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Bugle
New User
Joined: 15 Sep 2008
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:47 pm Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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Hi Crystal,
We're waiting for the biopsy and mri scan results, but it looks like my father has pancreatic cancer with liver mets. He typically has back and abdominal pain as well as extreme fatigue and weight loss. We're hoping to get an excellent oncologist this week to guide us through the next phase -- targeted treatment. We're surrounding him with love and letting him do everything he wants (which isn't much). But we never say - have a rest or do this or don't do that. We let him find his own balance. We try to enjoy every day to the full -- whether we do nothing or have visitors or go out shopping. No major events. Above all, we're surrounding him with love.
For the first time in my life I am treating myself very gently - I let myself laugh or cry.
take care of yourself.
Emma. |
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LOVE4MOMMA
Regular
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Location: Kentucky
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:07 pm Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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Mom is in recovery from the ERCP and doing well. They removed the #7 stint, that was blocked, and put in a #10 stint. She should feel better soon!!!! I did find out that a normal billirubin is less than 1.5 and mom's billirubin was 10!! WOW!! That should go down and color should go back to normal soon. I thank God all went well. Amen!!
_________________
Crystal
I love my momma!!
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Cynthia |
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LOVE4MOMMA
Regular
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Location: Kentucky
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dllfb
Regular
Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 43
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:51 pm Post subject: good news |
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| So glad to read that your mom is doing so much better. May God keep her in his loving care! |
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LOVE4MOMMA
Regular
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Location: Kentucky
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| Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:21 am Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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I couldn't get a hold of mom yesterday morning for like 3 hours. Finally she called and didn't sound so good. She seemed confused and upset. She said she did feel right and didn't feel good at all. I checked on her again about an hour later and she still wasn't feeling well. She was hot and cold and hot and cold. She said she had no energy at all and could hardly put one foot in front of the other. She asked me to call her Dr. to see what to do. The Dr's office called her and said she needed to go to the ER. I left work and drove to get mom to take her. Got to her house and she wouldn't get off the couch. I asked her if I needed to get Chad to help her out to the car. She started to get up then.
They think she is feeling bad because of a combination of having an infection (being on antibiotics), being in the hospital, having the stent replaced, dehydration, etc.
They gave her fluids and she left the hospital about 10:15pm last night. She was feeling much better. I talked to Randolph this morning and he said she got up around 7am to take her medicine and went back to sleep. She is still sleeping as of 10:45am.
I sure hope she gets the rest she needs and gets to feeling better. I love her so so so much!!
_________________
Crystal
I love my momma!!
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Cynthia |
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LOVE4MOMMA
Regular
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Location: Kentucky
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LOVE4MOMMA
Regular
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Location: Kentucky
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| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:22 am Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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Mom had a follow up with her dr. yesterday and was able to get chemo!! We got goooood news. Moms tumor marker (CA19-9) went down to 16,019 (9/11/0 . It was 43,999 on 8/8/08. So chemo is working and doing its job!!
_________________
Crystal
I love my momma!!
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Cynthia |
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LOVE4MOMMA
Regular
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Location: Kentucky
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| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:37 pm Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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I haven't updated in a while. Here's whats been going on...
Moms tumor marker (CA19-9) went down again to 13,917 from blood work from (9/25/0!!!! She felt great for about 3 weeks or so!!
I went to see mom after church on Sunday. I took one look and knew...she's jaundice again!! She's been feeling so good for about 3 weeks or so and now another complication. RRRRRRR!! Sorry, it frustrates me. I want her to feel good all the time. She had a rough night Saturday, having chills and nausea and just an overall feeling of yuck. So, she called the dr. Monday morning and they called back and told her to get a CT scan. We actually ran into the dr. after getting the CT and he believes it's the stint again. We saw Dr. Eldridge (her oncologist) yesterday morning to get results from CT.
Ok, here goes...
Mom's stuff
Weight--124 lbs.
Blood Pressure 134/73
Temp-- 96.5
These are all good things. Mom has kept her weight pretty consistant for about a month now!! Dr. is pleased with that.
CA 19-9 (tumor marker)-- 15,000 (went up a little).
CT scan showed what we thought as far as another blockage in the bile duct. The stint will need to be replaced. Mom has an appt. with her gastro Dr. at 1:45pm today to go over this. CT showed kidneys are normal and lung bases are clear. CT also showed that one of the lessions, or tumors, in her liver has "clearly increased in size since her last scan on 9/4/08." This is one of those things we didn't want to hear. The Dr said he thought the Gemzar(weekly infusion) "was losing its gas". Mom just started Tarceva (daily chemo pill). Dr. is hoping that the combo of Gemzar and Tarceva will gas things back up to take care of this. It made mom mad, and she said it makes her want to fight that much harder. I'm glad she a fighter!! You go Mom!!
Mom also has an appt with her orthopedic dr. at 3pm today. She was plunging her toilet about a week and a half ago and felt something pop in her sternum(chest). Gotta get it checked out. She's been in more pain with that than anything lately!! Poor thing.
My lovely aunt Amy is meeting mom for her appts. today so she's not alone!! I'm so glad. I'm sure she could've gone alone, but I'm glad Amy is going to keep her company. Thank you Amy!!
Thank you for your continued prayers for Mom!! She is so special to all of us and a one of a kind.
Love,
Crystal
_________________
Crystal
I love my momma!!
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Cynthia |
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LOVE4MOMMA
Regular
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Location: Kentucky
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| Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 4:10 pm Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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Since my last post... mom's jaundice has been fluctuating, so they didn't think the stint was blocked. They think there are other smaller bile ducts not funtioning or draining properly.
