Second Round of Chemo is Done!

Steve had an appointment this week with his oncologist to go over his blood work and his CEA number is 12 right now… it was 11 last month. That’s GOOD! No big jump. So chemo will stay the same for another month (2 treatments).  The doctor scheduled a CT Scan and a Bone Scan the beginning of March before we see him again. If there is a 20% increase or there are new tumors, he’ll switch his chemo to the Oxiliplatian (for 6 months), if not then he’ll stay as he is for another month. That being said, it was a good appointment because he can keep going with this chemo for another month.  So we bought another month! In the meantime, we are going…

Steve completed his 3rd round of Chemo on Friday and it went well again.  We are very thankful that he’s not getting very sick with these treatments and I hope that continues to be the case.  He only had a few minor side effects once again… tired tingling in fingers when he touches cold stuff chills at night just one night (we noticed it again this time so it must be a side effect – but no fever) loss of appetite stomach was slightly upset but he took an anti-nausea pill and it helped and made him hungry And that’s about it.  The two pictures in this post are of the portable chemo unit and the bag it’s in.  It’s small so it doesn’t get…

I just wanted to post an update since I haven’t in a while.   I realize some people are afraid to ask, but seriously you can always ask us how Steve is doing.  We don’t mind talking about it.  It’s our life now. The girls went to camp the last week of August, right before school started.  It was a camp that is only for children who’s parents have battled cancer/ have cancer.  It’s called Camp Kesem and it’s a free one week overnight camp. When we first heard of it, I immediately thought how great it would be for the girls to meet other children who have a life like theirs and to hear their stories.  But I figured they would NEVER go away for…

I knew it had been a while since I updated this site, but I didn’t realize it had been 6 months!  The reason I haven’t updated in the past 6 months is there hasn’t really been a significant change….. which isn’t a bad thing when you are stage 4! This past week, Steve had his last follow up for the year so I thought it was a good time to share how he’s doing. His CEA number is holding at 11, which is low and good.  He had a bone scan earlier this month because he was having some back pain and his last scan still showed a spot on his vertebrae.  I won’t lie, this scared me.   I was more worried than Steve was. …

Steve finished his 8th round of chemo about a week ago.  This was the 2nd round of chemo with the reduced 5-FU (along with a reduction of all meds due to his weight loss).   The first time he didn’t see much of a difference as far as side effects go, but the second time he did. The 5-FU is responsible for the mouth sores and the tingling in his hands, fingers and feet mostly.  I guess it’s also responsible for the exhaustion because this last round he wasn’t as tired either.  He thought we has getting a mouth sore but it never really turned into one.  And his taste buds finally came back this weekend.  When he woke up Friday morning and realize that we…

We saw our 2nd opinion doctor today who is the best in RI and came HIGHLY recommended by many.  He agreed with our current Oncologist and thinks this chemo regimen is really the best way to start.  And then see what happens in 2-3 months when they do the first scan.  At that point he said if it isn’t working, we should think about something else.  He’d be more than happy to talk with us then but sees no reason to do anything else right now. Knowing he feels the same way makes us even more confident that this is the best thing for Steve.  And we really like our current Oncologist so we’ll be staying with him.  However, our 2nd opinion doctor also said…