Well, after spending all of last week Mon thru Saturday in Sewickley Valley Hospital with a case of acute mucousitis, I'm now back to my normal routine of daily radiation.
The onset of the mucousitis actually started the weekend before my admission to the hospital. What I thought was just side effects from the radiation turned out to be much more. It started with difficulty in swallowing both liquids and solids, and the swelling of my tongue. As the weekend progressed it had gotten to the point that I could barely open my mouth to brush my teeth or insert a spoon with a small amount of applesauce on it. My tongue had swollen to the point that the inside ring of my lower teeth actually made an impression into the sides of my tongue!
When I went for my treatment on the following Monday, the receptionist greeted me and asked, as she always does, how was I feeling? I gave her a thumbs down as I was now unable to speak and went to the changing room. Kelly the nurse came and told me that I was going to see Dr. Sciccutella first before receiving treatment, and this was reversed as to how it usually went. After a brief examination by Dr. Sciccutella, she said she was going to send me upstairs immediately to see the Oncologist, Dr. Baliban for further evaluation as she felt I needed to be in the hospital.
Dr. Baliban, after examining me, concurred with Dr. Sciccutella and got the process rolling. Once all the paperwork was completed, we departed immediately for the hospital. Incidentally my weight had dropped eight pounds from Monday to Monday but I suspect most of that came off during the weekend.
The hospital admission process went very smoothly and by 11:45 A.M. I was in my hospital garb and in bed.
During the week I was pumped up with the usual fluids along with antibiotics and after blood work was done I even received a two unit blood transfusion.
By Wednesday round the clock tube feedings had commenced, a one hour drip feeding every four hours, so again there was no rest for the weary. The feedings occurred at 6:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Between the hour that it took to administer the food to the time it took to set up and take down and the time I had to remain in an upright position I would average about 2 hours sleep in between feedings. Mind you also that the nurses were not always punctual about the times. Sometime they would start a feeding maybe 20 to 30 minutes late, but the next one would start right on schedule!
By Thursday I was able to take some liquids and soft foods through my mouth and also was able to brush my teeth with much less pain then when I had arrived.
I was given shots for pain and that allowed me to get some much needed sleep.
Dr. Sherry examined me at the hospital and said I had chemical burns from the chemo in the
back of my throat along with thrush on my tongue.
All in all the care I received in the hospital was excellent. They did a great job making me feel as comfortable as possible and for that I am grateful to the nursing staff!
Chemo is now on hold until next Wednesday and although I an able to swallow I am still taking the liquid nutrition by the feeding tube to make sure I don't lose any more weight. I can eat some solid foods but in very small amounts, certainly not enough to maintain my weight. I'm also able to speak although it is not my normal voice and that is probably because of the swelling in my throat which probably won't go away totally for a couple of months.
That's it for now, day 16 of 35 was completed today of the radiation so I am almost halfway home.
Thanks to each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers and may God Bless each of you and keep you in good health!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
A new battle: chemical mucosa
Tom's recovery over the past 2 days has been optimistic although it appears he will be staying in the hospital for a few more days, at least. The doctor's diagnosis of his present condition is not thrush, as we had thought originally, rather it is chemical mucosa. Essentially, the chemo drugs aren't just working on the cancer but the healthy tissue as well. As a result Tom's mouth and throat and have developed lesions, this condition in general terms is often referred to as mucositis. The chemo and radiation treatments have been placed on a hold for now until the lesions begin to heal. Because of the pain in his mouth and throat Tom is still not speaking much. He is receiving pain medication, antibiotics, and additional treatments to minimize the pain and discomfort and ward off any infections. He's still not out of the woods on this one but for now he is in less pain than before. Tom knows so many are thinking of him...thank you for keeping him in your hearts and prayers during this journey!
-posted by Teresa Higgins (Tom's sister)
teresa.higgins@unco.edu
-posted by Teresa Higgins (Tom's sister)
teresa.higgins@unco.edu
Monday, October 29, 2007
An Uphill Battle
This posting was created by Teresa, Tom's sister.
Tom's cancer challenges have been quite rough lately. To date he has undergone 4 rounds of chemo and 13 radiation treatments. Suppressing the immune system and then walloping the body with industrial strength medicines can leave one's body feeling a little beaten up!
