Written by Mary
”I’m ready.” That’s what Julie told me today when I tossed out another, “Maybe you could ask your doctor about...” She doesn’t want to go back [more]
First off, I'd like to begin by apologize for the length of this post. Obviously, you can just choose which part(s) you'd like to read and ignore the rest. I'd also like to [more]
Last Thursday, I went to the oncologist to get the results of my most recent abdominal CT scan. My stomach tumor has grown by almost 50%. That came as no surprise to me [more]
Scan results and some tough questions
Since my last blog post, I've made yet another trip to the hospital for Samsca. This was my fourth hospital visit since late July. Otsuka is making the process of getting the [more]
The ongoing battle with sodium
After my last Tecentriq treatment, I went to the hospital again to get more Samsca. I'd had my sodium checked that morning at my nephrologist's lab, and it was 123.
Once [more]
At least, we appear to be making progress. I spent a week in the hospital this last time trying to get my sodium under control. We tried the demeclocyline. As my nephrologist suspected, it didn’t work. So we went back to the Samsca. Continue reading »
I was expecting company for Christmas and was praying I’d stay out of the hospital. One of my sisters from Kansas City and her family were coming, as were my Dad and another sister who both live in Florida.
Last week, I was finally released from the hospital after another week-long stay. The drug I’m taking to keep the cancer under control (Keytruda) keeps making my sodium drop to critical levels. And the Samsca wasn’t working very well to bring it back up. Continue reading »
I’ve spent the last several weeks going round and round with my drug company, my insurance company, and the people who help with financial assistance at all of my doctors’ offices trying to get help paying for the drug that brings my sodium back up (Samsca). Continue reading »
Since taking a break didn’t seem to be in the cards, I decided to go with the flow, the first order of business being to get my esophagus reopened so I could eat again. Continue reading »
Yesterday, I went to see the oncologist to go over last week’s PET scan. The good news is, there’s no visible cancer. The bad news is, my sodium was down to 125, which means the cancer cells are still at work. And since chemo is no longer an option and there’s now no liver tumor to ablate, we have to find another way to stop them. Continue reading »
As of now, I’m officially done with chemo. Unfortunately, that’s not because I’m cured. My oncologist has decided I’m too sick for any more. I’m afraid I have to agree. Continue reading »
The last several weeks have been rough on me. I’ve spent around five of the last six in the hospital.
Because I’ve been so ill, my Orlando oncologist decided I was too sick to handle any more chemo. On the other hand, my sodium was dangerously low again and she had no other treatment options to offer me at the time. Continue reading »
A few days after my last hospitalization, I went in for my 5th surgery to dilate my esophagus so I could get back to eating again. The surgery was painful, but I was glad to get it over with. Continue reading »
“What’s is like to die?” is probably one of the biggest questions we have as humans. Although I still can’t answer that, I had a couple of close calls while in the hospital that I think are worth sharing. Continue reading »
