow and ice stuck to my front porch, pry it up in sheets and move it off the porch. All the time remembering that my Minnesota days should have taught me that you ALWAYS remove snow from walk ways immediately after it falls and before it can stick to the ground in sheets of ice. But that is because in Minnesota they know it will be sticking around for months, and here we (mistakenly this time) assume it will just melt away within hours or at most a day or two. Fooled us this week!
That is dose 19 of 22 - so only 3 left in the investigational trial - currently scheduled for Monday February 7, Monday February 28 (along with a doctor's exam) and Monday March 21 - And we will be done!
So I decided we were close enough to the finish line to ask about monitoring after I finish the treatment course of Avastin. It will consist of an physical exam and CT scan after then completion of the Avastin course, followed by physical exams every 3 months plus CT scans every 6 months for the first 2 years. Then followed by physical exams and CT scans every 6 months for the next 3 years. Then, assuming I have gotten that far without evidence of recurrence, the follow up required by the GOG clinical trial will be completed. I did not ask about follow up not required by the clinical trial. I will be happy to make it to these first milestones, then figure it out from there.
For the first time in more than a week the roads are clear and the snow is largely melted and gone. I say largely because large pockets of my yard (the shady areas) still have clumps of snow waiting for the weather to stay warm long enough for it all to melt. But yesterday it was warm enough to enablt me to chip away at the remaining snow and ice stuck to my front porch, pry it up in sheets and move it off the porch. All the time remembering that my Minnesota days should have taught me that you ALWAYS remove snow from walk ways immediately after it falls and before it can stick to the ground in sheets of ice. But that is because in Minnesota they know it will be sticking around for months, and here we (mistakenly this time) assume it will just melt away within hours or at most a day or two. Fooled us this week!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
3 days and counting below freezing in the deep South...
At the end of the third day of being snowed in, the approximately 6 inches of snow in the yard has not diminished except in the places where one of us has walked on it, or shoveled it out of the way to allow safer access to the yard for ourselves or our dogs. The dogs tread cautiously around the treacherous back yard. The crust of the snow has turned into solid ice, resulting in the younger dogs skidding and sliding around the yard like young kids on ice skates, only not enjoying it nearly as much. The ancient dog, Jake, has the same problems but with less stable footing, so that he frequently skids down on the ground or his feet slide out from under him. Occasionally the iced crust fails to hold their weight and one or more legs breaks through, which is even more difficult for the old dog, who creeps gratefully back into the house as soon as possible. The young dogs also do not care to linger in the yard.
Threatened with the requirement to make it to work or take personal leave today, my niece Dorothy managed to walk to the nearest MARTA stop (Atlanta subway) - a normally 15-20 minute walk that took more than 30 due to the slipperly road conditions - and made it in to work, only to return about 4 PM. They decided the 11 AM - 4 PM work day had been ill advised, sent the employees who made it in home and declared the business closed for tomorrow.
I have not exited the house since Sunday night except to help the dogs down the back stairs and to shovel off the back deck so they could make it into the yard on their own.
Temperatures did not rise above freezing today, and are not scheduled to do so tomorrow either or anytime before Friday afternoon at the earliest.
Never the less, CDC has announced to employees that we will open tomorrow, just at 10 AM instead of 8 AM. I guess someone got impatient with all those federal employees staying home, despite having spent the past couple of years encouraging the employees to telecommute whenever possible. All fine and good except that the dangerous conditions that closed the agency have not improved. Wishful thinking will not make it safer to try to drive to work tomorrow, and it is not possible to walk that far or take public transit since the subway does not go anywhere near most of the campuses.
I worked full time at home yesterday and today on CDC business - starting with a teleconference this morning at 9 Am and finishing about half an hour ago. So just over a 10 hour work day, and a slightly shorter one yesterday. GRanted on Monday I only did a few hours of CDC work, and having depleted my at home resources, likely would not have been able to do much for CDC tomorrow. Still out of 3 snow days I have performed work from home for approximately 2.5 full working days - not bad. I am not really thrilled about risking my car and my life trying to get into work tomorrow over very dangerous icey roads.
