March 24th - Oncology Follow Up

I had my next follow-up this morning and was told that everything looked good, so my oncologist ordered a CT scan for mid-May and my next follow-up for May 26th.

I asked him about CEA blood tests and he said he was sending today's bloodwork out and would let me know if there was anything to worry about. He said the scan would be the biggest help in determining if anything is showing, but it has to be worked out with my healthplan provider before scheduling.

So, we went with the May 26th for the next follow-up, but he said if insurance doesn't approve the scans yet, then it may have to be re-scheduled later. If those come back good, then he said I could plan on my follow-up scope for June or July.

The neuropathy has improved and is only slightly felt in my fingertips. He asked if handling ice cubes caused any problems and it doesn't, and told him so.

So, it was a good visit and now I just wait to see how the insurance company is going to react to the scans. My last ones (CT and PT) were done last May.

If all goes well, I'll be able to have the surgery to remove the mediport in my chest sometime this summer :)

Thanks again for the positive support and mojo!

Stand Up To Cancer

If you turned on the national news September 5th, you might have been surprised to see all 3 major network anchors broadcasting from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Putting their usually intense competition for ratings aside for the night, Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charlie Gibson joined forces in support of a higher priority...putting an end to cancer!

Together the anchors hosted a historic hour-long telecast, shown commercial free on the 3 major networks and in more than 170 countries. The telecast raised more than $100 million to support a new initiative called "Stand Up To Cancer" founded this past May.

To learn more about it, you can click on the title of this post or go to www.standup2cancer.org

You can buy a "star" for one dollar in honor of loved ones or friends (I've done this and it is a gratifying experience).

Stand Up To Cancer is bring people together to give researchers the resources that they need to launch an all-out assault on cancer.

3/4 Finished with Chemotherapy :)

Today I went and had my portable infusion pump of 5-FU disconnected which ends my 9th cycle !

I'm now 3/4 through my treatments!!!

I asked my doctor what the next steps would be when I finished my treatments at the end of this year and when could I have the surgery to remove the implanted mediport with catheter.

He said that upon completing treatments that I would need to come in to have the port flushed every 6-8 weeks, have some blood tests and that he would be ordering scans and we'd take it from there.

I asked if the mediport could come out if the scans looked okay and he said he likes to keep them in until after the followup colonoscopy which would be in May of 2009 for me.

PET and CT Scans

Within a few days, I was back at the hospital's radiology department for the subject scans. Approximately one hour after drinking something to help show certain areas in the scans, I was brought to the scanning lab.

The equipment used for the scans was very similiar to an MRI machine. For one of the scans, I was given an IV of F-18 FDG for imaging procedures.

This was right before the big Memorial Day (summer kickoff) weekend and I was told that the reports would be read by the next morning.