Dennis wrote:
I am flattered and honored that people actually follow this blog, and based on input from several directions, I guess it is time to add an update about recent health events.One main aspect of my physical condition just now is that I am retaining fluids in a major way. This is a real nuisance, in that my lower extremities are just filling up. I look like one of those old people you see with the swollen ankles and legs (and other body parts, too, that I prefer not to discuss). It’s pretty comical, if you have a certain sense of humor, but mostly is a real hindrance. Basics such as putting on socks and pants, or climbing a flight of stairs or lifting your legs into bed become major accomplishments.
My stomach is swollen to what I would call a serious beer belly. I have a whole new sympathy for women pregnant in the later months (and cowboys with a real beer gut and a large cowboy belt buckle). No pair of pants fits, since there is so single spot where the pants will stay.
The partial remedy is that every week or so I go in to have my stomach drained. It is a miraculous procedure. They stick a needle into my stomach and literally drain out four or five liters. That is more than 10 pounds of fluid suddenly gone from my midsection, and boy, do I feel like a new man right after it happens. There is some discomfort to the procedure, of course, (nothing is a free ride here), but it still is a wonderful thing to me.
As to where the fluid is coming from, there could be several sources, so it is a little hard to trouble shoot this and just stop it at the origin. Evidence in this case shows that the fluid is primarily being caused by the tumor itself. The fluid does have cancer cells in it. This is not welcome news, of course, but hardly surprising. There have also been some suspicious spots that have shown up on the liver. We are also keeping an eye on a blood clot that has shown up in my right leg. This can become serious, of course, if it were to migrate or float to some more dangerous spot. I am giving myself a daily shot of blood thinner just for prevention.
So, it is obvious, at this stage, that we are well past the description that the tumor is “advanced but localized”. Clearly the cancer is spreading beyond the pancreas itself. The question on the table is, what to do next?
Now comes the guessing game. Would more chemo be effective in combating the tumor? Maybe yes, maybe no. Only about 10% of patients respond well to chemo treatments, anyway. And, just how effective might it be? So you get those great kinds of questions . . . . Would you rather take the chance of living for 10 months, but with reduced quality of life because of the treatments, or would you take your chances for 6 months or less but without chemical side effects. Good questions, and you never get to know the real answers.
And I haven’t put aside completely that we might get a treatment that could have dramatic success as its result. So, as always, I am hoping for the best, but also realistically trying to get ready for the worst.
And, which alternative treatments to try, if any. And what to do with my time? What pleasures to indulge in, what art to make, what to do with the family, what activities are worthwhile, and which ones might I not be able to even do in a few months.
For now, we are planning to start up chemo again right after the New Year, but I would not be truthful if I didn’t say that all these questions are big on my mind, every day. So that is my update for now. As always, I will do my best to describe my thoughts and this whole adventure in as honest and straightforward way as I can.
Dennis