I will wait until 10 AM and hope that either the weather predictions are wrong or someone with authority will come to his or her senses and call off the work day. But if not I will be treading my way into work tomorrow and hoping I do not wind up in the hospital again - this time for trauma. After 8 years in Minnesota and 2 in Boston I am pretty comfortable handling my car on snowey roads. But even up there I would be attempting to stay off these roads, since unlike the upper midwest and new England, we have no road clearing equipment so if the snow does not melt it simply turns to patches of ice and the roads do not improve. And being able to handle your own car does not protect you when the guy next to you who has never driven on ice before goes into a skid.
We hear they are planning to cut the agency staffing by 10% by attrition as a money saving plan. We just did not realize they were planning to do it all tomorrow.
Threatened with the requirement to make it to work or take personal leave today, my niece Dorothy managed to walk to the nearest MARTA stop (Atlanta subway) - a normally 15-20 minute walk that took more than 30 due to the slipperly road conditions - and made it in to work, only to return about 4 PM. They decided the 11 AM - 4 PM work day had been ill advised, sent the employees who made it in home and declared the business closed for tomorrow.
I have not exited the house since Sunday night except to help the dogs down the back stairs and to shovel off the back deck so they could make it into the yard on their own.
Temperatures did not rise above freezing today, and are not scheduled to do so tomorrow either or anytime before Friday afternoon at the earliest.
Never the less, CDC has announced to employees that we will open tomorrow, just at 10 AM instead of 8 AM. I guess someone got impatient with all those federal employees staying home, despite having spent the past couple of years encouraging the employees to telecommute whenever possible. All fine and good except that the dangerous conditions that closed the agency have not improved. Wishful thinking will not make it safer to try to drive to work tomorrow, and it is not possible to walk that far or take public transit since the subway does not go anywhere near most of the campuses.
I worked full time at home yesterday and today on CDC business - starting with a teleconference this morning at 9 Am and finishing about half an hour ago. So just over a 10 hour work day, and a slightly shorter one yesterday. GRanted on Monday I only did a few hours of CDC work, and having depleted my at home resources, likely would not have been able to do much for CDC tomorrow. Still out of 3 snow days I have performed work from home for approximately 2.5 full working days - not bad. I am not really thrilled about risking my car and my life trying to get into work tomorrow over very dangerous icey roads.
I will wait until 10 AM and hope that either the weather predictions are wrong or someone with authority will come to his or her senses and call off the work day. But if not I will be treading my way into work tomorrow and hoping I do not wind up in the hospital again - this time for trauma. After 8 years in Minnesota and 2 in Boston I am pretty comfortable handling my car on snowey roads. But even up there I would be attempting to stay off these roads, since unlike the upper midwest and new England, we have no road clearing equipment so if the snow does not melt it simply turns to patches of ice and the roads do not improve. And being able to handle your own car does not protect you when the guy next to you who has never driven on ice before goes into a skid.
We hear they are planning to cut the agency staffing by 10% by attrition as a money saving plan. We just did not realize they were planning to do it all tomorrow.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Am I in Minnesota?
Tonight, for the first time ever in the history of my living in the South, I had to shovel snow! The (by my estimate) 7 inches of snow crusted with ice that coated the back deck and the 4-5 steps down to the yard were too much for my ancient mostly-pointer Jake to negotiate. I carried him down once - then got to work clearing the steps.
Last night I was cohosting a dinner party for a Foyers group (from church) but we tied up early because of the predicted snow. My cohost Sue insisted that I head home and leave most of the clean up to her. Sure enough, the snow began as i was loading the car (more like tiny balls of ice), was coming down steadily by the time I started out, and was accumulating steadily by the time I got home. Fortunately the roads were still clear, but by 10 pm last night the yard and neighborhood looked like a winter wonder land, and my neice and her boyfriend were out playing in the snow. This morning the CDC was closed "except for essential personnel". Fortunately for me I am not currently essential because I don't know how I would have gotten in if I needed to. The same 6-7 inches of snow that coated the deck, steps and yard also coated the driveway and street.
