Scan results and discharge

Hello all,

This blog post has good and bad news, so I'm going to get the bad news over with so we can all end this post on a positive note.

We received the results of Scott's CT scan from Tuesday, and the cancer has continued to spread while he was off of chemo.  To be very honest, I was braced for tough news - we knew there was a very good chance the cancer was progressing since he had to be off of chemo for so long.  I was not prepared to hear that it has now spread to his lungs and the lymph nodes in his chest.  There are also more tumors in his liver.  His Doctor says it may have been there for a long time, but only now are the spots big enough to see on the CT scan.  It does appear that radiation has stopped his pelvic tumor from growing any more, and the radiation is still "working" on killing the cancer cells in that area.  It was all devastating to hear, but Scott says he's not giving up and neither are we.  We're still swimming! 

He has now finished his chemo for the week and we have very high hopes for these drugs making a difference.  He will have more chemo in a couple weeks, and possibly a third week of chemo before doing more scans.  Then we'll see the affect this chemo has had.  If it is working, I believe he'll go through more, but we wont' know the plan until it's discussed at that time.  More radiation is not going to take place anytime soon - he cannot be off of chemo for that long, as he has to be off of chemo for several weeks in order to prepare for radiation, and then of course be off of it while undergoing the radiation.  Chemo is the primary focus, but between chemo weeks, his other focus will be physical therapy.  He has made lots of progress this week and is walking an average of three times a day.  Working with a Physical Therapist has been very good for him.  He calls her Nurse Ratched because she doesn't take any of his crap and makes him push through it.  I like her! :)   (I had to Google Nurse Ratched, by the way - I always thought it was Nurse Ratchet.  Yes - it's clear I've never seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)

So - on to the happy news - Scott is coming HOME tomorrow!  Chemo is done and he's staying overnight to receive his immune booster shot in the morning.  He should be home in the afternoon.  I can't wait to bring him home!

He has tolerated the chemo very well with not really any side effects to speak of.  He says these drugs make him feel "off", but it's so hard to understand what medicine is making him feel what way - he's on a lot of meds.

We now have a hospital bed smack in the middle of our living room (and it does NOT match my decor!) but I'm grateful we have that so that he can be comfortable as he continues to rehabilitate.  Starting on Monday or Tuesday, a Physical Therapist will be coming out to the house three times a week to continue working with him.

Also, the incisions from the pain pump surgery are continuing to heal well and are less painful for him.  He gets the stitches out on Monday.  His Pain Mgmt Doc has continued to increase the medication in the pump while decreasing his oral/IV meds.  He will still be on some oral meds for awhile, but should be continuing to decrease the amounts/frequency.  The pain pump is working.

There won't be a whole lot to update you all on for the next couple weeks, but I will do another post soon just to check in. 

Just keep swimming!
Amy