Monday, July 21, 2008

My latest procedure went well...

Since it has been over 2 months since my last entry I am going to summarize what has been going on in my cancer world.

- My CEA has risen to an all time high of 187.

- My Platelets have continued to remain too low for me to do any regular chemo, or any of the chemo I was on the past two years.

- A week ago Saturday I started to take an oral form of chemo, called Xeloda.  It is a continuous form of chemo in that I am taking the pills morning and night for 2 weeks and then 1 week off.  So far I do not feel any side effects of this drug, but because of my low platelets I am only on half dosage.

- On the May long weekend, I accidently pulled out my feeding tube.  I have been trying to eat enough so I don’t lose any weight.   Unfortunately that has not been the case and I am now booked to have the tube reinserted into my small intestine on August 8th.

- Part of the reason that I was unable to east enough to gain weight is that I developed ascites (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ascites), which is an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity (abdominal area).  The ascites plus the lack of my digestive system was making things very uncomfortable for me.  On Friday I had a ‘pigtail’ catheter inserted by my left hip to drain the fluid.   To date I have drained approx. 6 litres (6 kgs) and now I don’t look like I am pregnant anymore!  I still have pain from the procedure but I do have some relief from the discomfort of carrying the extra fluid. 

I think that is it for the cancer update.   Since I have been dealing with a lot of discomfort/fatigue I have not been doing too much.   Hopefully things will dry up and I can start enjoying the outdoors again.

Thank you to all of you that continue to see how I am doing.  Your prayers and well wishes are greatly appreciated.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Thanks for all the concern.

I guess it is time to update my blog as I am getting a lot of emails from some of you concerned that my silence is reflective of some thing not good,
I have been quiet. I have been pretty lazy since being out of the hospital, so there is not a lot to write about.
April 1st Mark, the dogs and I moved back into our seasonal (8month) log cabin. We have been slowly settling in, as it seems that it gets smaller every time we move back!
I am looking forward to the summer weather; hopefully it will help in motivating me to get out and about. I have already received 2 invites to the Lowville Bistro, my favourite restaurant.
Health wise I am doing okay. I still have my feeding tube, but I am also eating as well. The plan is to make sure I am eating enough on a daily basis before the tube is removed. Cancer wise, my CEA level has increased from 4 (in Jan) to 33. I have a CT scan on the 12th of May and then I will meet with the Oncologist to discuss our plan of action. I am sure I will be starting chemo again soon.
Thanks for everyone’s concern, prayers and best wishes as they are greatly appreciated.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Finally home, enjoying time with my husband and dogs.

Febuary 29th I finally was released from the hospital along with my feeding tube. This tube physically enters my stomach about 5 inches to the right of my belly button. I am relying on this tube to feed me 24 hours a day until my body decides that it wants to eat and develop an appatite again. So I am hooked up to this machine which is attached to a IV pole which can really be a pain in the butt.
I have learned to sneak a break from the machine and exit the house.

Trying to get my life back to normal again is going to be a challenge….

More later when I have the energy, but thanks for all the support I have received to date – it has been greatly apprecieated.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Wendy is healing slowly from her most recent surgery.

Wendy remains in hospital recovering from surgery in late January.

Dr. Prodger, Wendy's Surgeon at Joseph Brant Hospital, suggested that Wendy's slower recovery following stomach surgery was not a surprise, considering this is the third major surgery for her inside 24 months, not to mention nearly 30 chemotherapy treatments as well as her recent Theraspheres procedure in Montreal last October.

We are grateful for the numerous messages of encouragement and hope as Wendy continues to draw strength from everyone both near and far.

I am certain you will read Wendy's thoughts in the not too distant future.

Until then...keep warm!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

It appears for now I have lost the last 2 years of my entries as they were posted on Live Digital, which apparently is seeking a ‘new home’. Whatever that means.

I am setting this new site up to continue to inform all those that are interested in how I am battling my colon cancer. When I have time, energy and motivation I will provide some background info that was included in the 2 years of postings that are currently lost.

October 30th I had a procedure called Theraspheres in Montreal. This is where they inserted radioactive beads into my liver via the hepatic artery/fermeral artery. It was a quick out-patient procedure that included a lot of pretesting to ensure eligibility. The procedure does not have many risks or side effects associated with them, but unfortunately I was not lucky enough to escape without harm.

Early in November it was determined that I had experienced radiation burn to the inside of my stomach where it abuts my liver. The pain associated mimicked that of an ulcer, but the ulcer meds were not successful in treating the symptoms I was experiencing. I was unable to eat or drink due to pain and started to lose a lot of weight. I was admitted to the hospital December 4th and was given nutrition/food/pain meds via I.V. I was discharged December 24th, just in time to enjoy Christmas with the family and some quiet time at the cottage with the dogs.

When I was discharged from the hospital it was thought that I was well on my way to being healed and able to eat and drink on my own again. Not the case. Last week I was admitted into the hospital for 4 days, this time under the care of my G.I. specialist to further examine my stomach. A scope revealed that the burn site now has a rather large ulcer that is not expected to heal anytime soon. I will be going back into the hospital (Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, Burlington) on Thursday for further scopes and if the biopsies from the laparoscope that I had last week are favourable, I will be undergoing a stomach resection to remove the ulcer on Saturday. I am expected to be in the hospital for at least 1 week, up to 2 weeks recovering.

Please pray and send good vibes that this will be the answer to my problems…