In the past 2 weeks he was hospitalized after passing out when he got up out of bed. Turned out he had low potassium and magnesium levels and dehydration. That hospital stay lasted 2 days and once he got into the habit of eating bananas more regularly and keeping track of his water intake all seemed OK and the treatment went on. A week later Tom blacked out again and it seems that time low blood pressure may have been the culprit. Now he tries to maintain his activity level and salt his food more often!
Over this past weekend the side effects of the radiation/chemo appear to have emerged in full force. The multiple doses of radiation have made Tom's throat extremely swollen and sensitive. He has been experiencing a lot of discomfort, pain, a swollen tongue and difficulty in swallowing....and he's got 22 more radiation and 3 more chemo treatments to go! Today when he went to begin the radiation treatments for the week the doctors took an assessment of his vitals which included a slight fever and possible infection and determined that he needed a break from the treatment and time to recoup his energy to fight this battle and eliminate any infections. So it was off to hospital again, this time to get Tom on antibiotics, additional blood work, increased fluids and further lessons on using the feeding tube and making the most of a liquid diet. With so much of his throat and mouth either swollen or sensitive it has also made talking extremely difficult so we rely on Tom's sign language skills (which basically consists of air-writing out words) to figure out what he needs. Cancer is battled by many and Tom's army is huge, consisting of an exceptional team of doctors, nurses, technicians and support staff!
Through the challenges Tom maintains a sense of humor and positive attitude. I'm sure his optimistic outlook is fueled by the well wishes he receives regularly. All the thoughtful expressions of concern and care by Tom's relatives, friends, and colleagues are so greatly appreciated - please keep them coming! Tom may not be able to respond to your cards and notes but he reads them all and is genuinely touched by your encouraging words of support and thoughtful gestures.
Finally, cancer is an insidious disease that affects the whole family, not just the cancer patient. So many thanks to all who have kept Tom's immediate family in their thoughts and prayers, especially our Dad who has carried the responsibility as Tom's primary caregiver through most of this battle. We feel blessed with the support extended to each of us by so many of Tom's acquaintances!
Stay tuned to hear from Tom soon...for now, keep those well-wishes coming!
Tom's cancer challenges have been quite rough lately. To date he has undergone 4 rounds of chemo and 13 radiation treatments. Suppressing the immune system and then walloping the body with industrial strength medicines can leave one's body feeling a little beaten up!
In the past 2 weeks he was hospitalized after passing out when he got up out of bed. Turned out he had low potassium and magnesium levels and dehydration. That hospital stay lasted 2 days and once he got into the habit of eating bananas more regularly and keeping track of his water intake all seemed OK and the treatment went on. A week later Tom blacked out again and it seems that time low blood pressure may have been the culprit. Now he tries to maintain his activity level and salt his food more often!
Over this past weekend the side effects of the radiation/chemo appear to have emerged in full force. The multiple doses of radiation have made Tom's throat extremely swollen and sensitive. He has been experiencing a lot of discomfort, pain, a swollen tongue and difficulty in swallowing....and he's got 22 more radiation and 3 more chemo treatments to go! Today when he went to begin the radiation treatments for the week the doctors took an assessment of his vitals which included a slight fever and possible infection and determined that he needed a break from the treatment and time to recoup his energy to fight this battle and eliminate any infections. So it was off to hospital again, this time to get Tom on antibiotics, additional blood work, increased fluids and further lessons on using the feeding tube and making the most of a liquid diet. With so much of his throat and mouth either swollen or sensitive it has also made talking extremely difficult so we rely on Tom's sign language skills (which basically consists of air-writing out words) to figure out what he needs. Cancer is battled by many and Tom's army is huge, consisting of an exceptional team of doctors, nurses, technicians and support staff!
Through the challenges Tom maintains a sense of humor and positive attitude. I'm sure his optimistic outlook is fueled by the well wishes he receives regularly. All the thoughtful expressions of concern and care by Tom's relatives, friends, and colleagues are so greatly appreciated - please keep them coming! Tom may not be able to respond to your cards and notes but he reads them all and is genuinely touched by your encouraging words of support and thoughtful gestures.