Since I have not ventured out I don't know if the roads are clear once you get off my street. I do know that the temperatures have not risen above freezing yet today and the block remains totally snowed in. I am searching the internet and keeping an eye on my Blackberry for another email from the CDC EOC telling us not to report to work again tomorrow. But since none has arrived yet, I am beginning to turn my mind to thinking about how I might best attempt to get into work if I am expected to report tomorrow.
I still have those Minnesota cross country skiis - but the same absence of side walks that makes it hard to walk anywhere in this city would inhibit my ability to skii to work - not to mention that physically I doubt I could make it these days.
Today was very productive - perhaps not for the taxpayers but for me, as I finished 3 loads of laundry, a couple of loads of dishwasher, a lot of accounting and filing and tax preparation at home.
Tomorrow morning I will try to get a photo of the lovely snowy land to post.
Meanwhile, how many mass killings in schools and public places do you think we will have to have before the Congress decides that if it is necessary to have a license to drive a car and to renew that license periodically and keep that car registered then it should also be necessary to have specific training and a license to have a gun and also necessary to register that (those) guns? Why does the right to bear guns make it necessary to have laws that prevent the ability to have a national database documenting gun owners? Why is it necessary, easy, even possibly for mentally ill people to easily equip themselves with automatic weapons? Am I the only one who thinks that the NRA has had too much influence on Congress, and in ways that go way beyond protecting the ability of my acquaintances who hunt to put food on the table to coninue to be able to do so?
Last night I was cohosting a dinner party for a Foyers group (from church) but we tied up early because of the predicted snow. My cohost Sue insisted that I head home and leave most of the clean up to her. Sure enough, the snow began as i was loading the car (more like tiny balls of ice), was coming down steadily by the time I started out, and was accumulating steadily by the time I got home. Fortunately the roads were still clear, but by 10 pm last night the yard and neighborhood looked like a winter wonder land, and my neice and her boyfriend were out playing in the snow. This morning the CDC was closed "except for essential personnel". Fortunately for me I am not currently essential because I don't know how I would have gotten in if I needed to. The same 6-7 inches of snow that coated the deck, steps and yard also coated the driveway and street.
Since I have not ventured out I don't know if the roads are clear once you get off my street. I do know that the temperatures have not risen above freezing yet today and the block remains totally snowed in. I am searching the internet and keeping an eye on my Blackberry for another email from the CDC EOC telling us not to report to work again tomorrow. But since none has arrived yet, I am beginning to turn my mind to thinking about how I might best attempt to get into work if I am expected to report tomorrow.
I still have those Minnesota cross country skiis - but the same absence of side walks that makes it hard to walk anywhere in this city would inhibit my ability to skii to work - not to mention that physically I doubt I could make it these days.
Today was very productive - perhaps not for the taxpayers but for me, as I finished 3 loads of laundry, a couple of loads of dishwasher, a lot of accounting and filing and tax preparation at home.
Tomorrow morning I will try to get a photo of the lovely snowy land to post.
Meanwhile, how many mass killings in schools and public places do you think we will have to have before the Congress decides that if it is necessary to have a license to drive a car and to renew that license periodically and keep that car registered then it should also be necessary to have specific training and a license to have a gun and also necessary to register that (those) guns? Why does the right to bear guns make it necessary to have laws that prevent the ability to have a national database documenting gun owners? Why is it necessary, easy, even possibly for mentally ill people to easily equip themselves with automatic weapons? Am I the only one who thinks that the NRA has had too much influence on Congress, and in ways that go way beyond protecting the ability of my acquaintances who hunt to put food on the table to coninue to be able to do so?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
And Another Haircut!!!
Today I got my second haircut since chemo. Now the first one in october did prehaps shape the hairs a little more evenly. But to be completely honest the major incentive for a haircut at that point was simply the idea that I finally again had hair that could be cut.
Today I actually had enough hair that indeed things looked better after the haircut. AS Yang (my excellent hair stylist) said, he had a little more to work with. It was still under normal circumstances nothing really to write home about. But I really enjoyed it. Enough to also purchase the stuff that he recommends I put into my hair to be able to shape it. And to agree to another appointment on saturday when he will stripe color into it.
Never thought it would be so very much fun just to have hair...
