Pain revisited

I've talked to Jeanine today and her new pain meds have made a difference. She isn't in the constant horrific pain. We'll see where it goes from here.

re. pain

Jeanine saw her Oncologist this afternoon and he has brought out one of the heavy guns. He has prescribed another pain med for her and also ordered an anti-inflammatory for her. She has come to the point where any movement causes a great deal of pain.

He has also ordered a scan to see what's happening. He said it could go one of two ways... the tumors are growing or are shrinking. He has also suggested that she go get RFA on a spot where there is a lesion close to the lungs. He thinks that there might be inflammation in that area.

We're hoping and praying that her tumors are shrinking and that the pain is an indication of this.

Another update on Jeanine

Jeanine received the first of her new treatments on Friday, the 17th. With the switch in treatments, she has had a huge change in the amount of pain in her liver. She said that she has never been able to categorize her pain in the traditional 1 - 10 used in the hospital, but she says that the pain she is experiencing now is similar to the pain she feels immediately after a major surgery.

She is still trying to work, but she spent Monday at home and was late to work yesterday. She worked today also. She is relying heavily on her pain meds to make life livable. She has tried to get hold of her doctor's office or the PA, but has never been able to speak to anyone. Finally today she just called and got an appointment with her Oncologist for late Friday afternoon.

She has not asked, but I am sure that she would appreciate your prayers. Thanks.

Jeanine's results

Jeanine went to the doctor today to get her results from her CAT scan. The news was a mixed bag of good and bad.

The growth of the tumors in her kidney has slowed. From March to May, the cancer made a wild dash through her liver, with some tumors growing by as much as 50%. From May to September, it has grown, but only by 15%. There is no evidence of cancer in any of her other organs.

That having been said, the doctor has suggested that he change the class of drugs being used to slow/stop the progression of her disease. He said that he would like her to try a drug that is used for many cancers - Avastin. It is supposed to restrict the blood flow to the cancer cells. Jeanine decided to follow his advice. It will be administered intravenously biweekly. She will begin the treatment on Friday.

Jeanine has pain in her liver and is able to control it with pain meds. The doctor said that if they can isolate where the pain is originating, she might want to consider RFA (radiofrequency ablation) to kill the cancer cells. It cannot be done to every tumor, but if they can figure out where the major pain is originating, then she can have some relief.

Jeanine is handling this latest development pretty well. She headed back to work after the doctor's appointment.

My toes

Friday, my DIL and I went to our friendly neighborhood nail salon and this is what I got...



Here's a close-up...



Not the prettiest feet, by any means, but this is one way to make them look better. (Notice my sliver sized toenails.)

Jeanine

Jeanine went in for a CAT scan on Tuesday. It went well. She will get the results on Tuesday. I let you know more then.