Finally, cancer is an insidious disease that affects the whole family, not just the cancer patient. So many thanks to all who have kept Tom's immediate family in their thoughts and prayers, especially our Dad who has carried the responsibility as Tom's primary caregiver through most of this battle. We feel blessed with the support extended to each of us by so many of Tom's acquaintances!
Stay tuned to hear from Tom soon...for now, keep those well-wishes coming!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Radiation Days 2 & 3
Well, day 2 of radiation was cancelled on Wednesday because of a power failure the day before at the cancer center. They couldn't get the machine back online until around 2:00 p.m. and my appointment was for 8:30 a.m. so I'm a day behind what I should be.
Thursday and Friday's treatments nos. 2 & 3 were pretty routing, except because of my face and neck being swollen, probably from the chemo, leaves me with a temporary waffle face after they remove the mask that is used to keep my head in a specific position on the table. It is bolted down pretty tightly, so much as to I cannot speak that's how tight it is on my lips.
So I now have the weekend off and treatment no. 4 will be Monday morning. Til then God Bless everyone for their thoughts and prayers!
Thursday and Friday's treatments nos. 2 & 3 were pretty routing, except because of my face and neck being swollen, probably from the chemo, leaves me with a temporary waffle face after they remove the mask that is used to keep my head in a specific position on the table. It is bolted down pretty tightly, so much as to I cannot speak that's how tight it is on my lips.
So I now have the weekend off and treatment no. 4 will be Monday morning. Til then God Bless everyone for their thoughts and prayers!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Radiation - Day 1 of 35
All in all my first radiation treatment went fairly well with the only discomfort being the mask covering my face to down below my collarbone. It is bolted down to the table and was so tight it actually left impressions in my forehead and chin. It gives you a suffocating feeling!
The treatment machine moves 360 degrees around your head and the radiation beams for my plan are inflicted at nineteen different angles. This will be consistent for the remaining 34 treatments. So it takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the complete treatment. They also take x-rays before beginning the treatment to make sure I am positioned correctly on the table to minimize the killing of too many good cells. There were no immediate side effects to the first treatment and none should start to appear until after the first or second week.
Following that I went to oncology for my chemo treatment which lasted about 7 hours. Fortunately there were no problems with the port this time which made me and the nurses staff quite pleased. I expect the normal side effects to take place over the next week as the dosage was increased a little bit to give as Dr. Balaban said, "More bang for your buck on the radiation treatments". So I guess it is kind of a booster to the radiation.
Radiation will continue tomorrow and through the rest of the week at 8:30 a.m. and continue
the following Mon- thru - Fri until we get through 35 treatments. Stay tuned for daily updates!
The treatment machine moves 360 degrees around your head and the radiation beams for my plan are inflicted at nineteen different angles. This will be consistent for the remaining 34 treatments. So it takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the complete treatment. They also take x-rays before beginning the treatment to make sure I am positioned correctly on the table to minimize the killing of too many good cells. There were no immediate side effects to the first treatment and none should start to appear until after the first or second week.
Following that I went to oncology for my chemo treatment which lasted about 7 hours. Fortunately there were no problems with the port this time which made me and the nurses staff quite pleased. I expect the normal side effects to take place over the next week as the dosage was increased a little bit to give as Dr. Balaban said, "More bang for your buck on the radiation treatments". So I guess it is kind of a booster to the radiation.
Radiation will continue tomorrow and through the rest of the week at 8:30 a.m. and continue
the following Mon- thru - Fri until we get through 35 treatments. Stay tuned for daily updates!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Going Nuclear
Well, it is now time for the final surge. Beginning tomorrow radiation begins at 8:45 a.m. followed by the first of my three last remaining chemo treatments. I'm currently scheduled for thirty five radiation treatments that will run Monday thru Fridays which should take me up to about Thanksgiving.
Chemo treatments will be one every three weeks and will be administered in a one day treatment. So the plan and schedule is in place to rid myself of this insurgent once and for all!
Chemo treatments will be one every three weeks and will be administered in a one day treatment. So the plan and schedule is in place to rid myself of this insurgent once and for all!
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