Today I actually had enough hair that indeed things looked better after the haircut. AS Yang (my excellent hair stylist) said, he had a little more to work with. It was still under normal circumstances nothing really to write home about. But I really enjoyed it. Enough to also purchase the stuff that he recommends I put into my hair to be able to shape it. And to agree to another appointment on saturday when he will stripe color into it.
Never thought it would be so very much fun just to have hair...
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...
No, I did not drop you off of my annual Christmas letter list. I just have not gotten around to sending one since 2008. But I will get one out this year, I promise. Maybe not for another month or so but...
So the dogs and I drove up to Sylva, NC on Christmas Eve where I had rented a cute little house in Dillsboro (kind of a Sylva suburb) with just enough room for me and the dogs for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Despite grim weather predictions, the drive up was lovely. We arrived in time to settle the dogs and make it to the First Baptist Candle and Carol service (me that is, I left the dogs in Dillsboro) and afterward to the usual open house at the home of parents of high school friends where their extended family (and my extended high school friendship circle) gather on Christmas eve. And after that to the next extended family gathering, this one a bit more compact and the children and grandchildren of another high school friend. It was all lovely. Significantly, First Baptist is between pastors at present and as a result the design of the Candles and Carols service was up to the congregation. They decided to revert back to the original design - just scriptures interspersed with carols, lite by candles, with a pleas for funds to support service to local residents in need and a choir special or two. It was lovely. And short. which we all appreciated.
the following day 3 to 12 inches of snow were predicted, and by the time I was up and stirring at 8ish there was already at least an inch on the ground. I decided to make a calculated gamble that I could load up the car and get over Cowee mountain before the snow froze and thereby get back to Atlanta on Christmas Day. The alternative seemed to be maximizing the value of my rent by staying through Christmas Day as originally planned, but risking letting the roads freeze and being unable to return to Atlanta for several days. While I greatly appreciate several high school friends who offered me a spare bedroom for my own use, or a basement for the temporary dwelling of my dogs if my stay was forced to exceed the duration of my rental reservation - the fact that my next Chemotherapy (Avastin) appointment was on Monday Dec 26 made it highly desirable to return to Atlanta on schedule.
So i packed up the car while the snow continued to fall thickly all around. By the time I had the cars loaded and added myself and the dogs and started out, there were likely an additional couple of inches of snow on the ground. And it continued to pile up as I drove out of town and headed up the mountain.
The drive was beautiful. The snow was falling so thickly that distant vision was limited. Fortunately all the way over Cowee mountain the traffic was very limited, so it was easy to keep large distances between cars. But I had no trouble - no slipping or sliding. Anyone who has traveled over Cowee mountain and admired the view from the large drop offs will recognize this as an excellent thing. My usual traveling speed of 55 - 70 MPH was reduced to something more like 20 - 35 MPH all the way through North Carolina and the first part of North Georgia. Around Tococca, Ga the snow turned to rain, and shortly thereafter the roads cleared and travel returned to normal speeds so that I arrived home in Atlanta by early afternoon.
Temperatures hovered around freezing the whole time, however, and within a couple of hours of the time the dogs and I re-established ourselves in the house in Atlanta snow began to fall here as well. By Sunday morning the roads were iced in, the yard was covered with snow and I did not bother to try to leave the house until Monday when it was time to depart for chemotherapy. Fortunately the roads had cleared and the snow and ice in the yard had diminished.
And today the snow and ice in the yard is largely diminished - almost gone in fact.
Now I know that about now those of you in Minnesota and Boston and New York and Canada and other points north are thinking "What is the big deal?" But trust me, down here in Dixieland a white Christmas is a rather rare commodity. This was the first white Christmas in the mountains in, if I remember the news correctly, several decades, maybe even 50 years. And the first white Christmas in Atlanta since sometime before the turn of the century.
It was all very very beautiful, and we (Jake, Balsam and me) enjoyed very much our low key white southern Christmas. We spend a lot of time eating tomato soup full of crumbled corn bread, drinking cinnamon flavored hot apple cider, and thinking happy thoughts. I spent a good bit of time reading the load of Christmas cards and letters and often giggling over various reports from you and your families. Thanks for keeping me informed.
