Surgery Notes

Matthew visited with the Oncologist last Friday.  We got a bit more information from his surgery, partly due to getting a copy of all the surgical notes. Here is some of the information.  Some of it might be a recap.
1)The liver tumor was removed with clean margins.  40% of the cancer cells were dead.
2) They removed several lymph nodes, all of which, were clean
3) They found a nodule on his diaphragm that came back as cancerous.  The type of cancer was adenocarcinoma and was a metastasis of the colon cancer.  They removed this nodule.  I found that the difference between a tumor and a nodule is the size (this was pretty small). 
4) His gall bladder was clean, but they removed it (maybe it was in the way?).

He is starting to gain a bit more energy, but still tires very easily.  He actually went out on Saturday evening and spent some time with friends for the first time since the surgery.  Jeffrey and Stephen spent 4 days there last week (and then stopped to visit us), which Matthew seemed to enjoy. This also seemed to lift his spirits a bit.  

The doctor said that he should be ready to start chemo in just another week or so, however, he told Matthew he could wait a couple more weeks if he didn't feel ready yet.Right now, he is probably going to start chemo the week before Thanksgiving.  His chemo will follow the same pattern as last time.  He will do a large dose in the office on one day, and then go home with a pump for two more days.  This will repeat every other week for 4 months. 

Next week is our Dad's birthday!  He has a Halloween birthday (fitting right?) .  In honor of his upcoming birthday, and all the fun that is Halloween, I thought I would share this bit of fun.

Taking a Beating

Matthew has taken a beating today....but not from cancer.  This is a picture of Matthew with our friend Cindy's daughter (on the right--and her friend).  

He continues to improve.  He is still tired, but is improving.  Once he is completely healed he will have to have 6 more rounds of chemo.  

Emily has been visiting this weekend, and Jeffrey and Stephen are on their way into town.  Matthew has been enjoying the visits.  I will update when we know something new.

Chopped Liver?

Chopped liver?  I think not.  Matthew's liver is a Rockstar!  Tests show that it has already regenerated to 80% of full size.  This is in less than 3 weeks, and they were expecting it to take more like 6 weeks.  The biopsy of the liver tumor also showed that 40% of the cancer cells were dead.  This means that the chemo being used to treat the cancer is working really well.  

The one downside of his tests showed that his liver cavity is still not fully drained.  Furthermore, it has not drained evenly, so he had to go in today to have the drain repositioned.  This was a minor procedure, but still took most of their day.  However, when I talked to Matthew he was in pretty good spirits.  He said he was a bit sore, but nothing too bad.  

We are really pleased with is progress at this point.  Hopefully there will be even more good news to come soon.

Still Healing

Matthew has been home for several days now.  He is doing OK.  He is off of pain medication, which was tough.  He still has a drain in, which is draining about an ounce a day (yuck!).  He has also been giving is own heparin shot on daily basis.  Apparently this is very uncomfortable, and causes a burning sensation.  Before he left the hospital , they removed a couple of staples from his incision.  This is an open wound that he has to pack on a daily basis.  He has been very tired, and has spent very little time up and around.

He actually returned to MD Anderson today for a CT scan and more tests.  These are to check how the drains are doing, and to check other progress.  I am guessing we will get some results tomorrow.

I will post as soon as I have some more information.

This little piggy

This little piggy cried, wee, wee, wee all the way home!  Matthew is home.  I spoke with him in the car, and he sounded tired, but glad to be headed home. He has to go back in a couple of days for scans/tests/ etc.  He will have to have his tube removed, and his journey isn't over.  However, I believe this is a good place to stop, give thanks, and celebrate a bit!

There were definitely some Angels involved....knowing Matthew, what other kind would they be?

No need for a plumber!

 Dr. R. came about noon and did a leakage test on his drains. Basically she pumped fluid into the bottom drain to create a positive pressure there and pulled a vacuum on the top drain. It was important that there was no leakage between the two and if there was the pressure/vacuum would create a flow out of the upper tube. Good news – no leakage. His bowels have also shown some small signs of waking up, GROSS, but important. So, it looks like Matthew may get to go home tomorrow!

 

She then took out his staples and then the upper tube. Despite a pain shot just before starting all this, the tube removal was a pain level 10. Matthew will go home with the bottom tube still in place.  The remaining light has to be flushed once a day (squirt a syringe full of saline back up the tube).  He will have to come back in a week to get it removed. He will also need to have a heparin (blood thinner) shot once a day.

Here is a picture of his MD Anderson approved birthday cake....he looks thrilled doesn't he?

 

Mixed News

We had a video chat yesterday with Matthew for his birthday.  He actually seemed to be in pretty good spirits.  He was making jokes and trading silly faces with the kids.  That was really good to see.  He said he even got some MD Anderson approved cake.  I shared each of the birthday wishes for them, and he was very grateful and appreciative of them all. 

The CT scan results were not the best.  They scanned the two "pools" that were being drained.  The lower pool still showed a "residual blob" of old blood from the first surgery.  This will not drain very well.  The doctor may decide to try to flush the area by pushing saline through the drain into the cavity.  However, that is still undecided.

His bowel is not quite functioning yet, but the scan suggested that they may just need to try a larger dose of milk of magnesia.

The chest x-ray was not completely clear either. The bottom of one side did not look fully inflated or clear.  They want Matthew to use his Spirometer (this little tube thing you have to blow into) more frequently to exercise his lungs.

On the plus side, they were concerned about his bladder being enlarged, but the scan on that came back fine. His morning vitals were good.  His oxygen levels were running around 90% but they were up to 97%.  His pulse, which had been in the 120s, was down to about 86. 

He also attended Mass in the chapter this morning.  He walked down to the chapel on his own, which is probably as far as his usual walk around the 5th floor. However, he also was able to make it back about 45 minutes later. He was able to do this without having to take a pain pill right before the trip.

His overall pain levels seem to be down, and his spirits are better overall.  Mom reports that other than the walk, today was also the first day that he felt "up to" watching TV.  

Hopefully, tomorrow will bring some more good news.