I wish there was something better to say...

but grim news today. I had a PET scan done on Monday, mostly because it was time for a follow-up, but also because I have been really short of breath and coughing. It showed that there was a lot of fluid in my left lung and dr's decided it needed to be drained asap. So I go in yesterday, Wednesday, morning to have it removed. Now, as long as I know what will be happening, procedures usually don't bother me too bad, but since this was such short notice, I didn't get a chance to read up on it. The nurse and dr both were great, and the procedure went ok, until I started coughing and couldn't get it under control, that was very scary! He had to pull the tube out before he was ready to, but still ended draining 1 whole quart and 1/2 of another of fluid! Needless to say that I can breath so much better now! Then today I had an appointment with my oncologist to get the results from Monday's scan. No good. Seems that this medicine, Ixempra, has stopped working for me just like the others have done. It's almost like my body is making itself immune to the chemos as fast as it can. On the last scan results, my liver was making progress and actually shrinking back to the size it should be, but this scan showed that it was doing right the opposite and starting to swell again. The tumor in my chest wall had went from shrinking down to 3cm to growing to 10cm. The chest tumor is what was allowing to the fluid to gather, and the dr said that it looked liked I would be having it tapped and drained quite often in the future, but thankfully there is a procedure that can be done to prevent this, you can read all about it here I have an appointment 1/13 to consult with the dr that will be doing this and hopefully get a date set up. As for what comes next, both my oncologists are trying to find a facility that are running clinical trials that I can get into. They are leaning toward DUKE right now, but there are still other options.

Just some rambling...

I don't have a whole lot to write about, but still wanted to write something anyway. It has been close to 3wks since my last treatment, next one is due this coming Tuesday, Nov. 10th. I've been really really tired since the last one, had a lot of minor aching all over, and my fingers are almost out of commission period! All of the ends of my fingers feel like they have been smashed in a car door, but my pointer finger on the left hand is really giving me trouble. It's so sore and just feels like it could bust open, I almost wish it would! And the one on my right hand seems to be getting in the same shape. Looks like I might have to ask for a break from chemo to let my hands heal some. I have a hard time opening just about anything, and even typing this is uncomfortable. The chemo in the past has made my nails come loose from the nail beds, but that's as far as they went, they didn't actually come all the way off, but I'm pretty sure that the nail on my pointer finger won't be hanging on much longer, pun intended, lol!! I know that the weather is changing, and has a lot to do with me staying cold lately, but I can usually transition to cold weather better than I have been this year. I have been freezing for the past few weeks! I just cannot get, and stay, warm! It could be one of the chemos, I plan on asking when I see the dr Tuesday. I guess a lot of it has to do with the fact that there isn't much hair on my head to keep the heat in, too! LOL! Well, my finger says its time to stop rambling and give it a rest!

Good News!

We finally got some good news on my scans! My spleen is back to normal size, my liver is going back to normal, the place in my chest wall is dead and there are no new places showing up! The power of prayer shows again! Thank you Lord! So thank all of you that have been praying, keep up the good work! We will continue with treatment just like we've been doing. It won't seem like such a task now, knowing that it's working.
Also the Komen race is this weekend and I'm looking forward to that! If you had planned on signing up to walk and didn't make it before they stopped online registration, you can still sign up. There are two ways, you can go to Dick's Sporting Goods in Kingsport on Saturday between 3-7, or you can register at the race on Sunday. Be sure to let them know you want to sign up for my team "Kristi's Krusade"!
Again, thanks for all the prayers, but keep em coming, I'm not out of the woods just yet!

Komen race info...

Ok everybody, my former teacher, Cathy Combs, has been so great as to volunteer to be my team captain this year and get things together. Here is the link to the team page Kristi's Krusades so you can make a donation in my honor, or even better, you can join the team and walk! All the information you will need to donate or register will be there on the site. Please donate so they can get closer to a cure, you really don't know what this means to me.

a much asked for update...