The snow and ice are largely gone now, but enough remains to make the trip up and down my back stairs a bit treacherous. Fortunately I make it rarely but the dogs make that trip multiple times a day. But it is lovely. Sorry I did not catch a photo for you.
So the dogs and I drove up to Sylva, NC on Christmas Eve where I had rented a cute little house in Dillsboro (kind of a Sylva suburb) with just enough room for me and the dogs for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Despite grim weather predictions, the drive up was lovely. We arrived in time to settle the dogs and make it to the First Baptist Candle and Carol service (me that is, I left the dogs in Dillsboro) and afterward to the usual open house at the home of parents of high school friends where their extended family (and my extended high school friendship circle) gather on Christmas eve. And after that to the next extended family gathering, this one a bit more compact and the children and grandchildren of another high school friend. It was all lovely. Significantly, First Baptist is between pastors at present and as a result the design of the Candles and Carols service was up to the congregation. They decided to revert back to the original design - just scriptures interspersed with carols, lite by candles, with a pleas for funds to support service to local residents in need and a choir special or two. It was lovely. And short. which we all appreciated.
the following day 3 to 12 inches of snow were predicted, and by the time I was up and stirring at 8ish there was already at least an inch on the ground. I decided to make a calculated gamble that I could load up the car and get over Cowee mountain before the snow froze and thereby get back to Atlanta on Christmas Day. The alternative seemed to be maximizing the value of my rent by staying through Christmas Day as originally planned, but risking letting the roads freeze and being unable to return to Atlanta for several days. While I greatly appreciate several high school friends who offered me a spare bedroom for my own use, or a basement for the temporary dwelling of my dogs if my stay was forced to exceed the duration of my rental reservation - the fact that my next Chemotherapy (Avastin) appointment was on Monday Dec 26 made it highly desirable to return to Atlanta on schedule.
So i packed up the car while the snow continued to fall thickly all around. By the time I had the cars loaded and added myself and the dogs and started out, there were likely an additional couple of inches of snow on the ground. And it continued to pile up as I drove out of town and headed up the mountain.
The drive was beautiful. The snow was falling so thickly that distant vision was limited. Fortunately all the way over Cowee mountain the traffic was very limited, so it was easy to keep large distances between cars. But I had no trouble - no slipping or sliding. Anyone who has traveled over Cowee mountain and admired the view from the large drop offs will recognize this as an excellent thing. My usual traveling speed of 55 - 70 MPH was reduced to something more like 20 - 35 MPH all the way through North Carolina and the first part of North Georgia. Around Tococca, Ga the snow turned to rain, and shortly thereafter the roads cleared and travel returned to normal speeds so that I arrived home in Atlanta by early afternoon.
Temperatures hovered around freezing the whole time, however, and within a couple of hours of the time the dogs and I re-established ourselves in the house in Atlanta snow began to fall here as well. By Sunday morning the roads were iced in, the yard was covered with snow and I did not bother to try to leave the house until Monday when it was time to depart for chemotherapy. Fortunately the roads had cleared and the snow and ice in the yard had diminished.
And today the snow and ice in the yard is largely diminished - almost gone in fact.
Now I know that about now those of you in Minnesota and Boston and New York and Canada and other points north are thinking "What is the big deal?" But trust me, down here in Dixieland a white Christmas is a rather rare commodity. This was the first white Christmas in the mountains in, if I remember the news correctly, several decades, maybe even 50 years. And the first white Christmas in Atlanta since sometime before the turn of the century.
It was all very very beautiful, and we (Jake, Balsam and me) enjoyed very much our low key white southern Christmas. We spend a lot of time eating tomato soup full of crumbled corn bread, drinking cinnamon flavored hot apple cider, and thinking happy thoughts. I spent a good bit of time reading the load of Christmas cards and letters and often giggling over various reports from you and your families. Thanks for keeping me informed.
The snow and ice are largely gone now, but enough remains to make the trip up and down my back stairs a bit treacherous. Fortunately I make it rarely but the dogs make that trip multiple times a day. But it is lovely. Sorry I did not catch a photo for you.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Another avastin dose down, 3.5 months to go...