So, mom went to get chemo friday and it was a no go. She's still really jaundice and lots of diareaha. Urine is almost brown from the jaundice. They came and took lots of blood to run a CBC (Complete Blood Count), CMP (Comprehensive Metabolic Panel), and Liver function panel. The nurse, Kim (wonderful), noticed mom was dehydrated. We advised her of all symptoms. Nurse Kim said she would talk to the dr. She came back and said...no Gemzar (chemo infusion) today and stop Tarceva (daily chemo pill) for a week or until further notice. She said that mom is having side effects from cancer and treatment and they are compounding on each other and making mom sick and weak. She said her body needs a break to gain some strength. They gave her 3 hours of IV fluids. They started with a steroid (Decodron--sp?), then Aloxi (anti nausea--can help for about 4 days), and of course the 3 hours of fluids!!!! They told us to call on Monday or Tuesday to let them know either way how mom is feeling. If she is feeling better, she can start back on treatment. If she is not feeling better she will go in to see the Dr. to see what to do next. She's been back and forth all weekend as far as how she's feeling. She is verrrry tired most of the time. She has times where she gets a burst of energy, but for the most part she is extremely tired. Her speech is even slurred, I'm guessing from being so tired. She is calling the nurses line right now to let them know how things are going, and to let them know that she is still not quite up to par. She talked to the nurses and they made an appt with the dr. tomorrow.
Here are some stats...
CA 19-9 (tumor marker)-- 20,000 (went up from previous count of 15,000)
Weight--117 lbs. (she's lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks)
Here are her numbers from her CBC...
WBC 7.0 NORMAL RANGE
RBC 2.99 LOW
HGB 9.4 LOW
HCT 27.1 LOW
MCV 90.6 NORMAL RANGE
MCH 31.4 NORMAL RANGE
MCHC 34.7 NORMAL RANGE
RDW 19.9 HIGH
PLT 126.00 LOW
MPV 8.8 NORMAL RANGE
Is this the beginning of the end? I'm so scared. Any help would be appreciated!!
Thank you
_________________
Crystal
I love my momma!!
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Cynthia |
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brainman
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Oct 2005
Posts: 5617
Location: Tennessee
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LOVE4MOMMA
Regular
Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 46
Location: Kentucky
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 3:39 pm Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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Hello Everyone!! I went to the Dr. with mom and so did my uncle Mark. I wasn't going to go. I was going to go in to work, but something kept pulling at my heart to go. Mom didn't really want to drive, so that locked in my decision to go. I'm so glad that God pulled me in that direction to go. It wasn't a very good visit. I will give you the facts first...
Weight--120 lbs.
BP--137/65
Temp--97.7
Pulse--82
CMP (Comp. Metabolic Panel) results...
Glucose 135 little high
Creatinine .40 little low
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 18 normal
Sodium 137 normal
Potassium 3.5 normal
Chloride 101 normal
Carbon Dioxide 24 normal
Calcium 8.9 normal
Protein 5.8 low
Albumin 2.9 low
Globulin 2.9 normal
A/G Ratio 1.0 low
Bilirubin, total 13.2 high
Alkaline Phosphatase 475 high
AST (SGOT) 121 high
ALT (SGPT) 159 high
Bilirubin, direct 9.34 high
Dr. said that the Gemzar and Tarceva (chemo) is no longer working. Mom is going to start going to a Palliative Care Center. They will help her with pain management and other symptoms. They may be able to do a nerve block in her back to alleviate pain. The doctor said that it is a good idea to go ahead and get Hospice involved. They can help with so much right now (insurance, finances, meds, medical equipment, etc, etc.). Mom is continuing her herbal treatment and has faith that will help. She still has a great attitude!! She got her picc line taken out yesterday!! She was excited about that. She is excited for the holidays coming up to see everyone. We are going to continue to pray for mom to stay strong and be comfortable. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, but I am going to stay strong for my momma!! I love her with allllll my heart!!
_________________
Crystal
I love my momma!!
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Cynthia |
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jessica026
Regular
Joined: 17 Jan 2008
Posts: 47
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| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:35 am Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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oh crystal somehow i missed this..I am so sorry i have been sooo busy with work and the boys 
do u have an update? anything new?...email me when u have time ok?
Love and strength girl! |
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RayV
New User
Joined: 21 Nov 2008
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject: re: Hope and Fear |
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Crystal - I cannot thank you and the other contributors to this site, enough for the helpful, open messages you have been posting. My dad was diagnosised in August, with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and we have been on the same roller coaster ever sense. It wasnt until I found this blog and read yours and others messages - that things are starting to make some sense. I am sure you have helped many.
thanks so much
RayV |
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jessica026
Regular
Joined: 17 Jan 2008
Posts: 47
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| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:18 pm Post subject: Re: Hope and Fear |
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| hi Crystal!..just wondering how things are with your mom...please update us when you have time ok? |
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wishIcoulddosomething
Regular
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:55 pm Post subject: Crystal's Mother |
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Crystal's mother passed away after the New Year. If you go to the CarePage link that Crystal provided above you can get more information about Crystal and her mother's journey. I followed their story there and her mother was truly inspiring and had the sweetest smile. My heart goes out to Crystal and her family during this difficult time.
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Wishing the best for all who are dealing with cancer themselves or in their family.
Diane
Ex-husband diagnosed April 2006 Stage 4 - mets to liver, treatments FOLFOX & FOLFIRI & ERBITUX - responded to treatment for awhile, lost his battle with cancer on April 22, 2008. |
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