So sorry that it's been so long, I didn't realize that it had been almost 2 months. The past two months have held a lot, good and bad. I got my first dose of my new chemo, ixempra, which is an infusion that I will get every 3 wks. Also, the same day I started that, I started another chemo, a pill called xeloda, and I take it twice a day for two weeks, take a break for two weeks, then start it again. So far it hasn't lined up where I take the two together since the first dose, and it is a good thing! It really got me down and out, not to mention everything else that was going on within the same week. I got that treatment on a Tuesday, didn't start feeling bad til Thursday, missed two days of school that week, Doug's dad passed away Monday morning, I had graduation Tuesday, then all the funeral stuff. I was exhausted! Felt horrible that I wasn't able to be much support for Doug, wasn't able to go with him and the family to make arrangements, and wasn't able to go to the burial. The chemo was just too much for me that time and timing was terrible. Did you notice I added graduation in the mix? Yep, I finally graduated, and I am so proud of myself. Haven't been able to go to work yet, my white blood count stays low most of the time and I can't be around a lot of people, a downfall of ixempra. Also since the last time I posted, we found out we are getting to moved! Doug will be taking over his aunt and grandmother's house (grandmother passed away almost 4yrs ago, and his aunt passed away just over a year ago.) But the house has so much stuff in it, it will take a while to get it cleaned out, not to mention the few little upgrades we would like to have done. There was a water leak in one of the bathrooms a while back and the floor had to be replaced, that's his current project. So we have have been really busy with that. So that's the past two months in a nutshell. I know that a lot of people have been asking family and friends, asking me through email and facebook, and it makes me feel great that so many people care, so I apologize for letting it go so long without updating. All I can say is that I will try not to let it happen again.

Scratch that!

No treatment today. Something about one of the drugs hadn't been approved by insurance. Then when I get out of the dr, I get a call from the specialty pharmacy saying they would ship my meds to me and I should get them Monday! So if all goes well, we will start on Tuesday. I think it's kinda silly that they are shipping it to my home address when I have to turn right around and take it with be to the dr office. That's pretty much all the news I have for now, just wanted to post this quick update while it was on my mind.

New treatment starts tomorrow!

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I'm so ready to start, because being on no treatment at all really messes with your mind! I can't help but think about the cancer growing and spreading and growing and spreading. Plus, every little twitch and pain sends me into panic mode, thinking that it has spread somewhere new. And as ironic as it sounds, I think chemo makes me feel better, it takes the pains away. Then there is the part of me that is dreading the side effects. I was just reading up on one of them that I will be starting tomorrow, and the side effect that jumped out at me the most was the hair loss. It was almost like it was waiving it's hands and sticking out it's tongue saying "Ha Ha, you are gonna lose it again!!" Not to say that there is much to lose, it's not even an inch long. Then there is the fatigue, and the aches, and all the other common ones. I'm tired! I'm physically tired, exhausted, and I'm mentally tired! I'm tired of feeling bad all the time. I'm tired of wondering if the treatment will work. I'm tired of putting on a happy face to keep from a tidal wave of pity washing over me. It's hard to remember to turn it all over to God, and I know I can and that's what I should do, but it's just another one of those things you feel like you are suppose to be taking care of. One of the reasons I've been so physically tired is I've been running a fever for forever, it seems. Every evening my fever wants to go up, no other symptoms, sometimes there are chills, and sometimes there are not. I've been to the ER and in the hospital on two different occasions, but they cannot find the source of the fever. It gets kinda frustrating when you get fussed at by your oncologist for not going to the ER when it goes up, but when I do go, they can't find anything. But anyway, I got a call yesterday from my onc's nurse letting me know that the MRI looked good! YAY!! The only thing that showed was a little bit of sinus in my right cheek, but that has been there for a while.
I can't imagine the stress that Doug is under. Not only is he having to take care of me and the kids, his dad is not doing well at all. Honestly, we didn't know if he would make it til we came home from Florida. His kidneys are just about done, not working hardly at all. He seems to be in a daze most of the time, but he will still talk to you. He's not eating hardly anything. So please just keep him in your prayers, also the whole family.