I had another Avastin dose today. This will continue every 3 weeks through March 21. The good news is that my blood pressure was excellent today on my current medication - with a systolic under 130. High blood pressure is a frequent and problmatic side effect of Avastin, and I have had to go on medication for it, but appear to be doing fine on my current medicine.
My hair continues to grow but (maybe I imagin it) much slower than before chemo. I am not complaining. I am so happy to have any hair at all again!
Jake, my 14.5 year old pound mutt with the tumors in his live and lungs, continues to do surprisingly well. He sleeps a lot, but then he is more than 2.5 years beyond his predicted life expectancy so... He hangs out closer to me, and seems a bit slower, and continues to slowly get skinnier - but otherwise he just keeps trooping along, sweet as ever and apparently happy. Sorry to leave you hanging for so long. I am renting a tourist house in Sylva on Christmas so I can take the dogs with me instead of boarding them, but otherwise they, and I - we are all doing well.
I am taking a lot of personal time off last month and this one. BEtween the time off work and the increased energy I am finally makeing real progress in catching up on the mail, filing, paperwork, and just plain stuff that piled up around the house over the course of my chemo. Hopefully by the new year the house will again feel more like a home than a ware house.
Otherwise no real news to report. Hope all your holidays are happy and healthy.
My hair continues to grow but (maybe I imagin it) much slower than before chemo. I am not complaining. I am so happy to have any hair at all again!
Jake, my 14.5 year old pound mutt with the tumors in his live and lungs, continues to do surprisingly well. He sleeps a lot, but then he is more than 2.5 years beyond his predicted life expectancy so... He hangs out closer to me, and seems a bit slower, and continues to slowly get skinnier - but otherwise he just keeps trooping along, sweet as ever and apparently happy. Sorry to leave you hanging for so long. I am renting a tourist house in Sylva on Christmas so I can take the dogs with me instead of boarding them, but otherwise they, and I - we are all doing well.
I am taking a lot of personal time off last month and this one. BEtween the time off work and the increased energy I am finally makeing real progress in catching up on the mail, filing, paperwork, and just plain stuff that piled up around the house over the course of my chemo. Hopefully by the new year the house will again feel more like a home than a ware house.
Otherwise no real news to report. Hope all your holidays are happy and healthy.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
I am doing fine but the dogs are having problems
Had my most recent doctor appt today and all looks well. I will have my next Avastin treatment on Monday. the original schedule was delayed a week because I had to give a lecture out of town last Monday.
My first 3 major professional deadlines since chemo all came in a bunch over the last 3 weeks and I managed to meet them all. Although it required working over time and some on weekends, but even that was good since it provided proof that I can do that again. But hopefully not too often.
Now for the bad news. The dogs went in for their vaccine updates and, for Jake, his senior dog exam which usually consists just of lab tests. This time his liver enzymes came back very abnormal so he went further for ultrasound examination of his liver and lungs. Bottom line - multiple tumors in his liver and at least one large one in his lung. Not good. He is also getting skinnier every week and looking very boney now.
I decided against surgery or chemo. It would not be curable. He is already nearly 2 and a half years beyond his predicted life expectancy. I can't see putting him through any of that. So we are all making an extra effort to make Jake's life as good as possible for the remaining time, which based on the rate at which he is losing weight will not exceed the winter. Sad but inevitable. He is a very sweet dog. And he has had a very good life for a pound dog.
My first 3 major professional deadlines since chemo all came in a bunch over the last 3 weeks and I managed to meet them all. Although it required working over time and some on weekends, but even that was good since it provided proof that I can do that again. But hopefully not too often.
Now for the bad news. The dogs went in for their vaccine updates and, for Jake, his senior dog exam which usually consists just of lab tests. This time his liver enzymes came back very abnormal so he went further for ultrasound examination of his liver and lungs. Bottom line - multiple tumors in his liver and at least one large one in his lung. Not good. He is also getting skinnier every week and looking very boney now.
