Appointment with Surgeons

Wendy took Kathy to see both of her surgeons last week. I will try to remember everything...I keep forgetting to update the blog. She saw Dr. Whiteford (Colon Surgeon) and Dr. White (I think that is his name, we have so many names to remember now! anyway, he is the liver surgeon). She really likes both of them and totally trusts their advice and opinions. The plan for now is for Kathy to have 6 rounds of chemotherapy (which will take 12 weeks) and then do surgery. They will be able to remove the spot on her liver and then do an ablasion. This method is 90% effective in removing all infected tissue. The colon surgery will still be the same as described before and they may even be able to operate at the same time. She was also told that she has more likely had cancer for 3-4 years. The liver surgeon said that it would take that long to travel from her colon. So if you are reading this and you don't get regular colonoscopies PLEASE DO! Kathy had a petscan this morning and is doing her 2nd round of chemo as I type. The petscan will show any more "hotspots" throughout her body. And obviously the hope is that there aren't any! She is feeling pretty good, didn't seem to have any major side effects from her first treatment. Her Rheumatiod Arthriitis is still really painful but the chemo will actually help with that. As soon as I know more I will post again but for now please continue to pray for her.

Results are in...treatment plan

Kathy saw Dr. O'Brien (Oncologist) this morning to review the CT scan and start chemotherapy. The liver biopsy is malignant. They also have to assume that the lungs are malignant as well. (a lung biopsy is too invasive, the nodule grew, and it is common for colon cancer to travel to the lungs) So...with all that said she will start chemotherapy today. She will go in for treatment every 2 weeks. After treatment she will go home with a pump for 2 days. In 2 months, or after 4 treatments they will do another scan to see how the liver and lungs are reacting to the medication. She will meet with the liver and colon surgeon next week. They will consult with Dr. O'Brien and decide when to do surgery. It is unknown right now if they will even do surgery on her liver. She is in good spirits and has a positive outlook, she is putting all of her trust in her doctors hands...and we feel like she is in the best hands possible.

Small update..Appointments scheduled

Kathy had her lower body CT scan on Friday to get a better look at her liver. The liver biopsy is scheduled on Monday the 12th in McMinnville. She is getting her port-a-cath placed today and will start chemotherapy on Wednesday the 12th. She also has an appointment scheduled with a surgeon that specializes in the liver on the 21st. We will know by then what is going on in the liver and if surgery needs to happen. As soon the results from the biopsy are in I will do another update.

Setback...Surgery Cancelled until further notice

Kathy saw Dr. O’Brien (Oncologist) yesterday to review the CT scan that she had on Monday. The first scan she had showed some small nodules on her lungs. They wanted to do a follow up CT scan to follow up on the nodules. Since Kathy has Rheumatoid Arthritis the nodules could have been side effects from that. There is no way to know exactly what the nodules are without doing a biopsy. A lung biopsy is very invasive and they will not do it unless it is absolutely necessary. One of the nodules in her lungs actually increased in size. Which means that they are assuming it is Cancer. This also means that the nodules did not respond to the Chemo treatment she has already had (or they would have shrunk). The CT scan also showed a spot on her liver that was not there previously. This is not the news we wanted to hear… So the path forward is to do another CT scan of her lower body (this is scheduled for Friday). This will give a more detailed picture of the liver so they can schedule a biopsy. They will also schedule to have her port-a-cath put in (which they use to draw blood and administer Chemo). They will start Chemotherapy right away (probably Monday). Dr. O’Brien consulted with Dr. Whiteford (Surgeon) and they decided to cancel her surgery. They want to take care of the lungs and liver first. As soon as we know more I will post the information. We are all in shock and saddened by this news. Thanks for all of the support and prayers.