I decided against surgery or chemo. It would not be curable. He is already nearly 2 and a half years beyond his predicted life expectancy. I can't see putting him through any of that. So we are all making an extra effort to make Jake's life as good as possible for the remaining time, which based on the rate at which he is losing weight will not exceed the winter. Sad but inevitable. He is a very sweet dog. And he has had a very good life for a pound dog.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Update - avastin, progress and HAIR
Yesterday I had my most recent Avastin treatment. Things went smoothly and the next one will be 4 weeks from now instead of 3 weeks. I had to delay it a week because of a professional committment. Which tells you I am back at work full time and slowly increasing the work load and once again meeting deadlines and honoring committments.
Really, it is reminding me that the ZEN days of chemo when I had to let go of everything and just live in the moment, watching America's Next Top Model and Project Runway and not worrying about anything beyond whether I should invest in some 4 inch heels after I finished chemo were... well they had some aspects to recommend them.
Living in the moment is not that bad.
BIG NEWS - this coming Saturday Oct 16 I have my first appointment for a hair cut since my head was shaved last December. Not that there is really much to cut or that I really want it shorter, but at least it will be intentionally shaped a bit. And mostly, I just like the idea that I have enough hair again to think about cutting it! YEAH for small victories.
Really, it is reminding me that the ZEN days of chemo when I had to let go of everything and just live in the moment, watching America's Next Top Model and Project Runway and not worrying about anything beyond whether I should invest in some 4 inch heels after I finished chemo were... well they had some aspects to recommend them.
Living in the moment is not that bad.
BIG NEWS - this coming Saturday Oct 16 I have my first appointment for a hair cut since my head was shaved last December. Not that there is really much to cut or that I really want it shorter, but at least it will be intentionally shaped a bit. And mostly, I just like the idea that I have enough hair again to think about cutting it! YEAH for small victories.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Sorry for being so slow to update
In response to a couple of complaints that I have not updated my blog, i apologize. I am slowly progressing week by week, but since that means I am now working a full 40 hour concentration week at work, I still tend to have limited energy on the weekend and spend a lot of time zoneing out to ensure adequate energy to make it fully through the work week.
I continue to do well. I still get Avastin every 3 weeks - last time yesterday - and will continue to do so through early 2011. And I get physical exams every 6 weeks - next one tomorrow - as well as laboratory testing every 6 weeks - next time in about 3 weeks. And periodic CT scans.
The results of every thing continue to be good - the labs are all normal, the CA-125 (a marker for ovarian cancer that was over 250 before my surgery) continues to be below the normal range. The CT and exams have been without any evidence of disease.
In other words, all things are good.
The recovery continues to be better week by week, but still slower than I would like. I am really working full time now - 40 hours a week of strong concentration - but have to titrate my efforts during off hours to be able to sustain that. My hair is back - not long enough for any intentional shaping, and a rather dull color halfway between grey and dishwater brown. But who can complain?
It has been a busy couple of weeks, with my Aunt Marian in and out of the hospital and needing more assistance from me, a niece moving in and another visiting for a weekend. But that has all been good and it is nice to learn that I can now gear up to extra stress when necessary.
Nothing too exciting to add - but in this world that is pretty good. Hope you all are well. Thanks again for your support.
I continue to do well. I still get Avastin every 3 weeks - last time yesterday - and will continue to do so through early 2011. And I get physical exams every 6 weeks - next one tomorrow - as well as laboratory testing every 6 weeks - next time in about 3 weeks. And periodic CT scans.
The results of every thing continue to be good - the labs are all normal, the CA-125 (a marker for ovarian cancer that was over 250 before my surgery) continues to be below the normal range. The CT and exams have been without any evidence of disease.
In other words, all things are good.
The recovery continues to be better week by week, but still slower than I would like. I am really working full time now - 40 hours a week of strong concentration - but have to titrate my efforts during off hours to be able to sustain that. My hair is back - not long enough for any intentional shaping, and a rather dull color halfway between grey and dishwater brown. But who can complain?
It has been a busy couple of weeks, with my Aunt Marian in and out of the hospital and needing more assistance from me, a niece moving in and another visiting for a weekend. But that has all been good and it is nice to learn that I can now gear up to extra stress when necessary.
Nothing too exciting to add - but in this world that is pretty good. Hope you all are well. Thanks again for your support.
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